Soft Gingerbread Cookies Recipe
Soft and chewy gingerbread cookies are topped with a tangy cream cheese icing that firms up nicely without becoming hard or crunchy!
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 3 hours 30 minutes
Makes: 24 large cookies
Ingredients
Gingerbread Cookies
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature (1 cup)
- 2/3 cup brown sugar
- 2/3 cup unsulphured molasses
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- pinch of salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
Cream Cheese Icing
- 4 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
- 3 oz light corn syrup
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup half and half
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- gel food coloring (any colors)
Instructions
- Combine the wet ingredients. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together butter, brown sugar, and molasses until fluffy. To the creamed butter and sugar, add eggs and vanilla and beat well. (If the mixture looks curdled, that's okay, everything will come together when you add the flour.)
- Combine the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and allspice and set aside.
- Bring it together. Add the flour mixture all at once to the wet ingredients and mix on low until the dough just comes together.
- Chil. Divide the dough into two discs (it will be sticky, that's okay) and cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight (or at the very least 3 hours).
- Roll and cut the dough. Preheat an oven to 350ºF. Once the dough has chilled, remove one disc from the fridge and liberally flour your work surface, the dough and rolling pin. Roll dough out to about 1/4" thick. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats. Using a 5" cookie cutter, cut out as many cookies as you can and place them on the prepared trays. You can bring the dough back together and roll it out again twice, but after that discard any scraps.
- Bake. Bake cookies for 10 minutes. Cool slightly before removing from the tray and cool completely before decorating. Repeat with remaining cookie dough until all cookies have been baked.
- Make the icing. Beat together cream cheese, corn syrup and vanilla extract until smooth. Add powdered sugar and mix until combined. Add just enough milk for the icing to be pipeable (you don't want it to be runny).
- Decorate the cookies. Divide icing and add desired coloring. Transfer to piping bags and decorate! Use sparkling sugar and pearls for added cuteness.
