20 Easy Gingerbread Cookie Recipes To Spice Up Your Holidays (2024)

20 Easy Gingerbread Cookie Recipes To Spice Up Your Holidays (1)

Whether it's decorated like a house or transformed into cute (but tasty) people, here is something about gingerbread that makes it only appropriate for Christmas time. Now that we think about it, have we ever really seen gingerbread cookies outside of the holidays? Nevertheless, gingerbread cookies are a must when it comes to Christmas cookie baking. Even if you aren't a fan of them yourself, you can't ignore how good they smell baking in the oven, or how cute they look decorated with some royal icing, sprinkles, edible glitter, and occasionally, some frosting filling.

You can never go wrong with the classic gingerbread man cookie shape, but we compiled 21 different gingerbread cookie recipes in case you were looking to get a little more creative this year. From gingerbread stockings to sandwiches and even stencils, there is sure to be a cute gingerbread cookie recipe that will become your best kept secret for years to come.

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1

Gingerbread Men Smores

20 Easy Gingerbread Cookie Recipes To Spice Up Your Holidays (2)

These chocolate and cream cheese marshmallow s'more sandwiches are the ultimate sweet treat.

Get the recipe for Gingerbread Men S'mores.

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2

Gingerbread Trains

20 Easy Gingerbread Cookie Recipes To Spice Up Your Holidays (3)

Choo! Choo! This is the perfect recipe for those creative bakers out there who want more of a challenge.

Get the recipe for Gingerbread Trains.

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3

Gingerbread Girls

20 Easy Gingerbread Cookie Recipes To Spice Up Your Holidays (4)

Customize these gingerbread girls with candy, sprinkles, and icing.

Get the recipe for Gingerbread Girls.

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4

Hang the Stockings Gingerbread Cookies

20 Easy Gingerbread Cookie Recipes To Spice Up Your Holidays (5)

Hang one of these cookies on your tree for an edible decoration.

Get the recipe for Hang the Stockings Gingerbread Cookies.

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5

Chocolate-Gingerbread Hugs

These cookies blend chocolate with ginger spices to create a delicious combination of flavors. A hug tops the cookie off to give it a hint of vanilla.

Get the recipe for Chocolate-Gingerbread Hugs.

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6

Reindeer Gingbread Cookies

20 Easy Gingerbread Cookie Recipes To Spice Up Your Holidays (7)

Looking to change it up? Use a gingerbread cookie cutter to make cutouts that can be made into reindeer when turned upside down.

Get the recipe for Reindeer Gingerbread Cookie.

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7

Gingerbread Snow Angels

20 Easy Gingerbread Cookie Recipes To Spice Up Your Holidays (8)

This gingerbread man will look so cute making icing and sugar snow angels.

Get the recipe for Gingerbread Snow Angels.

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8

Gingerbread Cookies

20 Easy Gingerbread Cookie Recipes To Spice Up Your Holidays (9)

You can't go wrong with a classic gingerbread cookie recipe.

Get the recipe for Gingerbread Cookies.

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9

Gingerbread Animals

20 Easy Gingerbread Cookie Recipes To Spice Up Your Holidays (10)

These cute gingerbread animals put the regular gingerbread men to shame.

Get the recipe for Gingerbread Animals.

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10

Gingerbread Village

20 Easy Gingerbread Cookie Recipes To Spice Up Your Holidays (11)

Why stop at a gingerbread house when you can design this gorgeous gingerbread village?

Get the recipe for Gingerbread Village.

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11

Gingerbread Polar Bears and Frosted Stars

20 Easy Gingerbread Cookie Recipes To Spice Up Your Holidays (12)

Instead of gingerbread men, make polar bears complete with a fluffy white shredded coconut fur this Christmas.

Get the recipe for Gingerbread Polar Bears and Frosted Stars.

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12

Gingerbread Cookie Trees

20 Easy Gingerbread Cookie Recipes To Spice Up Your Holidays (14)

These spiced cookies taste so good that you won't be too sad to see your display disappear within seconds. Consider it compliments to the chef.

Get the recipe for Gingerbread Cookie Trees.

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13

Chocolate Gingerbread Snow Angels

20 Easy Gingerbread Cookie Recipes To Spice Up Your Holidays (16)

This one's for the chocolate lovers! Add some cocoa to your favorite Christmas gingerbread cookie for a rich, chocolaty flavor.

Get the recipe for Chocolate Gingerbread Snow Angels.

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14

Gingerbread Cookie Wands

20 Easy Gingerbread Cookie Recipes To Spice Up Your Holidays (18)

Crispy cookie wands covered in edible glitter and sprinkles that have a hint of pumpkin spice.

Get the recipe from Good Housekeeping.

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15

Gingerbread Trees with Lemon Icing

20 Easy Gingerbread Cookie Recipes To Spice Up Your Holidays (19)

Lemon icing gives these gingerbread trees with crystallized sugar on top a citrus zing to these cookies.

Get the recipe from Delish.

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16

Stenciled Gingerbread

20 Easy Gingerbread Cookie Recipes To Spice Up Your Holidays (20)

These gorgeous cookies use cocoa powder and sugar to create snowflake and holly stencils on these thin gingerbread cookies.

Get the recipe at Delish.

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17

Gingerbread Snowflakse

20 Easy Gingerbread Cookie Recipes To Spice Up Your Holidays (21)

These elegantly iced snowflakes will look gorgeous as a centerpiece for any table.

Get the recipe from Delish.

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18

S'mores Gingerbread Cookie Cups

20 Easy Gingerbread Cookie Recipes To Spice Up Your Holidays (22)

Combine gooey marshmallow cream, chocolate chips, and spicy gingerbread cookie dough to make these mouthwatering treats.

Get the recipe at Delish.

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19

Caramel-Gingerbread Cookie Bars

20 Easy Gingerbread Cookie Recipes To Spice Up Your Holidays (24)

We're drooling over these beauties. Decorate them with mini gingerbread men sprinkles for a clever touch.

Get the recipe at Delish.

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20

Caramel Gingerbread Cookie Cups

20 Easy Gingerbread Cookie Recipes To Spice Up Your Holidays (26)

Taking a bite into these cookie cups will fill your mouth with flavors of sugary caramel, spicy cinnamon, and creamy vanilla.

Get the recipe at Delish.

20 Easy Gingerbread Cookie Recipes To Spice Up Your Holidays (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between gingerbread and ginger cookies? ›

Both are spiced cookies. The main differences are that gingersnaps are typically rolled into balls, while gingerbread is rolled out and cut into shapes. Gingersnaps are also baked slightly longer, which is where they get their snappy crispiness. Gingerbread is typically a little chewier.

Why are my gingerbread cookies bland? ›

Mistake #1: Underseasoning your dough

Something has definitely gone wrong if your gingerbread is bland and doesn't have a distinct ginger flavor. To prevent this from happening, Lomas recommends using several different types of ginger: dried ground ginger, fresh ginger and candied ginger.

Why do people make gingerbread cookies for Christmas? ›

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. Gingerbread houses were introduced about 200 years later, when the Grimm brothers wrote Hansel and Gretel. A new holiday tradition was born.

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 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!

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.

Should gingerbread cookies be hard or soft? ›

Should gingerbread cookies be hard or soft? Soft gingerbread biscuits are ideal. They ought to be flexible. However, they should still be somewhat elastic, and if you hold them too firmly because you're so excited to eat them, you might even be able to leave your fingerprints on the cookie!

What are gingerbread men called now? ›

Some bakeries are now calling gingerbread men by the gender neutral term “gingerbread people.” Do you agree with the change? - Quora. How can people be worried about this nonsense when millions of gingerbread babies are aborted each and every single day?

Should you refrigerate gingerbread dough? ›

Chilling it for at least two hours or overnight gives the ingredients a chance to absorb one another, making it a whole lot easier to roll out the dough without it cracking. Follow this tip: Let the dough chill in the refrigerator, well-wrapped, for at least two hours or overnight before rolling it out.

Should gingerbread dough be dry? ›

Add molasses and vanilla and beat until completely incorporated. Reduce mixer speed to low and add flour mixture until thoroughly combined, about 1 minute. Dough should be soft (not dry or crumbly) but not sticky.

Why are my gingerbread cookies so dark? ›

After biting into one of these, I realized the color was more from the lack of flour than from the char factor. Sure, they were a little burnt. But they were also loaded with molasses and dark brown sugar at an improper ratio to the flour, which explains how dark they were.

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.

What is the dark history of gingerbread? ›

​Superstitions about gingerbread flourished in the 17th century. Witches supposedly made gingerbread figures, ate them, and thereby caused the death of their enemies. Dutch magistrates went so far as to declare baking or eating molded cookies illegal.

What is the gingerbread capital of the world? ›

Nuremberg was recognized as the "Gingerbread Capital of the World" when in the 1600s the guild started to employ master bakers and skilled workers to create complicated works of art from gingerbread. Medieval bakers used carved boards to create elaborate designs.

What is the original Christmas cookie? ›

Modern Christmas cookies can trace their history to recipes from Medieval Europe biscuits, when many modern ingredients such as cinnamon, ginger, black pepper, almonds and dried fruit were introduced into the west.

What is the least popular Christmas cookie? ›

On the naughty list of cookies, Americans gave the lowest win records to anise cookies, which only won 29% of its matchups.

What are the top 5 favorite cookies? ›

Some of the most popular cookie flavors include:
  • Chocolate chip.
  • Peanut butter.
  • Peanut butter blossoms.
  • Double chocolate chip.
  • Snickerdoodle.
  • Sugar.
  • Shortbread.
  • Pumpkin.

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