These Gingerbread Cookies make for the cutest Gingerbread Men. They’re soft, keep their shape and have the perfect spice!

An overhead photo of the Gingerbread Cookies shaped as little people with smilie faces and mini M&Ms as little buttons. - 1

You guys! It’s the Christmas season!! I’m so pumped!

If you are new to my blog, you probably should know that five years ago I lost my sweet little second son, Elliot. And just about 8 years ago, on the day my first kiddo was born, I lost my amazing mom. Guys, I miss them both so much this time of year. I miss them all the time. But Thanksgiving and Christmas can be especially hard.

Though each year, and I’m getting better at it with each passing year, I try to really just focus on my kids and make it as magical for them as possible. Making Gingerbread Cookies with them really helps.

These gingerbread cookies are soft and chewy. They have the perfect gingerbread spice flavor. Your family is going to love this classic Christmas cookie.

How to Make Gingerbread Cookies

  1. Combine the dry ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, the spices, salt, and baking soda.
  2. Beat together the wet ingredients. Beat the shortening, butter, and sugar together. It will take about three minutes to make it light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs and molasses.
  3. Add the dry ingredients to the wet. Add the flour mixture in all at once. Beat on low just until the mixture is combined enough so that the flour won’t fly out of the bowl when you turn the mixer up high. Turn the mixer up high for a few seconds just until the mixture is combined.
  4. Refrigerate the dough for 20 minutes.
  5. Roll out the dough in batches. Keep the dough you aren’t rolling out in the refrigerator. Cut into gingerbread men or ninjabread men .
  6. Bake the cookies. Then allow to cool completely before decorating.
The Gingerbread Cookie Dough is rolled out flat and little shaped people are cut out of the dough. - 2

These tips are helpful for all cookies.

  • Measure your flour correctly. Spoon the flour into the dry measuring cup. Then level off with a the flat edge of a spatula. Do not use the measuring cup to scoop the flour from the container it is kept in.
  • Use fresh baking soda. You can check to see if it is fresh by adding a little to some vinegar. It should bubble right away.
  • Your butter should be room temperature. You should be able to easily dent the butter with your finger, but not push it all the way through. The butter will still feel cold to the touch.
The Gingerbread Cookies are shaped as little people with a smilie face and mini M&Ms as little buttons. - 3

Icing for Gingerbread Cookies

We like keeping our decorations on gingerbread cookies to a minimum. You can see we decorated with a really simple frosting and M&Ms. You can find the recipe for it in the recipe card below. It comes together with just three ingredients: powdered sugar, pasteurized eggs, and cream of tartar.

Big Batch Gingerbread Recipe

This recipe makes a lot of gingerbread man cookies. We were able to get three dozen cookies using a standard size cookie cutter. You can easily cut this recipe in half though. Otherwise, you can find instructions on freezing the cookies below.

An overhead photo of the Gingerbread Cookies shaped as a little person with the leg bitten off and a frowny face on the gingerbread cookie. - 4

Freezing Gingerbread Cookies

This recipe freezes really well. I suggest flash freezing these cookies first and freezing them undecorated.

Freeze the cookies in a single layer for two hours. Then transfer the cookies to an air tight container where they can be stacked. The cookies can be frozen for up to three months.

Can this recipe be used to make a gingerbread house?

I have a great gingerbread house recipe that also comes with a template to make cutting it out easy. You can also get my three ingredient gingerbread icing that works as the perfect glue.

Can I replace the shortening in this recipe with more butter?

You can, but you run the risk of your cookies not holding their shape. Butter provides a great taste, but shortening is what keeps the cookies from spreading too much. Their combination here is pretty key.

How long can gingerbread cookies be frozen?

These cookies can be frozen for up to three months. See my instructions for freezing in the section above.

An overhead photo of the Gingerbread Cookies shaped as little people with smilie faces and mini M&Ms as little buttons. - 5

Other Christmas Cookies

  • Soft Cut Out Christmas Cookies
  • Molasses Cookies
  • Vanilla Snowball Cookies

If you like my soft gingerbread cookie recipe or any of my other cookies, leave me a comment and let me know what you think!

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Ingredients

  • 5 cups of flour
  • 1 tsp ginger
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp ground cloves
  • 1 1/2 tsps ground nutmeg
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 cup butter at room temperature should be soft to the touch, but not melted
  • 1/2 cup shortening
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 1/4 cup molases
  • 2 eggs

Icing for Gingerbread Cookies

  • 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar spooned into measuring cups and leveled
  • 1 pasturized egg white
  • 1/8 tsp cream of tartar

Instructions

  • In a large bowl, combine the flour, spices, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer (or with a large bowl and a handheld mixer) beat together the shortening, butter, and sugar until light and fluffy, about three minutes.
  • Beat in the eggs and molasses until just combined, scraping down the sides as necessary.
  • Add in the dry ingredients. Beat on low until just combined enough for the mixture to withstand being beaten on high. Beat on high for a few seconds until the flour mixture is just combined with the wet ingredeitns. Make sure to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl so it all gets incorporated.
  • Refrigerate the dough for 20 minutes. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
  • Working in small batches of dough, roll it out on parchment paper or until about 1/4 of an inch thick. Keep the dough you arent working with in the refrigerator.
  • Cut out your gingerbread men and place them on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until the gingerbread looses it’s shine and just begins to crack at the edges.
  • Remove from the oven and after two minutes transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
  • Beat the ingredients for the icing until soft peaks begin to form. Using a small piping tip, pipe edging onto the cooled cookies.
Gingerbread Cookies - 6

did you make this

Gingerbread Cookies

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  • Gingerbread House Recipe

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This Gingerbread House Template is exactly what you need to make a cute gingerbread house recipe . Print it off, and make gingerbread houses year after year.

overhead photo of gingerbread house template printable next to gingerbread pieces - 7

If you are making a gingerbread house recipe from scratch this year, and I’m so excited that you are here and starting this great holiday tradition, a key to success is a good gingerbread house template.

I’ve created two different PDFs that you can print off to make the perfect little house. These are easy to use and will work perfectly with my gingerbread house recipe .

Using this Gingerbread House Template

Please note that there are some pieces of template that you will need to use twice. For example, there is only one cut out of the roof pieces of but you need to use it twice to get two roof pieces.

  1. Print the template of the four sides of the house. Click here to go to the pdf of the front/back and the sides and click print.
  2. Print the template for the roof and floor here. Click here to go to the pdf of the floor and roof and click print. Note that the floor is just to guide where the sides of the house go, you will not use it to cut dough.
  3. Cut out all of the template pieces.
  4. Use the templates to cut the dough. Place the template on top of the dough and using a sharp knife, trace them. Be mindful that it is easy for the paper to stick to the dough. You can make templates out of parchment paper or sprinkle a little flour between the dough and the paper. (See my post gingerbread house recipe for more tips and tricks.)
pieces of gingerbread house drying on paper towels - 8

PRINTABLE GINGERBREAD HOUSE TEMPLATE PDF OF THE SIDES

PRINTABLE GINGERBREAD HOUSE TEMPLATE PDF OF THE ROOF AND FLOOR

The Best Gingerbread House Recipe

This template was designed to be used with my gingerbread house recipe. The amount of dough it makes is perfect to use with this gingerbread house template.

With this gingerbread house template printable you can make such a cute little gingerbread house. I like decorating mine before I put it all together.

Gingerbread House Recipe

fully decorated pieces of gingerbread house recipe ready to be put together - 9

Decorating Tips

I love using my recipe for gingerbread house icing with my gingerbread house recipe and this template. It dries quickly and works well to hold everything together.

One great tip to working with the icing and constructing the house is to decorate before you put it all together. You will save yourself from fighting with gravity.

Frosting for Gingerbread House

Just print it out, cut the pieces out, then place them on the dough (a layer of powdered sugar helps prevent it from sticking), and use a sharp knife to trace around the template pieces. Then bake the pieces.

The key to a sturdy gingerbread house is good gingerbread house icing and patience. It works best to put two pieces together, let them dry a little, and then add two more pieces. Allowing drying time between each step will make it very sturdy.

picture of beautifully decorated gingerbread house recipe - 10
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Gingerbread Cookies - 11

Gingerbread Cookies

Ingredients

  • 5 cups of flour
  • 1 tsp ginger
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp ground cloves
  • 1 1/2 tsps ground nutmeg
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 cup butter at room temperature should be soft to the touch, but not melted
  • 1/2 cup shortening
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 1/4 cup molases
  • 2 eggs

Icing for Gingerbread Cookies

  • 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar spooned into measuring cups and leveled
  • 1 pasturized egg white
  • 1/8 tsp cream of tartar

Instructions

  • In a large bowl, combine the flour, spices, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.

  • In the bowl of a stand mixer (or with a large bowl and a handheld mixer) beat together the shortening, butter, and sugar until light and fluffy, about three minutes.

  • Beat in the eggs and molasses until just combined, scraping down the sides as necessary.

  • Add in the dry ingredients. Beat on low until just combined enough for the mixture to withstand being beaten on high. Beat on high for a few seconds until the flour mixture is just combined with the wet ingredeitns. Make sure to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl so it all gets incorporated.

  • Refrigerate the dough for 20 minutes. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

  • Working in small batches of dough, roll it out on parchment paper or until about 1/4 of an inch thick. Keep the dough you arent working with in the refrigerator.

  • Cut out your gingerbread men and place them on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until the gingerbread looses it’s shine and just begins to crack at the edges.

  • Remove from the oven and after two minutes transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

  • Beat the ingredients for the icing until soft peaks begin to form. Using a small piping tip, pipe edging onto the cooled cookies.

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