Easy gingerbread cookies that do not spread when baked is like a dream come true. These gingerbread cookies are perfect for Holiday cookie decoration. These cookies are crispy and will stay put to have the perfect shape to decorate.
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the holiday season! Time to get your cookie decoration on! Believe it or not, this wasn’t a tradition I grew up with but I sure made it one as soon as I moved to the united states.
There is something extra special about being in the cold weather, sipping on some hot chocolate, and decorating some gingerbread cookies. It’s calming and it also lets your creative side shine.
This is the best easy no spread crispy gingerbread cookie recipe ever!
Yes! This gingerbread cookie recipe is one of my favorite. It is not soft though so if you are looking for soft cookies, this might not be the recipe for you. This is a crispy cookie recipe that doesn’t spread. Once you ice these cookie though, the cookie base will absorb some of the moisture from that icing and slightly soften.
I love these cookies because they have a balance of spices and stay put whenever you place them in the oven . This way I know before they come out of the oven how they will really look like.
What does gingerbread taste like?
Gingerbread cutout cookies have a typical holiday-esque flavor. The main flavor profile comes from the molasses, then you get the flavor of the spices (cinnamon, ginger, allspice). After I made my Ginger molasses cookies recipe I found that the flavor is very similar to that with a way different texture.
Where did gingerbread men originate from?
This is a tough question because there are many articles saying different things but according to Carole Levin, the director of the medieval studies program at the University of Nebrasa-Lincoln, queen elizabeth I would serve royal gingerbread men to represent foreign dignitaries.
I can’t imagine how beautiful those must have been but as of right now, we do it to enjoy our time with our families and have a good time instead of trying to make the most beautiful masterpiece.
Here are some more holiday recipes you will love!
- 27 Easy No Bake Christmas Treats to Make with Kids
- Healthy Christmas Reindeer Peanut Butter Balls with Rice Krispies
- Festive Marbled Christmas Sugar cookie recipe
Ingredients for gingerbread cookies
Here are the ingredients you need to make your gingerbread cutout cookies too:
- Butter– You will need some softened butter for this recipe.
- Brown sugar and granulated sugar– You will need both sugars
- Vanilla extract– A little vanilla to elevate the flavors.
- Egg– The egg is used to find evrything together.
- Molasses– You will need unsuphured molasses to make these gingerbread men cookies
- Flour– All purpose flour works great.
- Spices– Cinnamon, ginger, and all spice are all used to give the spicy flavor in these cookies.
- Salt– A little spirnkle of salt to balance out the sweetness.
How to make easy gingerbread cookies?
- Start by preheating the oven to 375F then line a large baking sheet with parchment paper then set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix the butter, the brown sugar, and the granulated sugar just until it’s incorporated. Don’t cream the mixture for this recipe. Add in the egg, the vanilla, and molasses, and mix just until incorporated again. Add in the flour, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and salt and mix just until the flour disappears.
- Pour the cookie dough onto your work surface don’t worry if it’s crumbly, just press it together with your hands.) Roll the dough with a rolling pin to about ¼″ thickness. Using your cookie cutter, cut the cookie shapes that you want. Place on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 9 minutes.
- Let the cookies cool completely before you can decorate them with royal icing and enjoy!
How to decorate easy gingerbread cookies
Here are some ideas on how you can decorate your gingerbread cookies at home and have fun doing it!
Christmas tree cookie decoration ideas
Star cookie decoration ideas
Gingerbread house cookie decoration ideas
Gingerbread men cookie decoration ideas
I hope these gingerbread cookie decoration ideas were helpful and give you some inspiration to get creative next time you make cutout cookies. With these ideas you can decorate gingerbread cutout cookies but you can also decorate sugar cookies this way, just change the color of the royal icing.
To frost these easy gingerbread cookies use royal icing!
No spread easy gingerbread men cookies
If you tried and enjoyed this recipe, make sure to give it a 5 star rating by clicking on the 5 stars under the description.
No spread gingerbread men cookies (no chill)
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter softened
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg at room temperature.
- ⅓ cup molasses
- 3 cup all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 teaspoon ginger
- ½ teaspoon all spice
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Start by preheating the oven to 375F then line a large baking sheet with parchment paper then set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix the butter, the brown sugar, and the granulated sugar just until it's incorporated. Don't cream the mixture for this recipe. Add in the egg, the vanilla, and molasses, and mix just until incorporated again. Add in the flour, cinnamon, ginger, all spice, and salt and mix just until the flour disappears.
- Pour the cookie dough onto your work surface don't worry if it's crumbly, just press it together with your hands.) Roll the dough with a rolling pin to about ¼" thickness. Using your cookie cutter, cut the cookie shapes that you want. Place on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 9 minutes.
- Let the cookies cool completely before you can decorate them with royal icing and enjoy!
Nutrition
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Kris
This recipe worked perfectly, even with substituting for gluten free flour (I used a one to one mix and measured cups by weight, no other alterations to accommodate). Absolutely perfect, I added some orange zest because it’s my fave in gingerbread cookies.
Chahinez
Thank you so much for sharing!
Kellie
Hi! Do you recommend salted or unsalted butter?
Chahinez
You can use either!
Becca
These cookies turned out perfect!! No spreading.. and great flavor! Going into my tried and true board.. thanks!!
Kendra omalley
Can the dough be made in advanced and baked later?
Chahinez
If you make the dough in advance you will have to shape and cut it in advance as well. Because it is a no-spread cookie recipe the dough is pretty dry so by keeping it unrolled and uncut it will be harder to work with.
Serena
These were excellent! Perfect measurements to not spread and give a lovely flavor. Paired with a spiced orange royal icing and I’m thrilled with the results
Chahinez
Thank you so much for sharing!
jasmine haney
Looking to make these over the weekend so my preschoolers can make ginger bread houses, I need to make 8 so that would be two walls, two roofs and two fronts as well as two ginger bread people each… they would be on the more medium smaller sized ginger bread houses… should tripling this recipe be okay? hope to hear back!!
Chahinez
So sorry I didn’t get back to you in time but that should work! Hope you were able to give it a try!
Audrey
Made these cookies for my eggnog ginger tiramisu. They are SO good! Thank you for sharing xx
Chahinez
Yum! What a perfect pairing! You’re welcome Audrey.
Christine
Turned out yummy, but it was hard keeping the dough together. How do I prevent cracking/crumble when roll pinning it?
Chahinez
So glad to hear that! You can pack it with your hands on parchment paper and gently flatten it with the palm of your hand before rolling it.
Amanda Roberts
This recipe is perfect! No other recipe for gingerbread cookies should even exist! The balance of spices is spot on. I rolled them thick and baked for 9 minutes. They stayed the perfect texture for 2 whole weeks!
Megan
Would these keep frozen for a week or so? Would love to be able to make them in advance and just pull them out to decorate!
Chahinez
Absolutely!
Christine
Making these for a cookie exchange. How long can they be kept before being spoiled? Planning on making them a week a head of the exchange. Cheers
Chahinez
That would be great just make sure to store them in an airtight container.
DeAnna Leigh Laramie
What is your experience freezing these?
Chahinez
You can freeze these for up to 3 months in an airtight container and thaw them in the fridge whenever you are ready to enjoy them!
J
Loved the ease of this recipe and was craving ginger bread cookies so bad, but it just didn’t turn out good for me.
Chahinez
I’m so sorry to hear that! Could you tell me more so I can try to help you fix this issue.
Nan
Would this recipe be sturdy enough for a big gingerbread house?
Chahinez
Absolutley!
Anna
Thank you so much for this recipe, it’s brilliant! You had me at “No spread, no chill” & it’s the first recipe I’ve made that didn’t spread….not one bit! I’ve made this twice now -the first time I used golden syrup, the second time treacle, both were beautiful but the ones with treacle had a beautiful darker colour. Definitely a keeper – thank you 🙂
Chahinez
I am so happy to hear these delivered!! They don’t spread one bit like you said and are perfect for decorating! Enjoy them Anna!
Lindsey
I wanted to make this recipe but I was sad to see the recipe called for “one stick” of butter. I’m not exactly sure how many tbsp that is.
Chahinez
Hi there! It’s 1/2 cup or 8 tablespoons!
Chahinez
Sharon M
We made these last night and they did not disappoint! It was a simple recipe and even tasted great! Thanks for a great recipe we will be using for future holidays to come. Merry Christmas! 🎅 🎄
Chahinez
Merry Christmas Sharon! So glad to hear it turned out well!
Alysda
This recipe was perfect! I made a ginger bread house with the dough and they did not spread at all! They also tasted amazing, will for sure make again next year!
Chahinez
So glad to hear you enjoyed these cookies!
Chahinez
Hua
Just made these cookies! Love that they don’t spread! I found them to be less spicy then imagined even though I doubled the amount of fresh ginger and cinnamon in one batch of dough~going to ice them tomorrow! Thanks for the great recipe, for those who like spicy gingerbread cookies I recommend at least doubling the ginger
Chahinez
Glad you enjoyed them and yes for a way more spicy gingerbread you can add more ginger 🙂
Chahinez
Jeanne
Fast and delicious! You weren’t kidding about “no spread”. Those little fellas didn’t budge! Merry Christmas 🎄
Chahinez
hahaha right! No budge cookies over here. So happy you liked them 🙂
chahinez
Meredith
Wow!! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! So easy and they really didn’t spread AT ALL! They also taste delicious! So glad I found your recipe as I decided last minute to make mini gingerbread men for a cake decoration instead of using fondant. Great choice!
Chahinez
Thank you so much for sharing! Happy holidays!
Robyn
This is the only Pinterest recipe I’ve used all day that turned out as advertised! Thank you, thank you, thank you! I rolled out the dough between two pieces of parchment paper. I think since they don’t spread (they really don’t!), with a little planning you could cut them out on the paper, peel away the extra & transfer the whole paper to your tray! I had less than a walnut-size piece of dough left. My house smells wonderful!
Chahinez
I am so happy that this was one of those recipes that turned out for you friend :)! Cutting them on a piece of parchment paper and transferring them to a baking sheet directly is genius! Thank you so much for sharing!
Chahinez
Channon
Was looking for a no spread cookie for my Ramadan cookie cutters. This recipe was perfect! I added some orange zest and replaced thee molasses with half honey half maple syrup (since I don’t have molasses). The color is a bit lighter but the cookies are good and best of all didn’t spread at all! Thanks
Chahinez
love that!! happy Ramadan to you as well. I’m fasting right now and the way you made your cookie is so drool-worthy! I might try it for us as well!
Have a great weekend.
Charlotte Stamp
I needed a gingerbread cookie recipe that was easy, quick, and no chill ( I had limited time). Let me include I’m not a fan of rolled cookies. These were really easy, baked beautifully, and we’re tasty. Highly recommend.
Chahinez
I am so happy that these worked great for you 🙂
Chahinez
Pamela
I attempted these just last week and doubled the recipe ! They were absolutely delicious, so soft and enjoyable even without the icing !! Also so easy to make without having to chill them in the fridge !
Chahinez
So happy to hear that, Pamela!
Chahinez