Gingerbread Cookie Recipe and Free Printable Tag
I think if you met me in real life you would probably think that I was Buddy the Elf’s sister. I get more excited about Christmas than he does. I don’t play tag with taxi cabs or eat gum that has already been chewed, but I will bake gingerbread cookies all year long. I like them so much that I send boxes of undecorated cookies with all the decorating supplies to friends for Christmas. I include the gingerbread cookie recipe along with icing and undecorated cookies.
I call it Sending a Box of Cheer! After all, it would make me cheerful to get a box of cookies to decorate without having to make icing or do dishes. Just cheerful mess-free decorating!
Begin with a Gingerbread Cookie Recipe:
Gingerbread Cookie Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup of light brown sugar packed
- 2 sticks of unsalted butter softened
- 2 eggs
- 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- ¾ cup of molasses
- 5 1/2 or 6 cups of all-purpose flour
- ¼ tsp. salt
- ½ tsp. baking soda
- 1 tablespoon of ginger
- 1 ½ tsp. cloves
- 2 tsp. cinnamon
- 1 tsp. nutmeg
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, salt, baking soda, ginger, cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg and set aside.
- With a KitchenAid or hand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until light in color and creamy. This can take up to five minutes.
- Add eggs on at a time beating well between each one.
- Add the molasses and the vanilla extract and mix well.
- Gradually add the dry ingredients one cup at a time until all is combined and mixed well.
- Divide the dough into three equal parts.
- Roll each one out to 1/4" or 3/4" on a lightly floured mat and place them in the freezer for about 10 minutes or up to one hour. The dough is easier to work with when it's cold and it will hold its shape when you cut the shapes out.
- Bake at 350° for 6-8 minutes. (Oven times may vary so keep an eye on them.)
Begin by making some gingerbread men cookies. When you bake them, your house will smell amazing and if you want, you can call me to come over and we can make snow angels for a two hours, then we’ll go ice skating, then we’ll eat a whole roll of Tollhouse Cookie dough as fast as we can, and then we’ll snuggle. It sounds like the perfect day to me!
Mix some royal icing in a few colors and place them into Ziplock bags. Tie them with some ribbon or ripped fabric.
Place the gingerbread men cookies into cellophane bags and seal them with a heat sealer or fold the top over and tape it to the back.
Arrange everything in the box so it fits nicely. If you ship the cookies, you need to make sure the cookies are snug and don’t slide around. If they move, they could break. If you need boxes to put the cookies in you should check out the BRP Box Shop. They have a huge selection.
Gingerbread Cookies
If you want to print the tags, click here. Now mail them to someone and make their day. If you want to send decorated cookies also, you may enjoy the “Beginners Guide to Cookie Decorating” for all kinds of tips and tricks.
This Christmas I got to participate in the Great Bloggers Cookie Swap to raise money for Cookies for Kids’ Cancer. It was very fun and super simple thanks to Lindsay of Love & Olive Oil and Julie of The Little Kitchen! These girls work hard to put this together each year and I am so glad I got to participate.
I was so happy to get Almond Meltaway Cookies from Chew Nibble Nosh and delicious cookies from My Kitchen Kreations to You. They were so GOOD!
Thank you so much ladies for the Amazing COOKIES!!
Bear hugs,
Thank you! Do you think this is a good recipe for making a gingerbread house? I’m planning on making them this weekend, would you make any adjustments to the recipe for the houses? Thank you so much for your time & work!!
Hi Tesei,
I will email you the recipe I use for gingerbread houses. This makes a softer cookie!
Thank you, that would be great!!! Very kind of you :-))))!!!
Such a cute idea….I LIVE gingerbread cookies!
Ooooops…that should be “LOVE”!
OMG – I love this so much, Lisa!! I’d love to receive one of these – the perfect Christmas gift! 🙂
What a great idea! I might just do this for Christmas at my Mom’s house. It’s so hard keeping 5 kids entertained until the food is done. This would be so much more fun than popping in a Christmas movie!
Thanks for such great ideas Lisa
Hi Lisa. First I would like to tell u that you are an inspiration for me. Am new to cookies world and its so frustrating sometimes but when I found your website it was a relief for me. I was not able to see the molasses in the dough preparation schedule. When do I add it. Thank you so much
Hi Maha!
Thank you so much for the kind words. I am very happy you found my site and information that helps ease the frustration. I added the “molasses addition” to the recipe. So sorry I forgot to add it. 😉
Thanks Lisa. Happy holidays
I love this idea! My son in Japan misses “cookie day” with the family and this would be an awesome idea. Just to be sure, the royal icing doesn’t require refrigeration? Packages take about 8 days from here to there. Thanks for such a wonderful idea that will bring a little Christmas to my “baby” so far from home 🙂
Hi Carol.
If you use meringue powder to make the icing you don’t need to refrigerate it. If you make it with egg whites, it does need to be refrigerated. You make want to double bag it in Ziplock bags and place it in a plastic air tight container so it doesn’t dry out.
Tell your baby in Japan hello from Tennessee for me.
Bear hugs!
Put them together this weekend, ready to make their long trip to Japan tomorrow. Thank you for responding and for helping me send some Christmas cheer overseas. Made extra boxes for his buddies so far from home : ) Sending lots of good wishes from snowy New York. XOXO
I just want to say thank you so much for the cookies! they were amazing and I had so much fun decorating them with the kiddos. It was a wonderful idea!
What a perfect gift to give away, especially if you have kids! I love how you accessorized the boxes and the tags are adorable!
Hi Lisa,
Thanks for all your recipes and tips!!
Can you please advise what the grams or ounces of the stick of butter you use?
In Australia you can buy sticks of butter in a few different sizes.
Also, I don’t ever recall seeing molasses over here, any substitute you can recommend? Perhaps golden syrup?
Thanks!
Merry Christmas
Hi Lyn,
Two sticks of butter is 8 ounces. I have never substituted molasses but, here is a source I trust: http://www.joyofbaking.com/IngredientSubstitution.html
Hi Lisa – I’m just starting making my way through your website, starting with the Beginner’s guide, and found your comment above about sending a reader your recipe for gingerbread that you use for houses… I too would love your recipe if your willing to send to me as well please! Thanks so much for sharing everything… as a new cookier I feel blessed that so many wonderful cookiers have shared so much!! Thank you!
Hi Mary,
Sweetopia has a great gingerbread recipe here:http://sweetopia.net/2010/11/gingerbread-cookie-recipe/
Here is a great video and template she made for us:
http://sweetopia.net/2011/12/video-making-a-gingerbread-house-free-printable-gingerbread-house-template/
Hi Lisa,
Is this recipe sturdy enough for gingerbread houses?
I love your blog!
Hi Catherine,
I don’t think you could build a large gingerbread house with it. Sweetopia has some great videos and recipes for Gingerbread houses. Here is her Royal Icing Recipe: http://sweetopia.net/2011/12/gingerbread-house-royal-icing-video-kitchenaid-7-quart-mixer-giveaway/
Here is the gingerbread recipe:http://sweetopia.net/2010/11/gingerbread-cookie-recipe/
I am making gingerbread cookies this weekend so I will let everyone know how mine holds up. 🙂
I am using salted butter, should I omit the 1/4 tsp salt?
Hi Lynne,
Yes! If you have salted butter you can omit the salt. The peanut butter has salt in it so your recipe should be fine.
Merry Christmas!
Hi just bought the new cookie ebook that comes in November, can’t wait! Checking everything in the blog dreams of making some of this in Thanksgiving, and if you ever in Williamsburg Va come around you will be so welcome here 💕🎃😜✌