These iced gingerbread cookies are loaded with classic gingerbread spice and topped with the best icing for gingerbread cookies. These Frosted gingerbread cookies are always a heat, especially with their gingerbread cookie frosting.
I love gingerbread cookies. I make tons of them throughout the holiday season, but I don't stop there. I've been known to make my frosted gingerbread cookies any time of year, and when you try them, you'll see why.
Frosted Gingerbread Cookies
This was inspired by another frosted gingerbread cookie recipe and gingerbread snowflakes on this site. It's a cupcake recipe featuring delicious frosting. I knew I had to make a cookie version, and I'm so glad I did.
Why You Will Love this Recipe
- It uses simple ingredients that you can find easily.
- It's an easy recipe that comes together in no time.
- The gingerbread cookies and frosting are the perfect combination.
- It's a great holiday treat but you can enjoy it year-round.
- For extra decoration, roll the edges of cooled cookies in festive holiday sprinkles after you've added any icing or glaze decorations to give them an extra special touch!
Top Tip:
For the best gingerbread cookies AND the best icing for gingerbread cookies, be sure your butter and cream cheese are both fully softened.
Ingredients
You'll only need basic baking ingredients for this recipe. You'll find most of them in your kitchen right now.
The main ingredients are listed here, but you'll find the complete list along with amounts in the recipe card at the end of the post.
- Butter - not margarine
- Granulated sugar
- Brown sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Molasses - I used Grandma’s, but any brand is fine
- Ground cinnamon
- Ground ginger
- Ground cloves
- Cream cheese
- Butter
- Powdered sugar
Substitutions and Variations
- Butter - Do not margarine
- Molasses -You can use honey instead, but remember flavor will be affected.
- All-purpose flour - Use gluten-free flour instead.
- Sprinkles or Sparkles - Optional
- Swap Flavor - Skip cinnamon, ginger, and cloves and use pumpkin pie spice instead.
- Make them Mini - Use a tablespoon scoop to create mini cookies and reduce bake time by almost half.
- White chocolate chips - Add them to the dough for taste and color.
- Go Nuts - Sprinkle your favorite chopped nuts on top of each cookie before baking or add some to your dough for crunch.
- Melted Chocolate - Drizzle melted chocolate over cooled cookies or dip half of each cookie in chocolate and allow to set on parchment paper until set.
- Spice Frosting - Add a ½ teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice to the frosting before decorating your gingerbread cookies. Taste your frosting and see if you prefer more flavor.
Instructions
Both the cookie dough and frosting recipes are very easy to make. You'll have no issues with this recipe at all. The highlights are listed here, but you can find the full instructions in the recipe card at the end of the post.
1: Combine the wet cookie ingredients.
2: Combine the dry ingredients, then mix them with the wet to make the cookie dough.
3: Roll the dough into balls and roll them in sugar. Press flat on a baking sheet and bake.
4: Beat the cream cheese and butter. Then, add powdered sugar and beat again. Add vanilla to complete the best icing for gingerbread cookies.
5: Forost the cookies and enjoy!
Storage
Room Temperature: Store in an air-tight container for up to 5 days.
Refrigerator: Store in an air-tight container for up to a week.
Freezer: Store in an air-tight, freezer-safe container in single layers separated by parchment paper for up to 3 months.
Thaw: Leave the cookies on the counter until they reach room temperature.
What to Serve with Frosted Gingerbread Cookies
- Milk and don't forget to try dunking your cookie in your milk!
- Tea
- Coffee
- Hot Chocolate
- Any cold beverage will work and work well.
Tips
- Press these cookies down a little using a flat-bottomed glass.
- Don’t overmix the dough or you could end up with dense or crumbly cookies.
- Use fresh spices, baking powder, and baking soda for the best results.
- Allow cookies to cool completely before frosting so that they don't become soggy from condensation on top of them while cooling down or your frosting will slide right off each cookie.
- Speed up cooling time by placing the cookies on a wire rack or parchment-lined baking sheet to help them cool faster.
- Using a piping bag with desired tip, pipe frosting onto cooled cookies. If not using a piping bag, put the frosting into a resealable bag and snip off the corner of the bag to pipe out icing onto cookies. Decorate with sprinkles too if desired!
- Try to make cookies all the same size for even baking.
- Use room temperature butter when creaming together wet ingredients to ensure you get cookies with a soft and chewy texture.
FAQ
Absolutely! Feel free to experiment with different spices such as cardamom, allspice, nutmeg, or even anise seed. Just remember that adding too much of any one spice can overpower the other flavors in the cookie. Pumpkin pie spice is a great option to use instead.
Not necessarily. These gingerbread cookies are delicious all on their own! If you choose to add icing, there is a simple cream cheese-based frosting that goes perfectly with this recipe. You can also get creative and experiment with different flavors and decorations too! Sprinkles are always a fun option for any cookie.
Yes! Consider substituting coconut oil for some of the butter used in this recipe and using whole wheat flour instead of all-purpose flour - both will add a little boost of nutrition without sacrificing too much flavor. You could also swap out some of the sugar with a natural sweetener like honey or maple syrup if desired! Finally, you could also try adding some nuts or seeds to the dough for added texture and nutrients.
More Gingerbread Recipes
Do you like gingerbread? Here are some recipes you may also like to try.
Iced Gingerbread Cookies
Ready to get cooking? Remember that you can print this recipe if you would like.
Iced Gingerbread Cookies
Equipment
- Resealable bag if not using piping bag
Ingredients
Cookies:
- ½ cup butter
- ½ cup granulated sugar divided
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup molasses
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Best Icing for Gingerbread Cookies:
- 4 ounces cream cheese
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Sprinkles optional
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 350° and spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray.
- Beat the butter, ¼ cup granulated sugar and brown sugar together in a large bowl. Beat in the egg, vanilla and molasses.
- In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, ginger, baking soda, baking powder, cloves and salt.
- Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients just until combined, but do not over mix the cookies.
- Roll 2 tablespoons of the dough into a ball and roll in the remaining ¼ cup sugar. Place 6 cookies on the cookie sheet and press out into ¼ inch thickness.
- Place in the oven and bake for 9 minutes.
- Let the cookies cool on the cookie sheet for 3 to 4 minutes before removing and placing on a cooling rack.
- Repeat until all the cookies have been baked.
Best Icing for Gingerbread Cookies:
- Beat the cream cheese and butter together until fluffy, then sift the powdered sugar into the butter and beat. Add the vanilla and combine.
- When the cookies are completely cooled, pipe the icing in a circle over the cookies or use a resealable bag with the corner cut off.
- Add some sprinkles to the cookies if you wish.
Notes
- Press these cookies down a little using a flat-bottomed glass.
- Don’t overmix the dough or you could end up with dense or crumbly cookies.
- Use fresh spices, baking powder, and baking soda for the best results.
- Allow cookies to cool completely before frosting so that they don't become soggy from condensation on top of them while cooling down or your frosting will slide right off each cookie.
- Speed up cooling time by placing the cookies on a wire rack or parchment-lined baking sheet to help them cool faster.
- Using a piping bag with desired tip, pipe frosting onto cooled cookies. If not using a piping bag, put the frosting into a resealable bag and snip off the corner of the bag to pipe out icing onto cookies. Decorate with sprinkles too if desired!
- Try to make cookies all the same size for even baking.
- Use room temperature butter when creaming together wet ingredients to ensure you get cookies with a soft and chewy texture.
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
May be frozen up to 3 months.
Nutrition
Tamia says
Thanks for this delicious recipe, I too love gingerbread cookies because of the warm spices. I could eat them all year long. I made these and me and my family loved them!
Karin and Ken says
You just made my day! All the best. Karin