These snowflake gingerbread cookies have the perfect amount of spice, make them as soft or crunchy as you like and are topped off with a delicious and easy royal icing.
Perfect as Christmas cookies and using a snowflake cookie cutter it makes it keeps it simple.
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What makes this recipe so yummy
- Who doesn't love gingerbread spices in the fall and winter. Those amazing holiday season spices are perfection.
- You can change up the shape of the cookie by changing the cookie cutter (e.g. Christmas Tree or keep the traditional gingerbread men). Keeping a gingerbread snowflake though keeps it simple with only one color of icing needed to look beautiful.
Groceries you'll need: Ingredients
- Unsalted Butter
- Light Brown Sugar
- Molasses
- Egg
- Vanilla Extract
- All Purpose Flour
- Baking Soda
- Salt
- Ground Ginger
- Ground Cinnamon
- Allspice
- Ground Cloves
- Powdered Sugar
- Light Corn Syrup
- Water
See recipe card at the bottom of this post for quantities.
Recipe walkthrough: Instructions
This is an overview of the recipe steps. For more detailed instructions visit the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Step 1: Add the softened butter to the bowl of your stand mixer, along with the brown sugar and beat for a few minutes, with the paddle attachment, until nice and fluffy.
- Step 2: Add the molasses while on low speed, then the egg and vanilla.
- Step 3: Once completely combined turn off the mixer. The molasses mixture may look a bit separated but that is ok. It should look like that.
- Step 4: In a large mixing bowl add the flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, allspice and cloves. Mix with a whisk.
- Step 5: Turn the mixer back on and add the dry ingredients ½ cup at a time to the molasses mixture until all the flour has been incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and make sure it's all mixed in.
- Step 6: Spoon the mixture in 3 even sections, onto 3 separate pieces of plastic wrap. Form a flat disc and wrap completely. Place these discs in the refrigerator for 4 hours.
- Step 7: Remove one disc and turn out onto a floured surface. Flour a rolling pin too and carefully and evenly roll out to about ¼" thick.
- Step 8: Cut out gingerbread snowflakes with snowflake cookie cutters and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, 1" apart.
- Step 9: Bake cookies in the oven for 10 minutes.
- Step 10: Remove and allow to cool a few minutes then move to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Step 11: Repeat with the remaining gingerbread cookie dough.
- Step 12: Once all the cookies have baked and cooled completely add the royal icing ingredients to a large mixing bowl and beat with a hand mixer (or wash your stand mixer and use that again).
- Step 13: Add the royal icing to a piping bag fitted with a small piping tip (#1). Decorate the cookies like snowflakes. Allow to dry/harden before trying to stack/store.
Hint: 10 minutes baking time will give you soft gingerbread cookies. If you bake them longer the crunchier they will become. Depends how crunchy you like your gingerbread cookies to be.
Recipe variations and substitute ideas
- Egg Whites - adding egg whites and lemon juice to royal icing is the traditional way to make it.
- Meringue Powder - add to the royal icing to help stiffen.
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Necessary gear: Equipment
The following are affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
I love my stand mixer for making all these cookie recipes but if you don't have one and would rather use a hand mixer it's fine.
I have some affiliate links for equipment I used in the recipe card below.
More Christmas cookies I think you'll love
- Starbucks Snowman Cookie Recipe
- Grinch Cookies with Cake Mix
- Stacked Christmas Tree Cookies
- Christmas Oreo Cookies
- Stacked Christmas Tree Cookies
- Snowflake Cookies
- White Chocolate Raspberry Cookies
- Cranberry Orange Almond Shortbread Cookies
- Christmas Tree Dip
See this list of Santa's Favorite Cookies. Or check out these Reindeer Cupcakes.
How to store cookies
Once the royal icing has dried/hardened these cookies can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
The gingerbread cookies themselves can be frozen. I would decorate them after you freeze them though.
Mel's kitchen notes
To get the perfect royal icing the icing should drizzle back into the bowl on top of itself and hold its shape for at least 5 seconds before melting into the rest. If you find it is too runny, add more sugar. If you find it too stiff add a little water.
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Snowflake Gingerbread Cookies
Ingredients
Gingerbread Snowflakes
- 10 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter softened
- ¾ Cup Light Brown Sugar
- ⅔ Cup Unsulfered Molasses
- 1 Each Large Egg
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 3-½ Cups All Purpose Flour
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- ½ teaspoon Sea Salt
- 1 Tablespoon Ground Ginger
- 1 Tablespoon Ground Cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon Ground Allspice
- ½ teaspoon Ground Cloves
Royal Icing
- 3 Cups Powdered Sugar
- ½ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 2 teaspoons Light Corn Syrup
- 5 Tablespoons Water
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
Instructions
- Add the softened butter to the bowl of a stand mixer, along with the brown sugar. Beat for a few minutes until nice and fluffy.10 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter, ¾ Cup Light Brown Sugar
- Add the molasses, egg and vanilla and beat again until well incorporated. It will look separated, but it's fine.⅔ Cup Unsulfered Molasses, 1 Each Large Egg, 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- In a large mixing bowl add the flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, allspice and cloves. Mix with a whisk.3-½ Cups All Purpose Flour, 1 teaspoon Baking Soda, ½ teaspoon Sea Salt, 1 Tablespoon Ground Ginger, 1 Tablespoon Ground Cinnamon, ½ teaspoon Ground Allspice, ½ teaspoon Ground Cloves
- With the stand mixer on low add the flour mixture to the molasses mixture a ½ cup at a time until it's all mixed and well incorporated.
- Separate the mixture into three sections. Lay out plastic wrap and spoon the cookie dough out, then wrap with the plastic wrap and form a thin disc. Do this to all three sections of the dough.
- Place in the refrigerator and allow to cool for about 4 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Take one of the discs out of the refrigerator and empty out onto a well floured surface. With a floured rolling pin roll out the dough to about ¼" thick.
- Using a snowflake cookie cutter cut out shapes and lay on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet, 1" apart.
- Bake in the oven for 10 minutes.
- Remove and allow to cool a minute or so then using a spatula move to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Repeat with the remaining cookie dough.
- Once all the gingerbread cookies are baked and cooled completely make the royal icing.
- Empty the powdered sugar into a large mixing bowl, with the other ingredients and mix on medium speed until the perfect royal icing consistency has been met. This is when you allow the icing to drizzle into the bowl on top of the other icing and it holds its shape for 5 seconds before melting into the icing.3 Cups Powdered Sugar, ½ teaspoon Vanilla Extract, 2 teaspoons Light Corn Syrup, 5 Tablespoons Water, ¼ teaspoon Salt
- Decorate the cookies.
Notes
Nutrition
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You should also see my recipe for a Giant Valentines Cookie - it's awesome.
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