Gingerbread Bites Spiced Chewy (Printable)

Crisp and chewy spiced gingerbread bites feature warm, classic holiday flavors and a perfect texture.

# What You Need:

→ Dry Ingredients

01 - 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
02 - 2 teaspoons ground ginger
03 - 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
04 - 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
05 - 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
06 - 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
07 - 1/4 teaspoon salt

→ Wet Ingredients

08 - 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
09 - 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
10 - 1/4 cup granulated sugar
11 - 1 large egg
12 - 1/3 cup molasses
13 - 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

→ Decorations

14 - Royal icing in white, red, and blue
15 - Mini chocolate chips or candies for embellishment

# How-To Steps:

01 - Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
02 - In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt.
03 - In a large bowl, beat softened butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until light and fluffy.
04 - Add egg, molasses, and vanilla extract to the butter mixture; beat until fully combined.
05 - Gradually add dry ingredients to wet mixture, stirring just until incorporated without overmixing.
06 - Divide dough in half, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes for easier handling.
07 - On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to approximately 1/4 inch thickness. Cut shapes using a gingerbread man cookie cutter.
08 - Place cut shapes on prepared baking sheets, spacing them 2 inches apart.
09 - Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until edges are set and centers remain slightly soft.
10 - Allow cookies to cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
11 - Decorate cooled cookies with royal icing and candies to resemble GingerBrave character if desired.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • They're shockingly easy to make and taste like you spent hours perfecting them.
  • The molasses gives them an authentic depth that store-bought cookies can't touch.
  • You get to decorate them however you want, which is half the fun and honestly therapeutic.
02 -
  • Over-mixing the dough after adding the dry ingredients will make your cookies tough and cakey instead of tender and chewy, so mix just until you don't see flour streaks anymore.
  • The difference between chewy and crispy is literally one minute of baking time, so set a timer and check at 10 minutes before committing to the full 12.
  • Molasses really is the hero ingredient here; I learned this the hard way by trying to substitute with honey once and got cookies that tasted like sweet butter cookies with vague spice suggestions.
03 -
  • Room temperature butter beats softened butter by microwave because microwaved butter starts splitting, which ruins your cream texture and makes cookies dense.
  • If you're decorating with royal icing, let the cookies cool completely first or the icing will melt off and slide everywhere.
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