Soft Gingerbread Cookies with Royal Icing
Ginger, spice, and everything nice flavor these soft and chewy gingerbread cookies. Trust, this recipe is really the BEST.
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These soft gingerbread cookies with royal icing are literally the best gingerbread recipe I have ever used. I personally prefer a soft gingerbread cookie to a hard one, but it can be challenging to find a recipe that turns out truly soft. Well my friends, get excited because this is it!!!
What is Gingerbread?
Did you know that gingerbread can be traced all the way back to 1500 B.C.? It apparently originated in ancient Egypt and eventually found its way to Eastern Europe where it has become a deeply rooted holiday tradition.
Gingerbread cookies are pastry style cookies that consists of butter, flour, brown sugar and/or granulated sugar, molasses, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, salt, and sometimes eggs. When baked, it is known to hold shape well thus it works great for molds, cookie cutters, and decorating with royal icing or drizzle.
What makes gingerbread cookies hard or soft?
The type of sugar and baking time can both impact how hard or soft gingerbread cookies are. If your cookies are hard, it’s likely they were baked too long. Brown sugar also keeps the cookies soft and chewy because it has molasses, while white sugar will result in a crispier cookie.
How do I know when soft gingerbread cookies are done?
They should look firmly set, have a medium-brown color, and look slightly darker on the edges.
Can I make soft gingerbread cookies vegan?
Absolutely! This recipe makes it so easy to sub vegan ingredients because there is no egg! Choose your favorite vegan butter and swap it out for the same amount of butter that is listed in the ingredients list.
How to Store Soft Gingerbread Cookies with Royal Icing
Store soft gingerbread cookies at room temperature in an air tight container for up to two days, or store in the refrigerator for up to five days. If stored in the refrigerator, let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes, or pop in the microwave for five to ten seconds to warm to room temperature.
You can also freeze soft gingerbread cookies easily. Just place the cut-out shapes of uncooked dough in an air tight freezer container and store in the freezer for up to three months. You can pre-freeze them on a flat pan prior to grouping them together in an airtight container. This will keep them from sticking once you go to bake them. Remove them from the freezer when you are ready to bake them and place them on a pan frozen and bake as directed.
Why is my royal icing runny?
Undermixing your royal icing will cause it to be runny and not hold its shape. If it isn’t stiff enough, you can try adding a little more powdered sugar until it reaches its desired consistency.
Is royal icing better with meringue powder or egg whites?
Meringue power and egg whites create the same consistency in royal icing that is stable and hardens quickly on top of cookies. Both are suitable to use and it is mainly up to personal preference. Meringue powder offers an alternative to having raw egg whites in the icing.
Using egg whites will produce a glossier finish once dry, whereas meringue powder will have a matte finish.
How to make Royal Icing with meringue powder
Royal icing can be very easy to make with meringue powder, and in my opinion it is much easier than the more traditional way that uses egg whites. First mix together the powdered sugar and the meringue powder with a fork. Then add water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the icing reaches a drizzle consistency. The icing should be not too thick and not too runny - it should run off the fork at a slow pace.
Helpful Kitchen Tools
electric mixer
rolling pin
parchment paper
ruler
cookie cutter in any shape
two baking sheets
piping kit
How to Make
Ingredients
Dough
1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup full flavor molasses
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
Icing
1 cup powdered sugar
3/4 tablespoon meringue powder
2 - 3 tablespoons water
Directions
In a medium bowl, mix together flour, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt.
Add butter to the bowl of an electric mixer and whip for 30 seconds. Add the brown sugar and cream until light and fluffy. Add the molasses and mix until incorporated. Add about 1/3 of the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix until combined. Repeat two more times until the flour mixture and the butter mixture are well incorporated.
Roll the dough into a ball. Cut the ball in half and roll each piece into a ball. Between two sheets of parchment paper, roll out each dough ball until about 1/2 inch to 3/8 inch thick. Wrap them in cellophane and place them in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes for dough to firm up - the firmer the better.
While dough is firming in the refrigerator, preheat the oven to 350℉. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Use a cookie cutter to cut shapes out of the dough and place them on the pan about 1 inch apart. Place the pan in the oven and bake for 10-12 minutes or until they puff up in the center. Let them cool completely on a wire rack or in the refrigerator to expedite the process.
While the cookies are cooling, place the powdered sugar and meringue powder in a small bowl. Add the water, 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing in between each addition and stop once the mixture becomes a little bit runny. If it is lumpy, keep stirring until the mixture is smooth.
Once cookies are fully cooled, add the icing to a piping bag and Ice them how you prefer. I didn’t use an icing tip, i simply snipped the tip of the icing bag off to create a tiny hole. Whatever works best for you is fine!
If stacking the cookies to store, let the icing set for at least an hour before stacking them.