This post may contain affiliate links. Please see our disclosure policy.
These classic gingerbread cutout cookies are the ones I’ve made every December for years. Deeply spiced, not too sweet, with crisp edges and a little bite. They hold their shape beautifully, which is what makes them so good for decorating.
This is gingerbread the traditional way. Sturdy enough to hang on the tree or tie onto a gift, and lovely with morning coffee or a cup of peppermint hot chocolate.
Make a batch alongside my gingerbread house, a gingerbread tree for the center of the table, or mini gingerbread houses that perch right on the rim of a mug.
Pin this now to find it later
Pin ItTable of Contents
- What Makes These Gingerbread Cutout Cookies Work
- Gingerbread Cutout Cookie Ingredients
- How to Make Gingerbread Cutout Cookies
- How Thick to Roll Gingerbread Cutout Cookies
- Eden’s Tips
- How to Decorate Gingerbread Cookies
- Gingerbread Cookie Ornaments, Garlands, and Gift Tags
- How to Store Gingerbread Cookies
- When to Serve Gingerbread Cookies
- Gingerbread Cutout Cookie FAQs
- More Christmas Cookies
- Classic Gingerbread Cutout Cookies Recipe
What Makes These Gingerbread Cutout Cookies Work
This is a cutout cookie built to hold a shape. Less sugar than a soft-batch cookie, a full tablespoon each of cinnamon and ginger, and a quick hot bake that sets the edges cleanly. That’s what lets them take royal icing without the design sliding off, and what makes a gingerbread man come out of the oven still looking like a gingerbread man.
The dough has to chill. It’s soft and sticky straight from the bowl, and there’s no rolling it until it’s firm. An hour minimum; overnight is easier.
They bake fast. Five to six minutes at 375°F. Set a timer, because ninety seconds is the difference between crisp and burnt.
Want them softer and chewier? Roll them a full quarter inch thick, drop the oven to 350°F, and pull them at seven minutes when the centers still look slightly underdone. Same dough, different cookie.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“Munching on gingerbread cookies while drinking eggnog topped with nutmeg, listening to Christmas music, and wrapping presents. I love it. LOVE it! Good and wonderful cookies!”
— Betsy
Gingerbread Cutout Cookie Ingredients
Unsalted butter, softened. Room temperature so it creams smoothly with the sugar. Real butter, not margarine.
Dark brown sugar. Deeper flavor and better color than light brown. It’s doing all the work here since there’s no white sugar in this recipe, which is part of why these aren’t overly sweet.
Molasses. The soul of gingerbread. Use unsulphured, and Grandma’s is the easiest to find. If you’re out, here are some molasses substitutions, though dark corn syrup will change both the taste and the color.
Egg. Structure, and it’s what holds the shape through the bake.
Vanilla extract. Pure, not imitation.
Cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg. A full tablespoon each of cinnamon and ginger. These are generously spiced and that’s the point of a classic gingerbread. Check the dates on your jars, because ground spices go quiet after a year or two.
Baking soda. Just enough lift to keep them from being hard, not enough to puff them out of shape.
All-purpose flour. Spoon it into the measuring cup and level the top. Scooping straight into the bag packs in too much and makes the cookies tough.
Salt. Half a teaspoon, and don’t skip it. Spice cookies fall flat without it.
You’ll also want a batch of royal icing for decorating, plus sprinkles or gumdrop buttons if you’re feeling festive.
How to Make Gingerbread Cutout Cookies
Cream everything but the flour. Beat the butter, brown sugar, molasses, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, salt, and baking soda together until the mixture is smooth. It’ll look darker and glossier than you expect.
Add the egg and vanilla and mix until incorporated.
Work in the flour on low speed, slowly, until the dough comes together.
Chill 1 to 2 hours, or overnight. The dough is sticky and soft and this step isn’t optional. Cold dough is what gives you clean edges.
Roll it out on a floured surface with a little flour on top of the dough too. An eighth to a quarter inch thick, and keep it even.
Cut your shapes, dipping the cutters in flour between cuts so they release cleanly. Re-roll the scraps until the dough is gone.
Bake at 375°F for 5 to 6 minutes on a parchment-lined sheet.
Cool a few minutes on the sheet before moving them to a rack. They firm up as they cool.
Decorate once they’re completely cool. Warm cookies melt icing.
How Thick to Roll Gingerbread Cutout Cookies
An eighth of an inch gives you a crisp, snappy cookie with very sharp edges. This is what I roll for ornaments, gift tags, and anything that has to survive being hung or handled.
A quarter inch gives you a thicker cookie with more give in the middle. If you’re making them purely to eat, roll thicker and drop your oven to 350°F for about seven minutes.
Whichever you choose, keep the thickness even across the whole sheet. Cookies that vary will bake unevenly and some will burn while others are still soft.
Eden’s Tips
Chill the dough. Really. It’s the difference between clean gingerbread men and sad blobby ones. An hour minimum, and overnight is better.
Roll between parchment if the dough fights you. No extra flour, no sticking, and you get an even thickness without wrestling it.
Dip your cutters in flour between cuts and the shapes release every time.
Chill the cut shapes for ten minutes before they go in the oven if your kitchen is warm. This is the trick for really sharp edges and nobody talks about it.
Set a timer for five minutes. These bake fast and dark dough is hard to read by eye. When in doubt, pull them early. They keep cooking on the hot sheet.
Cool completely before decorating. Even slightly warm cookies will melt royal icing and your designs will slide right off.
How to Decorate Gingerbread Cookies
Royal icing is what I use. It dries hard and glossy, it holds fine detail, and it’s what makes these look like something from a bakery window. For the cookies in these photos I made pink and white icing and piped the designs with a small round tip.
You can also use gingerbread buttercream if you want something softer to eat, though it won’t hold detail the same way. Or dust them with powdered sugar and call it done, which is genuinely lovely and takes four seconds.
If you want a whole afternoon of it, my guide to decorating Christmas cookies has more ideas, and my cut out sugar cookies are a beautiful second cookie to decorate alongside these.
Gingerbread Cookie Ornaments, Garlands, and Gift Tags
This is my favorite thing about a classic gingerbread cutout. Because they hold their shape and stay sturdy, they do things a soft cookie simply can’t.
Ornaments. Poke a straw-sized hole in the top before baking, then thread ribbon through once they’re cool and hang them on the tree.
Garland. Same idea, but tie them along one long string, spaced out, and drape it over a mantle or a window.
Gift tags. Write a name in royal icing and tie one onto a present. It’s the prettiest wrapping detail there is.
Place cards. Pipe each guest’s name across a gingerbread man and set one at every plate. I do this for Christmas Eve dinner and people take them home.
How to Store Gingerbread Cookies
Room temperature, in an airtight container, up to two weeks. Layer parchment between decorated cookies so the icing doesn’t stick.
Freezer, up to three months. Freeze them undecorated, thaw at room temperature, then ice them.
The dough freezes too. Wrap it tightly and freeze up to three months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and roll as usual. This is how I get ahead of December.
When to Serve Gingerbread Cookies
These are made for a cookie swap or a cookies and cocktails party with a gingerbread martini in hand. I always put a plate out at our gingerbread house party, since the houses themselves are mostly for looking at and everyone wants something they can actually eat.
They’re lovely at a Christmas brunch with a gingerbread latte, and they make a beautiful gift stacked in a cellophane bag and tied with ribbon.
Gingerbread Cutout Cookie FAQs
The dough wasn’t cold enough. Chill it at least an hour, and if your kitchen is warm, chill the cut shapes for another ten minutes before baking.
Roll them a full quarter inch thick, bake at 350°F instead of 375°F, and pull them at about seven minutes when the centers still look slightly underdone. Same dough, softer cookie.
Unsulphured. It’s mild and sweet and it gives you that classic gingerbread flavor. Blackstrap is much more bitter and I’d skip it here.
The edges should look set and the bottoms golden. Dark dough is hard to read, so use the touch test. Gently press an edge and it should feel firm. Five to six minutes is usually right.
Chewy ginger cookies are soft, buttery, and rolled in sugar. These are classic cutout cookies built to hold a shape and take icing. Different cookies for different jobs, and I make both.
No, use my gingerbread house recipe instead. That dough has more flour and less leavening so the walls stay flat and structural. This one is for eating.
Yes, and I usually do. It keeps three days in the fridge or three months in the freezer.
Two weeks in an airtight container at room temperature and they’ll still taste good.
Not at all. They’re wonderful plain with coffee, which is honestly how I eat most of them.
More Christmas Cookies
If you’re planning a baking day, there’s my full guide to Christmas cookies, plus gingersnaps, chewy ginger cookies, spritz cookies, chocolate crinkle cookies, and peanut butter blossoms.
And for the rest of the gingerbread, there’s gingerbread cake with gingerbread buttercream, a gingerbread trifle, and homemade gingerbread syrup for your coffee.
Made these gingerbread cutout cookies? Please leave a 5-star rating and a comment below. I love seeing how you decorated them.
My new Entertaining book is here! Order Now!
Classic Gingerbread Cutout Cookies
Equipment
- Electric Mixer
- Rolling Pin
- Parchment Paper
- Cookie Sheet
- Wire rack
- Piping Bags and Tips
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
- 1/4 cup molasses
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tbsp ground ginger
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cloves
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter, brown sugar, molasses, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, salt, and baking soda together until the mixture is smooth.
- Add in the egg and vanilla extract and mix until incorporated.
- Turn the mixer to low and slowly add in the flour. Continue mixing until all of the ingredients are blended together.
- Chill the dough for 1 to 2 hours or overnight. The dough will be sticky and soft, so chilling is essential before you try to roll it.
- Once the dough is chilled, roll it on a floured surface, adding flour to the top of the dough so it won't stick. Roll to 1/8 inch thick for crisp cookies or 1/4 inch for softer ones.
- Use cookie cutters to make your shapes, dipping them in flour between cuts so they release cleanly. Continue rolling the dough and cutting shapes until the dough is gone.
- Place the cookies on a lined baking sheet and bake in a 375 degree oven for 5 to 6 minutes.
- Let the cookies cool for a few minutes on the sheet before moving them to a cooling rack. They firm up as they cool.
- While the cookies are cooling, make the royal icing to decorate them.
- Decorate once the cookies are completely cool. Warm cookies will melt the icing. For these, I made pink and white royal icing and piped the designs with a small round tip.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Munching on gingerbread cookies while drinking eggnog topped with nutmeg, listening to Christmas music, and wrapping presents…I love it. LOVE it! Good and wonderful cookies!
My kids loved these!! So fun to make!
These look so cute and adorable! I can’t wait to make these! So excited!