Shhhhh… don’t tell anyone, but I have a secret… These are the first gingerbread cookies I’ve ever made. I was searching for the kind where I could make cute little gingerbread men to decorate, because I thought that would be a fun activity to do with the kids. But I stumbled across this recipe instead: Big Soft Gingerbread Cookies from AllRecipes.com. I never thought I’d be a gingerbread cookie fan, but these are AMAZING.
I love choosing recipes where at least a couple hundred people have reviewed it with 5 stars. This one had over 3600 five star reviews! You’ve gotta trust the masses! So I had to give it a try.
I adapted the recipe slightly and made these gingerbread cookies a few nights ago and they were absolutely delicious! It made about 2.5 dozen cookies and they disappeared within 2 days. And I’m not even a cookie fan!
They are moist and soft and perfectly spiced, and even though I didn’t expect myself to become a gingerbread cookie fan, I’m craving them already and as soon as I get the time I’m going to make them again! They really are the best!
Big Soft Ginger Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups All-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon Baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon Salt
- 3/4 cup butter softened
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon Water
- 1/4 cup molasses
- 4 tablespoons white sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix together the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, cream together the butter and 1 cup sugar until light and fluffy.
- Beat in the egg, then stir in the water and molasses.
- Gradually stir the sifted ingredients into the molasses mixture.
- Shape dough into 1" (25mm) sized balls, and roll them in the remaining 4 tablespoons of sugar.
- Place the cookies 2 inches apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes in the preheated oven.
- Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Store in an airtight container.
One Little Project’s review = a BIG 5 stars! Just a word of advice – If you are making these for the first time, be prepared to eat them. A lot of them. You might have to make another batch if you had planned to take them somewhere.
My dough was super sticky… Like, I could not even roll it into balls…. Now, I’m in Florida so I wonder if the humidity had something to do with it… They’re in the oven now so we’ll see! Merry Christmas!
To those having the dough turn out a bit too soft to roll, just add more flour until it reaches a decent consistency, I think I wound up adding close to an extra half cup!
These are SERIOUSLY the best cookies ever!!! Baked them last Christmas, and OMG, couldn’t stop eating them! Gonna bake them again this year!
Can these be frozen after making? Thanks.
My dough was good, I added less sugar bc I don’t like overly sweet cookies. Then I added tbsp of vanilla instead of water but next time I will do both. They baked up thicker than shown but really tasty. I will also add more ginger as these didn’t have a lot of kick. I used Organic Molases from Sprouts, great consistency. I also used a small ice scream scooper, a little sticky but still worked. What a fun and easy recipe…will be making more soon! Can anyone comment and tell me if this is a recipe where caution is needed not to overstir, wonder if that’s why they came out more cakes than chewy flat cookies? I’m not a baker so not sure…HELP?
Took these to an office Christmas party and people could not stop eating them and commenting on how good they were. Definitely a keeper recipe!
Aren’t they delicious?! I’m so glad you all enjoyed them, Marlyn.
I’ve been making these every Christmas for the last 4 years and they are always a hit and a favorite! I always do a double batch to have enough! I should have left a review years ago, thanks for a great recipe!
That’s so nice to hear, Hannah! I’m so glad you’ve been enjoying them. 🙂