These Chewy Sourdough Gingerbread Cookies are incredibly soft, perfectly spiced, and benefit from an easy overnight ferment that deepens their flavor and gives them their signature irresistible chew.
Using just simple pantry ingredients and a touch of sourdough discard, they’re the perfect Christmas cookie for gifting, decorating, or simply cozying up by the fire.
Of course, no holiday platter is complete with just one kind of cookie! If you’re filling out your holiday collection, be sure to check out my classic Soft Sugar Cookies (and grab the recipe for the perfect Sugar Cookie and Royal Icing), my decadent Turtle Cookies, the festive Candy Cane Cookies, and the melt-in-your-mouth goodness of Mexican Wedding Cookies!
Why We Love These Sourdough Gingerbread Cookies
Unbeatable Chewy Texture (No Brittle Cookies Here!): The combination of dark brown sugar, molasses, and slightly under-baking ensures these cookies are guaranteed to be soft and wonderfully chewy gingerbread men!
Flavor from Sourdough Discard: The overnight fermentation step, powered by your unfed sourdough discard, introduces a subtle, complex tang that balances the intense sweetness and warming spices. It adds an extra dimension of flavor you won’t find in standard gingerbread cookie recipes!
Perfect for Holiday Decorating (Shapes Hold): Despite being soft and chewy, the long chill and fermentation process allows the dough to firm up beautifully. This means you can cut out clean shapes with your cookie cutters, making them ideal for detailed royal icing!
The two ingredients that make all the difference here are molasses and your sourdough discard. The dark molasses is absolutely critical… It doesn’t just provide that classic gingerbread color and deep flavor, but its high moisture content is key to achieving that signature chewy texture…
And the sourdough discard? While it’s unfed, its natural acidity works to gently condition the dough during the overnight rest, enhancing the rich spice flavors and ensuring your final cookie is incredibly tender.
My Tips & Tricks
These simple steps are crucial for achieving that incredible chewy texture and those beautifully defined cut-out shapes.
Embrace the Overnight Rest: This is your most critical step! Letting the dough rest and ferment in the refrigerator overnight (12+ hours) is non-negotiable. It allows the gluten to relax, deepens the sourdough flavor, and most importantly, it firms up the dough so your cookies hold their shape perfectly and don’t spread in the oven.
The Second Chill is Key: Do not skip the final 10-minute chill after you’ve cut out your shapes and placed them on the baking sheet. Placing cold dough directly into a hot oven (thermal shock) helps set the edges instantly, further preventing spreading.
Handing the Dough
Don’t Be Afraid of Flour: Since this is a soft dough, liberally dust your counter and rolling pin with all-purpose flour before you start rolling. This prevents sticking, which is the main culprit for misshapen cookies.
Use a Spatula: Once you’ve cut your shapes, use a metal spatula or dough scraper to lift the cut-outs carefully off the counter and transfer them to the baking sheet. Sliding a tool underneath the cookie avoids distorting the delicate edges with your fingers.
Baking to Chewy Perfection
Do NOT Overbake: The golden rule for chewy cookies is to underbake them slightly. Bake for only 7–9 minutes, pulling them out when the edges are just set but the centers still look soft and slightly puffed. They will finish setting on the baking sheet.
Cool Completely Before Decorating: For the best results, let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. Wait until they are fully room temperature before applying royal icing or decorating, otherwise the icing will melt or smear.
I wanna know what YOU think, Please review the recipe card!
Chewy Sourdough Gingerbread Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- 2/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 1/3 cup unsulphured molasses
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup 57g sourdough discard starter, unfed (100% hydration)
- 1 cup all-purpose flour spooned and leveled
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
Instructions
- Cream Wet Ingredients: In the bowl of a stand mixer or using an electric mixer, cream the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add the molasses, egg yolk, and vanilla and mix again until fully incorporated.
- Add Starter: Mix in the sourdough discard starter until fully combined.
- Combine Dry Ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together the reduced flour, cinnamon, ginger, baking soda, salt, and cloves.
- Form the Dough: Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing after each addition until a uniform, stiff dough forms.
- Chill the Dough: Form the dough into a ball, divide it in half, and flatten each half into a 1-inch-thick disk. Wrap tightly in plastic and chill in the refrigerator overnight. (Chilling lets the dough ferment and is essential for firm cut-out edges.)
- Cut and Prep: Preheat the oven to 350 and line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Roll out one disk of dough on a lightly floured surface until about 1/4 – inch thick. Use cookie cutters to cut out desired shapes, then transfer the cut-outs to the prepared baking sheets, re-rolling the dough scraps as necessary.
- Chill again: Place cookies on a parchment lined baking sheet and chill in the fridge for 10 minutes before baking.
- Bake: Bake, one sheet at a time, for 7 to 9 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies are just set but the middles are still soft. (Baking slightly underdone ensures the cookies stay soft once cooled.)
- Cool and Decorate: Let cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Decorate with royal icing for detailed piping or sugar cookie icing for piping and flooding!
Notes
Nutrition
About Juliea
Juliea Huffaker is the creator of Farmhouse Harvest, and dedicated to teaching from-scratch cooking, sourdough baking, gardening, and food preservation. With over 25 years of hands-on experience she has preserved hundreds of jars of produce, mastered the art of meats and sourdough baking, and nurtured a thriving organic garden. Her recipes and articles have been featured across the web. And she’s passionate about inspiring others to embrace a simpler, self-sufficient life style.
2 comments
Ralph Perry
Delicious full molasses and ginger flavor with a luxurious texture texture. My new favorite!
Charie
Yummm- these are really good!