Chewy Gingerbread Cookies The Best with Candied Ginger

These chewy gingerbread cookies are spiced with candied ginger chunks in them! They're super easy to make, and come together in no time.. And so good with cream cheese filling!

These soft chewy and spicy cookies are perfect for fall... They're made with warm spices like cinnamon and ginger... And they're sooo good on the Thanksgiving desert table, but they're most loved as Christmas cookies!

Gingerbread Cookie Ingredients:

You only need a few simple ingredients to make these soft and chewy gingerbread cookies!

• 2 ½ cups all purpose flour
• ¾ cups softened butter
• 1 cup white sugar
• ⅓ molasses - Molasses makes these gingerbread cookies chewy!
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger - You can use half if you don't like as much spice
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup chopped candied ginger! Candied ginger gives these cookies a bit of chewy spice throughout these cookies, and makes them extra yummy!

Cream Cheese Filling

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 4 ounces of cream cheese
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Recipe Tips

For chewier cookies: Use dark molasses instead of light molasses. Dark molasses has a stronger flavor and chewier texture.

Chilling the dough: While not required, chilling the dough for at least 30 minutes before rolling it out will help prevent the cookies from spreading too much and make them easier to handle.

Baking sheet: Line your baking sheet with parchment paper for easy cleanup.

Spacing cookies: Leave enough space between the cookies on the baking sheet (1.5-2 inches) so they don't spread into each other.

Frosting consistency: If the cream cheese frosting is too thin, add more powdered sugar. If it's too thick, add a tablespoon of milk or cream cheese.

Storage: Store decorated cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

How to Make Chew Gingerbread Cookies

The "correct" way to make these cookies is to add all the dry ingredients (except sugar) to a medium sized mixing bow and whisk to combine.

Then add all your wet ingredients, and sugar, to a small bowl: egg, butter, and sugar. And cream together with an electric mixer.

Then combine the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients and mix just till well combined....... But you don't have to do it like that!

These cookies turn out just as well using only ONE bowl! Just add all your ingredients to the bowl of a stand mixer and use a cookie dough attachment to blend till all incorporated and a nice dough forms. It's really that simple... And they turn out just as good!

preheat your oven to 350 degrees F., and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Scoop cookies into 1 inch balls, roll into a ball and flatten with your hands to about ½ an inch.

place cookies 1.5-2 inches apart on the cookie sheet so they have room to spread out as they cook.... And bake them for 10-12 minutes!

Remove your cookies from the oven and let them cool completely while you make the cream cheese filling:

In a medium mixing bowl add 4 ounces of cream cheese with 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and 2 cups of powdered sugar. Use a hand mixer to blend till smooth!

Spoon about 1 tablespoon of cream cheese filling onto the back side of 12 cookies, place the bottom of the other cookies on top to make cream pie cookies!

Watch me Make These

Gingerbread Cookies Recipe Card

If you make this recipe... I'd really appreciate a star rating or tag me on Instagram with a picture of them!