These soft Gingerbread Cookies get more compliments than any other cookie recipes I have ever made. Even people who say they don’t like gingersnaps end up loving these easy homemade cookies!
No exaggerating, every time I make these gingerbread cookies, people go crazy for them. The responses are always the same. “These are the best ginger cookies I’ve ever had.” “I didn’t even know I liked gingersnap cookies until now.” “You have to give me this gingerbread cookie recipe.”
Hands down, these are the best gingerbread cookies that I, and most of my friends and family, have ever tasted. Truth be told I’ve never been a big fan of gingerbread. My feelings on gingerbread and ginger cookies have always been lukewarm at best.
Often in the past ginger bread cookies didn’t even make it on to my Christmas cookies list. These easy gingerbread cookies totally changed that. This past year at our Christmas gathering, my friends and family inhaled them so fast that I made a second batch Christmas night.
If you are wondering how to make soft gingerbread cookies or looking for the best gingerbread cookie recipe, I’ve got you covered.
Easy Soft Gingerbread Cookies
Gingerbread Cookies
Everyone seems divided on what to call these. Are they ginger cookies, gingersnaps or gingerbread cookies? Maybe they are molasses cookies or ginger molasses cookies! Clearly they aren’t gingerbread man cookies, but is there a hard fast rule on ginger cookie names? To me a gingersnap should have, well, some snap.
Given that these ginger cookies easy to make, and are soft and chewy gingerbread, I call them easy gingerbread cookies. Call them whatever you like, just make them. Trust me, you won’t regret it!
How To Make Gingerbread Cookies
The only thing that might be better than the taste of these cookies is how easy they are to make. There is nothing complicated about this gingerbread cookie recipe. They are quite similar to making snickerdoodles actually.
Chilling the dough isn’t even required for these, so as a result you can whip these cookies up in no time. If you need a great cookie for a cookie exchange or Christmas party but are short on time, I would certainly recommend these.
Ingredients At A Glance (printable recipe at bottom):
- Butter
- Sugar
- Egg
- Molasses
- Flour
- Baking Soda
- Salt
- Cinnamon and Ginger
Directions At A Glance:
- Combine the wet ingredients, then combine the dry ingredients, then mix together.
- Scoop dough into balls and place on baking sheet.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes.
Molasses Cookies
Molasses is not something I use often. These molasses cookies and my gingerbread bars are probably the only recipes I use it in. Growing up my Dad would put molasses on all the things. He’d use it on pancakes, in oatmeal, anything was fair game. Between you and me, for that reason it kind of always turned my stomach a bit.
If you think about it, molasses looks a lot like tar. That is probably why I steered clear of gingerbread recipes for a long time. However this gingerbread cookie recipe has helped me get over my molasses phobia. So if you are thinking I don’t like molasses, don’t worry, I don’t either. But I sure do love these ginger molasses cookies! Now let’s get baking!
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Want more delicious holiday and Christmas Cookie recipes? I have some great recommendations for you below the recipe card. Don’t miss them. And if you like this recipe, sign up to get my free Favorite Cookies e-Cookbook!
Gingerbread Cookies
Ingredients
- ¾ cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup molasses unsulphured
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon if you like a strong cinnamon flavor, increase to 2 tsp total
- ½ tsp dried ground ginger if you like a strong ginger flavor, increase to 1-2 tsp total
- Optional: granulated sugar to roll cookie dough balls in
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- First, mix together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, approximately 2-3 minutes with an electric mixer.
- Next, add egg and molasses and mix well.
- In a separate bowl combine flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and ginger, stirring to combine.
- Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until well combined.
- Form or scoop balls of dough that are slightly smaller than a golf ball. If desired, roll dough balls in granulated sugar after forming. Place them on a baking sheet approximately 2” to 3” apart to allow room for cookies to spread.
- Finally, bake for 10-12 minutes, remove from oven and allow cookies to cool on baking for approximately ten minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Video
Nutrition
Disclaimer
Nutrition information is estimated as a courtesy. If using for medical purposes, please verify information using your own nutritional calculator. Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
If you are looking for Gingerbread Man Cookies, I’ve got those for you as well!
I hope you and your family enjoy these delicious soft gingerbread cookies as much as my family does! Also check out all the cookie recipes and Christmas cookie recipes here on Love From The Oven!
Looking for more delicious gingerbread recipes? These are certainly some of my favorites!
- Fun Gingerbread Snowballs by Crazy For Crust
- Breakfast ready Gingerbread pancakes by Love From The Oven
- Easy Gingerbread Fudge by Spend With Pennies
- Slow Cooker Gingerbread Latte by The Cookie Rookie
- Crunchy Gingerbread Biscotti by She Wears Many Hats
- Gingerbread Loaf Cake by Crunchy, Creamy, Sweet
- Party ready Gingerbread Martini from Nutmeg Nanny
Now grab that ginger, run to the store for some molasses, and get baking!
Originally published September 2018
karin says
they are so easy to make, and so tasty – i also added some cloves and some nutmeg. I had nothing but rave reviews when i gave them as gifts!
Renee says
The five stars says it all. These cookies were absolutely delicious!! I followed the recommendation and double the ginger and cinnamon. This is my go-to cookie from now on and I can have ginger cookies all year long. I would definitely recommend this recipe.
Emily says
Obsessed with these! I tend to use recipes online as a base structure and tinker with it to my taste! This time I tinkered a bit more than usual because I only had half the butter and half the all-purpose flour that I needed. 😂 I replaced the missing half of butter with unsweetened applesauce, and half the all-purpose flour with whole wheat flour. I’m also a little iffy on molasses so I fill up the 1/4 cup about 2/3 of the way with molasses, and top it off with pure maple syrup! The slight maple flavor goes a long way! I also add a bit of nutmeg and clove along with the other spices just cause I like them. 🙂
As for how they turned out with these subs, it has this AMAZING thin crisp layer on the outside with a gooey inside, but firm enough to keep the cookie’s structure. Biting into it through the crispy outer shell into the soft inside is the most satisfying feeling, haha! i did sprinkle a bit more flour into the dough before baking though, because I think the applesauce made the dough a bit more wet than intended.
Anyway, thank you for this recipe! I might have changed a lot, but I wouldn’t have had the basis for that without it!
Beth says
Made these for the first time and they are delicious! Keeping this recipe and will be making them again very soon. I did add 1/2 tsp more of cinnamon and ginger.
Alohalani says
Thank you for sharing this recipe. It came out really well. They are delicious cookies.
Lisa says
These are so good! They are moist and chewy. My family loved them. I will definitely be making them again!
Kathy says
After years of using a classic cookie recipe, I decided it was time to try something new. The ginger cookies have the most amazing flavor. The texture is moist and chewy. I bake the cookies for 15 minutes because our family prefers a crispier cookie. The recipe is definitely a keeper.
Danica says
Just from the images i can tell these will be delicious, even though i havent made them yet! I wanted to ask… if i wanted to prep these a few days before baking, would this be okay and how long would i need to thaw the dough out before putting them into the oven? Thank you! 🙂
Christi Johnstone says
If the dough has been kept in the fridge, I’d sit it at room temperature for 30 minutes then start preheating the oven.
Kim says
Family loves these! Made with help from a 3 year old. Super easy.
Crystal says
These are an absolute delight, I’m eating one right now ten minutes out of the oven. I would definitely recommend rolling them in sugar. I’ve found my recipe, I’m not interested in any other.