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Chewy Iced Gingerbread Cookies

This is the best chewy iced gingerbread cookie recipe that stays soft and chewy and is topped with a white chocolate icing. YUM! This sweet, warm, and cozy cookie is the perfect addition to your holiday cookie platters along with Christmas tree cupcakes and Crumbl copycat sugar cookies, (make a white or green icing with Christmas sprinkles!).

If you’re serving these cookies to Santa, a glass of milk is the perfect accompaniment, but sweet cream cold foam coffee also pairs perfectly.

Stack of iced gingerbread cookies with Christmas sprinkles.

Estimated reading time: 11 minutes

What You’ll Love About Chewy Gingerbread Cookies

  • Soft and chewy texture
  • Warm and cozy spiced flavor
  • Made with simple ingredients
  • Just 32 minutes total time
  • Customize your cookies with sprinkles
Chewy gingerbread cookies with frosting and sprinkles.

Ingredients

You’ll need some basic ingredients to make this recipe for chewy gingerbread cookies:

  • Flour – Use all-purpose flour for best results. Whole wheat flour can sometimes be used blended with all-purpose flour, but I have not tested that so I’m not sure of the results.
  • Baking soda – This helps the cookies rise and not be dense, hockey pucks!
  • Spices – We use a combination of salt, ground ginger, ground cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves for cookies that have a warm and cozy spiced flavor.
  • Butter – Use high-quality butter for best results.
  • Brown sugar – A general brown sugar will work. Using brown sugar in cookies helps them stay moist and chewy.
  • Blackstrap molasses – The molasses imparts a lot of classic flavor, as well as some sweetness and helps give the gingerbread cookies a darker color.
  • Egg – Use high-quality eggs for best results.
  • Sugar – While the cookie recipe is made with all brown sugar, we’ll roll the cookies in granulated white sugar before baking which helps add a touch of sweetness as well as a nice texture to the exterior of the cookies.
  • White melting chocolate – This is for the white icing.
Ingredients to make iced gingerbread cookies.

Ok, let’s get to these soft chewy gingerbread cookies! Here’s how we make them:

  • Mix dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, mix together flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg, cloves, and salt. Set aside.
Bowl of dry ingredients for cookies.
  • Beat butter and sugar. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy with a hand mixer or stand mixer using the paddle attachment.
Creaming brown sugar and butter in mixer.
  • Add in rest of wet ingredients. Beat in molasses, egg, and vanilla.
Beating in wet ingredients to batter.
  • Combine wet and dry ingredients. Fold in flour mixture just until combined.
Mixing chewy gingerbread cookie batter.
  • Form cookies. Scoop cookie dough into tablespoon-sized balls. Use a small cookie scoop to make it easy. Roll each ball in granulated sugar.
Scoops of cookie batter on a baking sheet.
  • Bake cookies. Bake the cookies on a prepared baking sheet (lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat) until edges are set. Cool on cookie sheets before frosting.
  • Make white icing. In a small microwave-safe bowl, microwave white chocolate melting wafers in small increments until melted.
  • Frost cookies. Dip top of cookies into icing and top with sprinkles if using.
Iced gingerbread cookies on baking sheet before sprinkles.
Iced gingerbread cookie with sprinkles.

Storage Instructions

Store the chewy gingerbread cookies in an airtight container for 2-3 days.

Can you freeze iced gingerbread cookies?

Yes, you can freeze the cookies for 2-3 months in an airtight container in the freezer. Be sure to freeze them once the frosting is completely solid so that they don’t stick together.

Iced gingerbread cookies with sprinkles.

More Sweet Recipes

If you like this iced gingerbread cookie recipe, you might also like some of these other easy sweet treats:

Helpful Tools to Make Iced Gingerbread Cookies

  • Small Cookie Scoop – A must for scooping cookies quickly.
  • Sheet Pan with Cooling Rack – This set has everything you need to bake and cool cookies and baked goods.
  • Christmas Sprinkles Mix – This set has different sprinkles – perfect to let everyone decorate their own Christmas cookies!
Print
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Stack of iced gingerbread cookies with Christmas sprinkles.

Iced Gingerbread Cookie Recipe

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Description

The best chewy gingerbread cookie recipe! Soft and chewy texture with a warmly spiced and sweet flavor. Customize for holidays with sprinkles!


Ingredients

Units Scale

For the cookies:

  • 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp. salt
  • 1 1/2 tsps. ground ginger
  • 1 1/2 tsps. ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
  • 3/4 tsp. ground cloves
  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 2 Tbsp. Blackstrap molasses
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar for rolling
  • 1/2 cup white melting wafers


Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat, and set aside.
  2. In a medium bowl stir together flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, and cloves. Set aside.
  3. In a larger bowl, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in molasses, egg, and vanilla.
  4. Beat in flour mixture just until combined.ย 
  5. Scoop cookie dough into tablespoon-sized balls.ย Roll each ball in granulated sugar and place about 2-inches inches apart on the prepared cookie sheet.ย 
  6. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until the edges of the cookies are set.ย 
  7. Cool on cookie sheets for 10 minutes and transfer cookies to a wire rack and cool completely before icing.


Notes

  • Baking chocolate, chocolate chips, different brands, etc. sometimes melt differently from others, so if they find their melted chocolate is too thick, or doesnโ€™t want to combine well, adding some whipping cream is the key to success.

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2 Comments

  1. I think this recipe has some good bones. I might up the salt because it tasted a little flat. Also it mentions adding vanilla but it doesnโ€™t say how much.

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