Time to brush up on your decorating skills because it’s the season of gingerbread cookies! Take a bite out of the holidays with our festive gingerbread cookies—soft, chewy with crispy edges and warm spiced flavour!

They're sweet, delicious and adorable. We’re not saying that you have to eat every single one of these cookies, but they are pretty irresistible. Incredibly easy to make and require no chilling! The best kind of holiday cookie! 😋

WHY YOU’LL LOVE THIS RECIPE!

• No-Chilling is required! The dough doesn’t need to be refrigerated at all but you can pop it in the fridge for 10-15 minutes so that cutting out the cookies is easier. You will get great results either way as I have made cookies from both chilled and no-chilled dough.
• This recipe is incredibly easy and so much fun to make!
• For the holidays, there is no better gift than these gingerbread cookies.
• You can make the dough 2-3 days in advance, pop it in the fridge and bake it up fresh when needed.

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INGREDIENTS YOU’LL NEED!

Scroll down to the recipe card for the complete list of ingredients and their exact quantities.

Here’s your ingredients list,

FOR GINGERBREAD COOKIES

• Plain Flour/All-purpose flour: Make sure to measure it correctly. The best way to measure all-purpose flour is by using a digital scale. If you don’t have then spoon the flour into the measuring cup and then scrape a knife across the top of the measuring cup to level the flour.
• Unsalted butter: Make sure to buy unsalted butter because you can control the amount of salt according to the recipe requirement. Butter should be softened to room temperature, which means it should be softened enough so when you press it with little pressure, your finger will leave a dent. 
• Egg: Should be at room temperature. It is used to make the dough soft and helps it to combine.
• Salt: It balances the sweetness and enhances the flavours.
• Light brown sugar: It makes cookies soft and chewy. Don’t replace it with white sugar but you can substitute it with dark brown sugar. That makes the cookies slightly darker.
• Baking Soda: It helps to rise the cookies.
• Treacle or Molasses: It gives a deep rich caramelised flavour and helps the dough to hold its shape.
• Golden Syrup: I love golden syrup in baking. I used both molasses and golden syrup in these cookies. It gives caramelised taste to these cookies and increases their shelf life. It also makes these cookies soft and chewy. Golden syrup is easily available in the UK. Outside the UK, if you can't find it, substitute it with light corn syrup.
• Mix ground Spices: Blend of different ground spices like; ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and clove gives a warm flavour to these cookies.

FOR SIMPLE ICING

• Icing sugar/powdered sugar
• Water
• Golden syrup/Corn syrup: A small amount of golden syrup keeps the icing smooth and shiny. It also provides some elasticity to the icing and prevents the breakage of it when you decorate the cookies. It also softens the bite of the icing once dry. 

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HOW TO MAKE GINGERBREAD COOKIES

STEP 1: Combine light brown sugar, treacle (or molasses), golden syrup, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and clove in a saucepan. Let it melt on medium-low heat, stirring occasionally. When it just starts to boil from the sides of the pan, remove it from the heat and add softened butter cubes. Stir until the butter has melted completely. Stir in the baking soda, the mixture will increase and become foamy. Stir in the egg.

STEP 2: Add the sifted flour in batches and mix using a wooden spoon then knead the dough briefly using your hands until a soft dough is formed (if the dough is too sticky, you can sprinkle little flour on it while kneading). The consistency of the dough should be like play-doh. The dough is ready to make cookies. The dough is very easy to roll out and doesn’t need to be refrigerated at all but you can pop it in the fridge for 10-15 minutes so that cutting out the cookies is easier. Divide the dough into two balls and cover tightly one ball of dough with plastic wrap and pop in the fridge until needed because we bake these cookies in batches.

STEP 3: Preheat the Fan oven to 150C/302F (For a conventional oven: 170C/338F).

STEP 4: place a piece of baking paper on your workplace, lightly dust with flour, place the second ball of dough onto the baking paper, lightly dust with flour and roll out the dough using a rolling pin. The thickness of the dough between two sheets of baking paper or plastic sheets should be 5mm. If you want your cookies more crispy, decrease the thickness of the dough and bake for an extra 1-2 minutes.

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STEP 5: Cut out the cookies using various cookie cutters. Carefully transfer the cutout cookies to a baking sheet lined with baking paper, using a palette knife or spatula (you can dust the spatula with flour for easy transfer of cookies). Place them on the baking sheet about 1/2 inch apart from each other as they will not spread too much in the oven.

STEP 6: Bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes (for regular cookies) or until slightly puffy and edges become slightly darker in colour.

STEP 7: Meanwhile gather the dough scrap and again roll out the dough between two sheets of baking paper or plastic sheets. Cut out more cookies. Repeat the process. You have to bake cookies in batches so you can cut and re-roll as many times as needed until all dough is used.

STEP 8: Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 2-3 minutes then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely before icing. Cookies will be slightly soft straight from the oven but will harden after cooling. If you want your cookies more crispy bake them for extra 1-2 minutes. Baking time depends on the size of the cookies and the thickness of the dough. The time for mini cookies will be 6-8 minutes.

HOW TO MAKE SIMPLE ICING

It is very easy to make and due to golden syrup, it remains smooth and shiny. Golden syrup softens the bite of icing once dry.

1. Sift the icing sugar into a bowl. Add golden syrup and water. Add water gradually, starting with 1 tsp until a thick icing is formed that should drip off from the spoon slowly.
2. Fill a piping bag and slightly snip off the tip of the piping bag. Decorate the cookies as you want. Let the icing dry.

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PRO TIPS TO MAKE THE BEST COOKIES

• Gram measurements are more precise and give the best results.
• Measure your flour accurately. The best way to measure plain flour/all-purpose flour is by using a digital scale. If you don’t have it then lightly spoon the flour into the measuring cup and then scrape a knife across the top of the measuring cup to level the flour. It should not be tightly packed.
• Chilling is not required for the dough but if it’s difficult to cut out the cookies, pop that roll-out dough in the fridge for 10-15 minutes. 
• Roll out the dough between two pieces of baking paper or plastic sheets as you don’t have to dust it with lots of flour.
• Keep the unused dough covered to prevent it from drying out and keep it in the fridge until needed. Slightly flatten the ball of dough and store it in the fridge for up to 3 days. If it’s difficult to roll out, just leave it at room temperature for 15-30 minutes depending upon the temperature of the surroundings.

FAQ

Should I chill the dough?

No, the best part is that the dough doesn’t need to be refrigerated at all but you can pop it in the fridge for 10-15 minutes so that cutting out the cookies is easier. First, roll out the dough between two baking paper sheets and then pop it in the fridge for 10-15 minutes before cutting out the cookies. You will get great results either way as I have made cookies from both chilled and no-chilled dough.

Can I make the dough ahead of time?

Yes, after making the dough ball, flatten it, then tightly wrap it into plastic wrap, and store it in an airtight container. It will last for up to 3 days in the fridge. If it’s difficult to roll out, just leave it at room temperature for 15-30 minutes depending upon the temperature of the surroundings.

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Can I freeze the dough?

Yes, you can. Tightly wrap it with plastic wrap and place it in a zip lock bag or freezer-safe airtight container. It will last for up to one month. Defrost overnight in the fridge and use as directed in the recipe card.

How to store the leftover cookies and icing?

You can store any leftover cookies in an airtight container (separated by baking paper) for up to 4-5 days at room temperature, and up to 10-12 days in the fridge. It will last up to 2 months in the freezer if it is stored in a freezer-safe ziplock bag. First, cool it completely then wrap it in plastic wrap and finally put it in a freezer-safe plastic bag or a container.

For the icing, you can keep it in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3-4 days. It will not crystallise due to the addition of golden syrup.

I hope that you'll try this recipe and you'll love them as much as my family and I do! If you make this recipe then be sure to tag @kaotickrunch on Instagram. We'd love to see your creations!

Happy baking and eating! 😊