Soft Frosted Gingerbread Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting

A close up of a gingerbread cookie frosted with cream cheese frosting and a small gingerbread house decoration.

5 from 1 vote

Soft Frosted Gingerbread Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting

Get into the Christmas spirit with frosted gingerbread cookies! Soft and chewy molasses cookies topped with cream cheese frosting.

Prep Time10

Cook Time10

Chill Time1

Total Time1 20

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Diet: Vegetarian

Servings: cookies

Calories: 229kcal

Author: Ella Gilbert

Equipment

Stand Mixer
Hand Mixer
Bowls
Kitchen Scale
Cookie Sheets
Measuring Spoons
Rubber Spatula
Piping Bag
Large Round Piping Tip
Medium Cookie Scoop

Ingredients

Gingerbread Cookies

2 ¼ cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground allspice
½ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1 ½ sticks unsalted butter room temperature
1 cup light brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 large egg room temperature
¼ cup unsulphured molasses or treacle
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
½ cup white sugar for rolling

Cream Cheese Frosting

3 oz full fat cream cheese Cold
¼ cup unsalted butter Room Temperature
2 ½ cups confectioners' sugar
pinch kosher salt
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Cookies

In a large bowl, whisk together all of the dry ingredients - the flour, baking soda, spices and salt. Set aside.
2 ¼ cups all purpose flour, 2 teaspoons baking soda, 2 teaspoons ground ginger, ¼ teaspoon ground allspice, ½ teaspoon ground cloves, ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg, 1 ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon kosher salt
In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, cream the butter and light brown sugar together until light and fluffy. This will take 1-2 minutes.
1 ½ sticks unsalted butter, 1 cup light brown sugar
Add the molasses, egg, vanilla extract and apple cider vinegar. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Make sure to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl so all of the batter is combined!
2 teaspoons vanilla extract, 1 large egg, ¼ cup unsulphured molasses, 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on your lowest speed. As soon as there are no more streaks of flour, stop the mixer.
Place the cookie dough in the fridge to chill for at least 1 hour. If you want to leave it any longer (you can leave it overnight!) I recommend covering the top of the bowl with plastic wrap.
Preheat the oven to 375°Fahrenheit/190°Celsius and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Take the cookie dough out of the fridge, it should be quite firm. Scoop out the dough in 1 ½ tablespoon balls. Roll the cookie dough between your palms to form them into perfect cookie dough balls. Roll the cookie dough in the white sugar until completely covered. Repeat with all of the dough.
½ cup white sugar
Place the cookie dough balls on the prepared cookie sheets, making sure they are 3 inches apart. These cookies do spread quite a lot so they need space!
Bake the cookies one sheet at a time for 10-12 minutes. Keep the remaining unbaked cookie dough balls in the fridge so they don't become too warm. The cookies are done when they have cracked on top and the edges are set. The dough in the cracks might look slightly underdone which is what you want, that way you have a soft and chewy cookie!
If the cookies aren't as cracked as you would like, bang the cookie sheet on your counter or stove once or twice, this will create more cracks. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 15 minutes before moving to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

Frosting

In a large bowl with a handheld electric mixer, or in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter and confectioners’ sugar until light and fluffy.
¼ cup unsalted butter, 2 ½ cups confectioners' sugar
Add the cold cream cheese, salt, and vanilla extract and mix until just combined.
3 oz full fat cream cheese, pinch kosher salt, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Frost your cooled cookies and enjoy! I used a large round piping tip in a piping bag, then added sprinkles.

Notes

My recipes have been developed and tested in metric grams. I highly recommend using a weighing scale and measuring out your ingredients the metric way.

Salt: If you don’t have kosher salt, halve the amount of salt called for in the recipe. 1 teaspoon kosher salt = ½ teaspoon fine salt. Please note, I am using Diamond Crystal kosher salt and not coarse salt.

Molasses: Make sure you are using unsulphured dark molasses. You can also use treacle if you don't have molasses.

Storage: keep the baked cookies in a tupperware for up to2 days at room temperature, or in the fridge for up to 5 days. Freeze unfrosted cookies in an airtight container or freezer bag for up to 2 months. Let thaw in the fridge overnight before frosting.

Nutrition