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.
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
The nutrition facts provided are calculated using a third-party tool and are estimates only. Actual nutritional content may vary based on the ingredients and brands you use, as well as portion sizes. For accurate results, please consult a registered dietitian or nutritionist.
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
Meet Christi, Love From The Oven
I’m Christi I love sharing easy & delicious recipes that your family & friends will love. I’m a mom, baker, cookbook author and lover of sprinkles.
I made these for my daughter’s “birth” day shower and got many compliments. My husband said “keep this recipe!!” I’m making it again today & have a request from my other daughter for when she comes home.
Thank you so much read this today looking for a recipe for little Debbie ginger bread men. For my Autistic son all stores are out!!! I rolled mine in Christmas color sugar Sprinkles…you saved the day thank you so much and these are much more healthier thank little Debbie’s!!!! Thank you for the bottom of my heart for making my son so happy!! God Bless You and Your family!!!
Can you double this recipe? I haven’t made them yet but I just know that they will be a hit! I lost my recipe from family no longer with us, this recipe sounds like I have found home!
Yes, you can.
the dough was so crumbly and the cookies didn’t spread at all when I baked them. I’m so confused! I went over the steps so many times and couldn’t figure out what i’d messed up. any advice please)
How did you measure your flour? Did you do it by scooping the flour with the measuring cup, or did you spoon it into measuring cups and then level it off? It sounds like you had too much flour which can happen if you scoop it with the measuring cup which will condense it.
These sound wonderful and I’d like to make them. Can they be frozen for a couple of weeks? Thank you.
Yes, you can freeze almost every cookie. This post on freezing cookies might be helpful.
These taste like a really nice sugar cookie, but no where near gingerbread.
Sounds like you left some ingredients out. 🙂
I’ve made these a few times for family and neighbors. Everyone says they’re the best cookies they’ve ever had, and I agree. They taste exactly like ginger snaps, except warm and gooey. Now I’m the designated gingerbread cookie-bringer for every fall and winter gathering, and I’m totally ok with that.
Oh I love this so much – thank you for sharing it with me 🙂
What specific kind of molasses do you use for these?
I use the Grandma’s brand molasses – it’s the most common one I’ve seen in stores.
I just made these and will be making more this evening. They are fantastic. I added orange zest to mine and chilled the dough for 30 mins. The best ginger cookies I have ever made. Thank you for the tasty recipe.
I am so glad you liked them! These cookies have converted most of my family into gingerbread fans!
I’m wondering if you’ve ever made these with coconut sugar instead of granulated sugar. That’s all we use because of food issues with my littlest kiddos, so I’m hopeful it will work because these sound delicious!
I’ve never used coconut sugar in anything so I’m afraid I can’t help. Good luck!