Soft Gingerbread Cookies (Easy Cut-Out Gingerbread Men)

By Warm Oven Bakes Editorial Team · Updated 1 November 2026

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Gingerbread cookies smell like the holidays before they even leave the oven. This version is soft and slightly chewy, with deep molasses flavor and plenty of ginger, but the dough is still firm enough to roll and cut into gingerbread men, stars or trees.

If you prefer crisp gingerbread for hanging ornaments or building a small house, there are simple adjustments below.

What makes gingerbread soft or crisp

Thickness. Dough rolled to 1/4 inch bakes up soft. Dough rolled to 1/8 inch bakes crisp.

Baking time. Pulling the cookies when the centers still look slightly puffy keeps them soft. A couple of extra minutes dries them out.

Molasses and brown sugar. Both hold moisture. This recipe uses dark brown sugar and a generous amount of molasses for a softer cookie.

Ingredients

Makes about 24 cookies (4-inch cutters):

• 3 cups (375 g) all-purpose flour, plus a little for rolling
• 1 tbsp ground ginger
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp fine salt
• 3/4 cup (170 g) unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup (150 g) packed dark brown sugar
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 1/2 cup (170 g) unsulphured molasses (not blackstrap)
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Whisk the dry ingredients. In a bowl, whisk together the flour, spices, baking soda and salt.
2. Cream butter and sugar. Beat the butter and brown sugar on medium speed for about 2 minutes until smooth.
3. Add the wet ingredients. Beat in the egg, then the molasses and vanilla. The mixture may look a little curdled; that's fine.
4. Add the flour mixture. Mix on low just until a soft dough forms.
5. Chill. Divide the dough in half, flatten each into a disc, wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 3 days. Molasses dough is sticky when warm, so this step matters.
6. Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line baking sheets with parchment.
7. Roll and cut. On a lightly floured surface, roll one disc to 1/4 inch thick. Cut shapes and place them 1 inch apart on the sheets.
8. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until the edges are set and the centers look just slightly puffy. Dark dough makes browning hard to see, so go by time and texture.
9. Cool. Leave on the sheet for 5 minutes, then move to a rack to cool completely.

Decorating gingerbread men

A simple piped outline looks classic and dries quickly. Use the royal icing from our cut-out sugar cookies at outlining (toothpaste) consistency in a small piping bag with a round tip.

Ideas that work well:

• White icing outlines with mini candy buttons
• Rows of zigzags for sleeves and trouser cuffs
• A dusting of powdered sugar for an easy "snowy" finish with no icing at all

A gingerbread man cookie cutter set in a few sizes makes a nice family set of cookies.

For crisp gingerbread or ornaments

• Roll to 1/8 inch thick.
• Bake 10 to 12 minutes, until the edges are firm.
• For hanging ornaments, poke a hole with a straw before baking. Re-open the hole gently while the cookies are still warm.
• Let them dry out on a rack overnight before threading ribbon.

Ornament cookies made this way are fine to eat when fresh, but once they've hung for days in a warm room, treat them as decorations.

Tips for easy rolling

Roll between parchment if the dough is sticky. It needs less flour and stays tender.

Work in batches. Keep half the dough in the fridge while you roll the other half.

Re-roll scraps once. Chill them for 15 minutes first. Dough rolled many times gets tough.

Use fresh spices. Ground ginger and cinnamon lose flavor after a year or so. If your jar has little aroma, the cookies will taste flat.

Make-ahead and storage

• Dough: refrigerate up to 3 days, or freeze the wrapped discs up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge.
• Baked cookies: store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week. They often taste even better on day two as the spices mellow.
• Freezing baked cookies: freeze un-iced cookies in a single layer, then stack in a container with parchment between layers for up to 3 months.

Troubleshooting

• Dough too sticky to roll: chill longer, or roll between parchment.
• Cookies spread: the dough got warm. Chill the cut shapes on the tray for 10 minutes before baking.
• Cookies are hard: they were rolled thin or baked too long. For soft cookies, keep them at 1/4 inch and pull them early.
• Bitter taste: blackstrap molasses was used. Choose regular unsulphured molasses.

Gingerbread for gifting

Gingerbread is one of the best cookies to give because it keeps well and its flavor improves for a day or two.

• Let iced cookies dry completely, ideally overnight, before packing.
• Pack them flat in a tin or box with parchment between layers.
• Keep them away from crisp cookies like shortbread; the moisture in soft gingerbread can soften crisp cookies in the same tin.
• Add a small label with the bake date and a note if the cookies contain nuts or other common allergens.

Read next: Classic Buttery Shortbread (Just 4 Ingredients) →