Classic Gingerbread Cutout Cookies – Easy Holiday Cookie Recipe

This foolproof Classic Gingerbread Cutout Cookies recipe is a holiday must-have! Lightly spiced with warm ginger and cinnamon, these cookies bake up with crisp edges and soft, chewy centers. Perfect for decorating, gifting, or adding to your Christmas cookie trays, this timeless recipe delivers cookies every time.

Try my easy gingerbread man cookies, gingerbread cupcakes with caramel buttercream frosting, gingerbread cheesecake dip next!

Easy Gingerbread Cutout Cookies (Crispy & Chewy)

It just wouldn’t be Christmas without a few of these little gingerbread cookies making an appearance and these foolproof gingerbread cookies are perfect for Christmas baking with the kids!

You can decorate them with coloured icing if you like. I would recommend the gel food colouring for achieving those nice deep colours of red or green if you’re going to colour the icing.

Included with this cookie recipe is the recipe for the gingerbread spices as well. With only 1 tbsp. required, you will have enough on hand to make 5 batches.

Ingredients

Cookie Dough

1/2 cup butter, softened at room temperature

1 cup brown sugar, loosely packed

1/4 cup molasses

1 large egg

2 and 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1 tbsp. Gingerbread Spices (see recipe below)

Royal Icing

3 tbsp. meringue powder

8 to 10 tbsp. warm water

4 cups icing sugar

Gingerbread Spices (makes enough for 5 batches of cookies)

2 tbsp. ground ginger

2 tbsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1/2 tsp. ground cloves

How To Make Gingerbread Cutout Cookies

1. In a large mixing bowl, or stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter with brown sugar and beat until light and fluffy.

2. Add in molasses and egg and beat until well combined.

3. In a large mixing bowl, combine gingerbread spices, all-purpose flour and baking soda. Stir well to combine.

4. Gradually add flour mixture to creamed butter mixture. 

5. Gather with hands and press into a ball. 

6. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate dough for 30 minutes.

7. Using a very lightly flour rolling pin, on a lightly floured work surface, roll out dough to 1/8″ to 1/4″ thickness. 

8. Cut out with desired shapes and bake in 350F oven for 8 to 10 minutes being careful not to overbrown the edges.

9. Ice cookies with Royal Icing.

Cookies may be store in covered container for up to five days.

Royal Icing

10. In bowl from stand mixer, combine meringue powder, icing sugar and water. Beat for 1 and 1/2 to 2 minutes.

11. If using food colouring/gel, divide icing and add colouring. (I prefer the gel colouring for red and green colours, however you can use the regular kind).

Gingerbread Spices

In a small mixing bowl, combine ground ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and ground cloves. Stir well to combine. Mixture can be kept in storage container for up to six months.

Storage

Store gingerbread cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week to keep them soft and chewy. For longer storage, refrigerate for up to 2 weeks or freeze for up to 3 months, which is perfect for holiday baking ahead of time. Thaw and decorate when ready to serve.