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These easy gingerbread cutout cookies are a dream come true if you’re looking for a cookie that does not spread in the oven. They bake up crisp, hold their shape perfectly, and are ideal for decorating during the holiday season. Whether you’re making gingerbread men, snowflakes, or festive shapes, these cookies stay exactly how you cut them.
If you love decorating cookies with royal icing and want a sturdy cookie base that won’t lose its shape, this recipe is for you.
Why These Gingerbread Cookies Don’t Spread
One of the most common problems with gingerbread cutout cookies is spreading, but this recipe is designed to prevent that. The dough has the right balance of flour, fat, and sugar, which helps it hold its shape while baking. The cookie dough is rolled and baked without over-creaming the butter, which keeps the texture firm instead of airy. Baking the cookies on a parchment-lined baking sheet also helps control spread and ensures even baking in the oven.
Amazing! They truly do not spread. They come out beautifully and taste good.
LEt’s Chit Chat!
The holiday season is the perfect time to slow down and decorate cookies. While gingerbread decorating wasn’t a tradition I grew up with, it quickly became one after moving to the United States. There’s something special about being in cold weather, sipping hot chocolate, and decorating gingerbread cookies with family or friends. It’s calming, creative, and a fun way to make memories, especially if you have children!
Table of Contents
- Why These Gingerbread Cookies Don’t Spread
- What does gingerbread taste like?
- Where did gingerbread men originate from?
- Here are some more holiday recipes you will love!
- Ingredients for gingerbread cookies
- How to make easy gingerbread cookies?
- How to Decorate Gingerbread Cutout Cookies
- Christmas tree cookie decoration ideas
- To frost these easy gingerbread cookies use royal icing!
- Can You Freeze Gingerbread Cookie Dough?
- Frequently Asked Questions about these no spread Gingerbread cookies
- No spread gingerbread men cookies (no chill) Recipe
What does gingerbread taste like?
Gingerbread cutout cookies have a warm, classic holiday flavor. The deep sweetness comes from molasses, while spices like ginger, cinnamon, and allspice create that familiar gingerbread taste. The flavor is similar to ginger molasses cookies, but the texture is very different, these are crisp and structured instead of soft and chewy.
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 bind everything together.
- Molasses– You will need unsulphured 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 sprinkle of salt to balance out the sweetness.
How to make easy gingerbread cookies?
- Preheat the oven to 375°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, mix the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar just until combined. Do not cream.
- Add the egg, vanilla extract, and molasses and mix until incorporated.
- Add flour, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and salt. Mix just until the flour disappears.
- Roll dough to ¼-inch thickness on a lightly floured counter.
- Cut shapes and place on prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 9 minutes. Cool completely before decorating with royal icing.
How to Decorate Gingerbread Cutout Cookies
These cookies are perfect for decorating because they hold their shape so well. Use royal icing for clean lines and sturdy designs. You can decorate gingerbread men, snowflakes, Christmas trees, or houses. This decorating method also works for sugar cookies, just adjust the icing colors.
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!
Can You Freeze Gingerbread Cookie Dough?
Yes! This gingerbread cookie dough freezes very well. You can freeze the dough tightly wrapped for up to 2 months. When ready to use, thaw it in the fridge overnight, then roll, cut, and bake as directed. You can also freeze the baked cookies before decorating and frost them later with royal icing.
Frequently Asked Questions about these no spread Gingerbread cookies
Gingerbread cookies usually spread when the butter is over-creamed without the right amount of dry ingredients or the dough is too warm. This recipe avoids that by mixing the butter just until combined and using the right balance of flour, sugar, and molasses, which helps the cookies hold their shape in the oven.
No chilling is required for this recipe. The dough is designed to roll out easily at room temperature and bake without spreading, which makes it great for quick holiday baking.
These gingerbread cutout cookies are meant to be crisp and sturdy, not soft and chewy. Once decorated with royal icing, the cookies soften slightly while still holding their shape, making them perfect for decorating.
Yes, gingerbread cookie dough freezes very well. Wrap it tightly and freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight, then roll, cut, and bake as directed.
Absolutely. You can freeze the baked cookies (undecorated) in an airtight container for up to 2 months. Decorate with royal icing after thawing.
Royal icing is the best option for decorating gingerbread cutout cookies. It dries firm, holds detail well, and works perfectly for piping designs on gingerbread men, snowflakes, and other shapes.
Yes! Because the cookies don’t spread and are sturdy once baked, they’re great for decorating with kids. The shapes stay intact, and the cookies are easy to handle.
Yes. You can make the dough, bake the cookies, or freeze them in advance. This makes them ideal for holiday season baking and planning ahead.
Yes. This dough works well with gingerbread men, snowflakes, Christmas trees, and other detailed cutters because it holds sharp edges and doesn’t spread.
No spread gingerbread men cookies (no chill)
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 large egg at room temperature.
- 1/3 cup molasses
- 3 cup all purpose flour
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 2 tsp ginger
- 1/2 tsp all spice
- 1/2 tsp 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 1/4" 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
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I see the metric recipe calls for 384 tbsp of all purpose flour… this can’t be right? Is it perhaps grams you’re referring to? Please help a girl out and clarify – I’m desperate to try these as the reviews on the no spread factor are great
HI! Sorry about that typo, it has been fixed 🙂
Loved the ease of this recipe and was craving ginger bread cookies so bad, but it just didn’t turn out good for me.
I’m so sorry to hear that! Could you tell me more so I can try to help you fix this issue.
Would this recipe be sturdy enough for a big gingerbread house?
Absolutley!
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 🙂
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!
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.
Hi there! It’s 1/2 cup or 8 tablespoons!
Chahinez
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! 🎅 🎄
Merry Christmas Sharon! So glad to hear it turned out well!
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!
So glad to hear you enjoyed these cookies!
Chahinez
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
Glad you enjoyed them and yes for a way more spicy gingerbread you can add more ginger 🙂
Chahinez
Fast and delicious! You weren’t kidding about “no spread”. Those little fellas didn’t budge! Merry Christmas 🎄
hahaha right! No budge cookies over here. So happy you liked them 🙂
chahinez
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!
Thank you so much for sharing! Happy holidays!
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!
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
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
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.
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.
I am so happy that these worked great for you 🙂
Chahinez
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 !
So happy to hear that, Pamela!
Chahinez