Food & Cooking Recipes Dessert & Treats Recipes Cookie Recipes Basic Gingerbread Cookies 4.0 (111) Chewy, sweet, and deeply spiced, these festive treats are a cookie-swap must. Prep Time: 40 mins Cook Time: 20 mins Total Time: 2 hrs Servings: 24 Jump to recipe For an iconic holiday treat, look no further than our basic gingerbread cookies recipe. It's full of warm, peppery spice from a fragrant combination of ginger, cinnamon, clove, and—for added depth—ground black pepper. The dough comes together without any fuss, just be sure to set aside at least an hour for it to chill; it will be much easier to work with, especially if you are making cutouts. You can also make and freeze the dough ahead of time to get a head start on holiday baking. Top cookies with Martha’s royal icing and decorate with currants and candy pieces. Spicy, sweet, and—best of all—straightforward, this basic gingerbread recipe is the only one you’ll need this holiday. How to Host a Cookie Swap, the Sweetest Holiday Party Credit: Brie Goldman Foolproof Tips for Rolling Out Dough Gingerbread is a moist and sticky dough and can pose challenges when being rolled and cut, so follow our tips for clean rolling. Chill well: Give your dough enough time in the refrigerator to thoroughly firm up before rolling. It'll need at least an hour before it's ready, and it can stay in the fridge for up to three days as long as it's well wrapped. Use parchment or baking mats: Rolling dough out on a piece of parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat prevents it from sticking to the counter and stops the shapes from tearing when moved. While not essential, it can make the process easier, especially if you're working in a warm kitchen. Roll evenly: For cookies that bake up evenly, it's important to roll the dough to a consistent thickness from edge to edge. A rolling pin with ball bearings can often make this task easier. Another trick is to place a piece of parchment or plastic over the rolled-out dough, then gently smooth with a bench scraper as if you were applying spackle. Use flour sparingly: Adding too much flour when rolling out the dough can make cookies tough. Apply a light dusting to the counter, rolling pin, and the edge of your cookie cutters as needed. The Right Molasses for This Recipe Molasses is what gives gingerbread cookies their signature deep-brown color and moist chewiness. Made from the boiled-down juice of either sugar cane or sugar beets, it's intensely dark, bittersweet, and incredibly sticky. Be sure to seek out true molasses—as opposed to blackstrap molasses—for this recipe. (The two can not be used interchangeably!) True molasses is sometimes sold in light, dark, and medium varieties; choose medium or dark for these cookies if you can. It's also important to confirm the molasses you're buying is unsulphured. Some molasses is treated with sulphur dioxide which acts as a preservative, but it tends to have a noticeable flavor that can throw off the taste and sweetness of your recipe. How to Make Basic Gingerbread Dough Ahead Like most cookie doughs, gingerbread can be made ahead and stored in either the refrigerator or freezer until needed. Follow our recipe through step 3, being sure to wrap it well. Then refrigerate for up to three days or freeze for up to three months; for best results, thaw the dough overnight in the refrigerator, rather than allowing it to thaw on the counter. Directions Credit: Brie Goldman Mix dry ingredients: In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside. Credit: Brie Goldman Cream butter and sugar, add eggs and molasses: In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in spices and salt. Add eggs and molasses; mix well. Credit: Brie Goldman Add dry ingredients to wet; divide dough, wrap and refrigerate: With the machine on low speed, gradually add flour mixture, and beat until combined. Divide the dough into thirds, and wrap each piece of dough in plastic. Chill at least 1 hour. Credit: Brie Goldman Credit: Brie Goldman Preheat oven and prep baking sheets: Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with Silpat nonstick baking mats or parchment paper. Set aside. Roll dough and cut out cookies: On a lightly floured work surface, roll out dough to 1/8 inch thick. Cut into gingerbread boys and girls. Transfer to prepared baking sheets. Credit: Brie Goldman When making large cookies, use two spatulas to transfer dough cutouts to baking sheets, or roll out the dough directly on the baking sheet. Press cutter into dough and remove excess before taking away the cutter. Add currant buttons and bake: Press currants into dough to create buttons. Bake cookies until crisp but not darkened, about 20 minutes. Credit: Brie Goldman Cool and decorate cookies Transfer to a wire rack. Let cool completely. Decorate cooled cookies with royal icing. Credit: Brie Goldman How to Store Gingerbread Cookies Baked and decorated gingerbread cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. Tips for Decorating Gingerbread Cookies Piping vs. flooding: When it comes to icing, we prefer the bright white color and neutral flavor of royal icing. You can opt to pipe on designs or "flood" the surface of the cookie, covering it entirely. (If flooding, be sure to pipe an outline around the edge to keep the icing from seeping off the sides.) Adding color: While white royal icing is the most traditional, you can certainly tint it with food coloring to add a more vibrant look. We suggest using gel—rather than liquid—food coloring, mixing it in bit by bit until you're happy with the hue. And don't forget to reserve a bit of white icing in case you need to lighten the color after mixing. How to decorate before baking: In most cases, you'll want to decorate the cookies after baking and cooling, but there are some exceptions to this. To add eyes or buttons to your gingerbread people, press dried currants into the dough before baking. You can also opt to brush the dough with a bit of egg white and sprinkle with white or colored nonpareils before baking, eliminating the need for icing. 5 More Gingerbread Recipes to Try Gingerbread Blondies With White-Chocolate Chunks Honey-Spice Gingerbread Cookies Gingerbread Cake Gingerbread Cheesecake Chewy Chocolate-Gingerbread Cookies Updated by Esther Reynolds Esther Reynolds Esther Reynolds is an experienced recipe developer, recipe tester, food editor, and writer with over a decade of experience in the food and media industries.