Reinvent Your Holiday Baking with These Gingerbread Cookie Recipes (2024)

Reinvent Your Holiday Baking with These Gingerbread Cookie Recipes (1)

Sure, there are tons of different Christmas cookies you can make during the holiday season. There are all those sugar cookies to start, plus lingers, meringues, and more. But there's only one flavor of cookie that absolutely has to be on the dessert table each season: Gingerbread.

All too often, though, the gingerbread cookies are uninspired. It's the same plain dough, the same little-man cookie cutter, and the same white frosting over and over. This year, why not shake things up? We've put together more than three dozen of our favorite gingerbread and ginger-based cookie recipes from our site and around the web to help you whip up a new, more exciting gingerbread cookie. And any one of these is good enough to not only wow the family, but to become the go-to recipe for years to come.

Yes, there are classic gingerbread cookies on this list, but there are plenty of new gingerbread recipes featuring innovative flavors that you absolutely must try this year. The gingerbread Linzer cookies with dulce de leche centers, gingerbread cookie bars with white chocolate chips, and Nutella stuffed gingerbread cookies are some of the most incredible options on this roundup. There are also quite a few recipes featuring chocolate that everyone in your family will love—and probably polish right off. Some of our absolute favorites are the white chocolate gingerbread star cookies, chocolate chip gingerbread oatmeal cookies, and soft chocolate gingerbread cookies. Everyone will be feeling the holiday cheer when you're baking up batches of these beloved Christmas desserts.

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1

Christmas Light Gingerbread Cookies

Reinvent Your Holiday Baking with These Gingerbread Cookie Recipes (3)

Arrange these sweet treats in a circle on a platter and they become a perfect centerpiece wreath!

Get the recipe.

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2

Hang-the-Stockings Gingerbread Cookies

Reinvent Your Holiday Baking with These Gingerbread Cookie Recipes (5)

These iced gingerbread cookies — spiced with ginger, cinnamon, allspice, and molasses — are not only delicious, but do double duty as shimmering ornaments.

Get the recipe.

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3

Gingerbread Oatmeal Cream Pie

Reinvent Your Holiday Baking with These Gingerbread Cookie Recipes (7)

There is only one word for this gingerbread cookie and oatmeal cream pie hybrid: Yes.

Get the recipe at Ambitious Kitchen.

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4

Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies

Reinvent Your Holiday Baking with These Gingerbread Cookie Recipes (9)

It's a no-brainer that these chocolatey gingerbread cookies are a must-bake.

Get the recipe at Baker by Nature.

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6

Gingerbread Millionaire Bars

Reinvent Your Holiday Baking with These Gingerbread Cookie Recipes (13)

Who knew millionaire bars could get any better? Ginger adds a whole new flavor that works perfectly in this dessert.

Get the recipe at Broma Bakery.

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7

Chocolate Gingerbread Sandwich Cookies

Reinvent Your Holiday Baking with These Gingerbread Cookie Recipes (15)

Thick chocolate ganache is sandwiched between two gingerbread cookies.

Get the recipe at Sally's Baking Addiction.

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8

Frosted Gingerbread Cookies

Reinvent Your Holiday Baking with These Gingerbread Cookie Recipes (17)

Have your kids help out decorating these soft, chewy cookies. They'll especially love the tiny gingerbread men sprinkles.

Get the recipe at Baker by Nature.

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9

Gingerbread Cookies

Reinvent Your Holiday Baking with These Gingerbread Cookie Recipes (19)

There's nothing like the classic version. This blogger writes that her recipe produces cookies that are crispy on the outside and soft in the inside, which is exactly how we like them.

Get the recipe at Sally's Baking Addiction.

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10

White Chocolate Gingerbread Star Cookies

Reinvent Your Holiday Baking with These Gingerbread Cookie Recipes (21)

White chocolate adds a sweet note to the spiced flavors in this treat. Feel free to add as much or as little as you'd like.

Get the recipe at Cooking Classy.

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11

Gingerbread Linzer Cookies With Dulce de Leche Centers

Reinvent Your Holiday Baking with These Gingerbread Cookie Recipes (23)

A homemade dulce de leche filling makes this dessert downright decadent. Each cookie is just oozing with ooey, gooey goodness.

Get the recipe at Broma Bakery.

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12

Soft Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies

Reinvent Your Holiday Baking with These Gingerbread Cookie Recipes (25)

Chocoholics will polish off a plate of these goodies in no time. The recipe is made with cocoa powder and each cookie is adorned with a chocolate star.

Get the recipe at SugarHero!.

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13

Gingerbread Cookies

Reinvent Your Holiday Baking with These Gingerbread Cookie Recipes (27)

This classic, no-fail recipe will make perfect gingerbread cookies every single time.

Get the recipe at Gimme Some Oven.

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14

Chewy Gingerbread Cookies

Reinvent Your Holiday Baking with These Gingerbread Cookie Recipes (29)

These addicting goodies have a secret savory ingredient: black pepper!

Get the recipe at Wholefully.

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15

Gingerbread Cookie Bars with White Chocolate Chips

Reinvent Your Holiday Baking with These Gingerbread Cookie Recipes (31)

These blondie-like bars only take 30 minutes to make.

Get the recipe at Celebrating Sweets.

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16

Favorite Gingerbread Cookie Recipe

Reinvent Your Holiday Baking with These Gingerbread Cookie Recipes (33)

A healthier holiday dessert that doesn't lack flavor? We'll be making these all December long.

Get the recipe at Kristine's Kitchen.

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17

Gingerbread Thumbprint Cookies

Reinvent Your Holiday Baking with These Gingerbread Cookie Recipes (35)

Baking thumbprint cookies is a must at Christmastime—especially when they're filled with spiced white chocolate.

Get the recipe at Swanky Recipes.

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18

Brown Butter Gingerbread Men

Reinvent Your Holiday Baking with These Gingerbread Cookie Recipes (37)

Kids will have a blast in the kitchen decorating these colorful edible characters.

Get the recipe at Baker by Nature.

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19

Nutella Stuffed Gingerbread Cookies

Reinvent Your Holiday Baking with These Gingerbread Cookie Recipes (39)

Nothing makes a dessert melt in your mouth quite like a spoonful of Nutella in the middle.

Get the recipe at The Food Charlatan.

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20

Soft Gingerbread Cookies

Reinvent Your Holiday Baking with These Gingerbread Cookie Recipes (41)

Use a variety of cookie cutters and decorations to customize this recipe to your family's festive likings.

Get the recipe at Bless This Mess.

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Reinvent Your Holiday Baking with These Gingerbread Cookie Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What is the number 1 Christmas cookie? ›

Peanut Butter Blossoms are America's favorite Christmas cookie, based both on total number of pageviews from the U.S. population as a whole, and number of states that ranked it as their top cookie (which is six, by the way).

What is the main ingredient in gingerbread cookies trivia? ›

Expert-Verified Answer

The main ingredient in gingerbread cookies are flour, ginger or molasses, honey, cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, and sweetened with sugar. Although it was first brought to Europe in 992 AD by an Armenian monk named Gregory of Nicopolis, gingerbread in Europe really comes from Torun, Poland.

What do gingerbread cookies have to do with Christmas? ›

Gingerbread was brought to Europe in 992 by an Armenian monk. Through the 17th century, gingerbread was used for religious ceremonies. In the late 17th century, gingerbread became associated with Christmas. Russian bakers prepared gingerbread men and women, usually as replicas of those people attending parties.

Why do my gingerbread men spread? ›

If there isn't enough flour to hold that melted fat, the cookies will over-spread. Spoon and level that flour or, better yet, weigh your flour. If your cookies are still spreading, add an extra 2 Tablespoons of flour to the cookie dough. Don't overmix the cookie dough ingredients.

What is the #1 cookie in the United States? ›

The chocolate chip cookie is far and away America's favorite cookie This should come as no surprise to anyone who enjoys the tasty treat. More than 53% of American adults prefer the cookies over the next most popular kind, peanut butter.

What is the most popular Christmas cookie in the US? ›

Among those who can make a single choice, frosted sugar cookies lead the list (32%), with gingerbread (12%) and chocolate chip (11%) rounding out the top three. Snickerdoodles (6%) come in fourth place, followed by butter (4%), peanut butter (4%), and chocolate (4%) tying for fifth.

What country is known for gingerbread cookies? ›

In Germany, gingerbread cookies called lebkuchen were heart-shaped and decorated with romantic messages. The city of Nuremberg became known as the "gingerbread capital of the world" in the 1600s, with master bakers creating elaborate works of art.

What are the three types of gingerbread? ›

The three distinct types of gingerbread are brown gingerbread, wafer-based gingerbread and honey gingerbread.
  • BROWN GINGERBREAD.
  • WAFER GINGERBREAD.
  • HONEY GINGERBREAD.

What country is gingerbread from? ›

Food historians trace the origins of gingerbread back to the ancient Egyptians, who used it for ceremonial purposes. The ancient Greeks followed suit with the first known recipe for gingerbread around 2400 B.C.

Why do people love gingerbread cookies? ›

Gingerbread cookies are well loved for their taste and texture, especially with their intoxicating mix of spices and chewy textures. The habit of eating gingerbread cookies during Christmas soon became a staple as many saw them as unique gifts.

What are some fun facts about gingerbread? ›

5 Things You Might Not Know About Gingerbread
  • Originally gingerbread was made with honey and breadcrumbs. ...
  • Queen Elizabeth once served her guests miniature gingerbread versions of themselves. ...
  • Children could learn the alphabet using gingerbread letters. ...
  • Queen Victoria enjoyed sharing gingerbread with her dog.

Are gingerbread cookies a Christmas thing? ›

From festively shaped biscuits to extravagantly decorated gingerbread houses, gingerbread has become a culinary staple of Christmas.

What happens if a gingerbread man gets wet? ›

Haugh's Kindergarten students worked like scientists to predict what would happen if the Gingerbread Man did get wet, then conducted an experiment and reached conclusions based on their results. They learned that cookies get soggy in water and fall apart!

How long will gingerbread cookies stay fresh? ›

If you like, decorate as desired with royal icing, and dry completely before storage (this can take 12-24 hours depending on thickness of design, ambient humidity, and air flow). With or without frosting, the gingerbread cookies will last up to 3 weeks at cool room temperature in an airtight container.

How long will homemade gingerbread keep? ›

It will stay fresh at room temperature for up to five days and you can freeze it too, so you can make it ahead of time. Preheat oven to 180°C / 160°C fan-forced. Line two baking trays with baking paper. Once cooled, decorate your gingerbread with icing, lollies and Christmas decorations.

What is the most popular cookie in December? ›

What are the most popular Christmas cookies? Our survey found frosted sugar cookies and chocolate chip cookies to be the most popular Christmas cookies in the country. They were the fan favorites in 39 states.

What is the number one selling cookie? ›

Oreo is the best-selling cookie in the world. It is now sold in over 100 countries. Oreo was first produced in 1912 by the National Biscuit Company, now known as Na-Bis-Co.

What is the 2nd most popular cookie? ›

Nabisco Oreo was the second ranked cookie brand of the United States with about 674.2 million U.S. dollars worth of sales in 2017. Cookies are part of the snack food category and defined as small, thin, baked treats in the United States.

What is Santa Claus's favorite cookie? ›

Chocolate Chip cookies

Santa himself lists these as his favorites, and he prefers them soft and gooey with lots of chocolate chips. If you decide to leave these out for him, make sure there's a glass of cold milk nearby!

References

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