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
Cookie Making Tips
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.
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.
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.
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! 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.
