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Plate of round gingerbread shortbread cookies with white icing drizzle, surrounded by cinnamon sticks, a cooling rack, and baking ingredients on a white surface.
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4.50 from 14 votes

Gingerbread Shortbread Cookies

Gingerbread shortbread cookies have all the flavor of gingerbread in a crisp buttery cookie. This slice and bake cookie dough can be frozen, sliced, and baked whenever you want fresh cookies.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time14 minutes
Freezing Time30 minutes
Total Time1 hour
Course: Cookies & Bars
Cuisine: American
Servings: 40 cookies
Author: Rachel Gurk

Ingredients

  • 2 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour (spooned in the measuring cup and leveled)
  • 1 ½ teaspoons ground ginger
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
  • ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1 cup unsalted butter, softened (2 sticks)
  • ¾ cup powdered sugar
  • 2 tablespoons molasses
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • ½ teaspoon salt

For Icing (optional but recommended)

  • ½ cup powdered sugar
  • 1 tablespoon milk or water

Instructions

  • In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together flour, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. Set aside.
    2 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour, 1 ½ teaspoons ground ginger, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon ground cloves, ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (see note 1), cream butter, powdered sugar, molasses, vanilla, and salt until creamy and light colored, about 2 minutes.
    1 cup unsalted butter, softened, ¾ cup powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons molasses, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, ½ teaspoon salt
  • With mixer on low speed, gradually add flour mixture until combined.
  • On wax paper or parchment paper, form the dough into a 12- to 14-inch log and freeze for 30 minutes or until firm (see note 2). If you freeze the dough longer than 30 minutes, it may become too hard to slice. If this happens, let the dough sit at room temperature for up to 30 minutes to soften.
  • When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350°F. Cut the shortbread dough into ¼ -inch slices; place them evenly on a baking sheet.
  • Bake cookies for 12 to 14 minutes or until firm and set. Remove pan from oven and let the cookies cool for 5 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack.
  • Optional Icing: When cookies are cool, mix powdered sugar and milk (or water). Drizzle icing over cookies, using a spoon, fork, or a small plastic bag with the corner cut off (squeeze icing through the small hole). Allow icing to set before storing cookies in an airtight container.
    ½ cup powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon milk or water

Video

Notes

  1. Mixer: If you don't have a stand mixer, use a hand mixer to blend the butter, sugar, molasses, vanilla and salt until smooth. You'll probably need to stir the flour mixture in by hand unless you have a powerful mixer.
  2. Freeze the dough. Make the dough into a log (or 2 shorter logs) and wrap it securely. It will keep for up to 3 months. Let it set out at room temperature for 30 minutes before slicing it. Bake cookies as directed.
  3. Storage: Once the cookies have completely cooled and icing has hardened, store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week, or put the cookies in a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 3 months.
Recipe retested and updated October 25. The original recipe included ⅓ cup dried cranberries, as an optional stir-in.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cookie with icing | Calories: 85kcal | Carbohydrates: 10g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 12mg | Sodium: 30mg | Potassium: 25mg | Fiber: 0.2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 143IU | Vitamin C: 0.002mg | Calcium: 6mg | Iron: 0.4mg

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