Easy Gingerbread Recipes (2024)

Here are 5 easy and delicious gingerbread recipes to enjoy.

I’ve always loved baking. There’s something wonderful about getting all the ingredients ready and watchingeverything come together. And of course, eating it all afterwards!

I’ve tried and tested these recipes on my family and we loved them all so hope you enjoy them too. Nothing quite beats the wonderful smell of gingerbread baking either does it?

Great for holiday time and Christmas – or if you adore gingerbread as much as I do, all year round!

Gingerbread Recipe 1

Gingerbread Loaf

Easy Gingerbread Recipes (1)

Ingredients:

  • 150g (5oz) butter
  • 100ml (3.5oz) golden syrup
  • 2 cups plain flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 tablespoon ground ginger
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar – extra for topping

Method:

  1. Preheat the oven to 170°C/Gas Mark 3. Grease and line a loaf tin with baking paper.
  2. Gently heat butter and golden syrup together in a pan and stir with a wooden spoon till melted.
  3. In a large bowl sift together the dry ingredients – flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, salt and brown sugar.
  4. Make a well in the centre and pour in the melted butter and golden syrup mixture, then add the egg and milk.
  5. Stir or whisk everything together until well combined. Pour the mixture (it will be quite runny but don’t worry!) into the loaf tin.
  6. Crumble over 1 tablespoon of brown sugar.
  7. Bake for 1 hour or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Easy Gingerbread Recipes (2)

Ingredients:

  • 140gdark brown sugar
  • 200gplain flour
  • 1teaspoonbicarbonate of soda
  • teaspoonground ginger
  • teaspooncinnamon
  • ¼teaspoonground cloves
  • ¼teaspoonsalt
  • 100ml natural yogurt
  • 140gbutter,melted and cooled
  • 2eggs
  • 1lemon,zest only

For the lemon drizzle

  • 100gicing sugar,sieved
  • 1-2tablespoonslemon juice

Method:

  1. Preheat the oven to 190°C/Gas Mark 5. Line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper muffin cases.
  2. Place the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl – sugar, flour, bicarbonate of soda, ground ginger, cinnamon, ground cloves and salt.
  3. Whisk together the wet ingredients – yoghurt, butter, eggs and lemon zest. Carefully add this mixture to the dry ingredients without overmixing.
  4. Divide the muffin batter between the 12 muffin cases. Bake in the oven for 16-18 minutes. Allow to cool.
  5. Whisk together the sieved icing sugar and lemon juice to make a drizzle icing. Drizzle over the muffins with a teaspoon.

Gingerbread Recipe 3

Soft Gingerbread Biscuits

Easy Gingerbread Recipes (3)

Ingredients:

  • 1 ½cups plain flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ¾teaspoon ground ginger
  • ¼teaspoon ground cloves
  • ½teaspoon salt
  • ½cupbutter, softened
  • ¾cup soft brown sugar
  • 3 tablespoonstreacle
  • 1 egg
  • 1tsp vanilla extract

Method:

  1. In a small bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and salt. Set aside.
  2. In a larger bowl, cream together the butter and brown sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy.
  3. Add treacle, egg and vanilla and whisk until mixture is smooth.
  4. Add dry ingredients and mix gently until well combined.
  5. Wrap the dough in cling film or an airtight container and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
  6. Preheat oven to 180°C/Gas Mark 4.
  7. Grease and line a baking tray.
  8. Take the dough out of the fridge and roll into balls.
  9. Place the balls of dough on a baking tray, about 5 cms apart as the dough spreads in the oven.
  10. Bake for 9-11 minutes, till the tops of the biscuits have just set.
  11. Leave the biscuits to cool on the baking tray for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool further.

Gingerbread Recipe 4

Gingerdoodle Biscuits

Easy Gingerbread Recipes (4)

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups and 2 tablespoons plain flour
  • 1 tablespoon corn flour
  • 2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • ½teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon ginger
  • ¼teaspoon cloves
  • ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
  • ¾ cup butter, softened
  • ¾ soft brown sugar
  • ½ granulated sugar
  • ¼ cup treacle
  • 1 egg
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Method:

  1. Preheat oven to 180°C/Gas Mark 4. Grease and line 2 baking trays.
  2. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, corn flour, bicarbonate of soda, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, salt, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg.
  3. In a small bowl, combine ¼ cup granulated sugar and remaining 1 teaspoon cinnamon.
  4. Whisk the butter, soft brown sugar, and remaining ¼ cup granulated sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the treacle, egg and vanilla extract, mixing until well combined. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the mixture, and mix until fully combined.
  5. Using your hands, roll the dough into walnut-sized balls and then roll in the sugar and cinnamon mixture. Place on the baking trays, each ball spaced about 5cm apart (the biscuits will spread out in the oven).
  6. Bake for 10 minutes, until the edges are just set. While warm and just out of the oven, sprinkle the tops of the cookies with any remaining sugar and cinnamon mixture.

Gingerbread Recipe 5

Gingerbread Cookie Bars

Easy Gingerbread Recipes (5)

Ingredients:

  • 2 ½cups plainflour
  • 1 ½teaspoonsground ginger
  • 1teaspooncinnamon
  • ¼teaspoonground nutmeg
  • ¼teaspoonground cloves
  • ½teaspoonbicarbonate of soda
  • ¾cup butter, softened
  • 1cup soft brown sugar (light or dark)
  • cup treacle
  • 1egg
  • 1egg yolk
  • 2teaspoonsvanilla extract

Cream Cheese Icing:

  • 150g (6oz) chilled cream cheese
  • 50g (2oz) butter, softened
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 225g (9oz) icing sugar, sifted

Method:

  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C, Gas Mark 4.
  2. Grease and line a baking tin – mine was approximately 23 cm.
  3. In a medium-sized bowl whisk together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and bicarbonate of soda.
  4. In a large bowl, beat the butter and brown sugar together until pale and fluffy.
  5. Beat in the treacle and vanilla extract, then beat in the egg and egg yolk.
  6. Gently fold the flour mixture into the butter mixture about ½ at a time until combined.
  7. Spoon the cookie dough into the baking tin and spread evenly.
  8. Bake in the preheated oven for 22-25 minutes, or until the sides are starting to come away from the edges of the tin and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
  9. Leave in the tin for about 10 minutes until cool enough to handle, then run a knife around the edges and remove the gingerbread from the tin. Allow to cool on a wire rack.

Cream Cheese Icing

  1. Beat the cream cheese and butter together with a wooden spoon or electric mixer until combined.
  2. Add the vanilla extract and sifted icing sugar and mix to combine.
  3. Spread the icing over the cooled gingerbread, dipping the knife into a bowl of hot water if the icing is hard to spread out.
  4. Decorate with sprinkles.

I hope you enjoy these easy gingerbread recipes.

For more baking ideas, have a look at my blog on easy sweets and fudge recipes and easy baking recipes to do with children.

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Easy Gingerbread Recipes (2024)

FAQs

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.

What makes gingerbread taste like gingerbread? ›

Molasses is the most associated with gingerbread. Light molasses, a mild molasses, comes from the first boiling of the sugar syrup. Dark molasses, a full-flavored molasses, comes from the second boiling of the sugar syrup, and is the most popular molasses used in gingerbread recipes.

What makes gingerbread hard or soft? ›

Some gingerbread recipes require some time to soften after baking because they are initially firm. Gingerbread is made harder by molasses and honey, but it becomes softer when water is absorbed by the sugar.

Do I need to chill gingerbread before baking? ›

Mistake #2: Not resting your dough

After the gingerbread is cut out, Lomas recommends putting it into the fridge for at least 30 minutes and up to three days. Chilling the dough before it goes into a hot oven gives the butter a chance to firm up and reduces how much it spreads when baking.

What is the main flavor of gingerbread? ›

Gingerbread refers to a broad category of baked goods, typically flavored with ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon and sweetened with honey, sugar, or molasses.

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? I couldn't care less if they called them “gingerbread cookies.” Originally Answered: Some Bakeries are now calling Gingerbread men by the gender fluid title Gingerbread people.

Should gingerbread be soft or crunchy? ›

Gingerbread cookies should be soft. They should be supple. They should bend to your teeth before the cookie skin breaks and the crumbs fall all over you. They should retain a bit of elasticity, and maybe you can even leave your fingerprints on the cookie if you hold them too hard because you're just that excited.

Can I use golden syrup instead of molasses? ›

Golden Syrup

With its golden, amber color, it is lighter than molasses, though the two are similar in their thickness. Golden syrup also a liquid sweetener, so 1 cup of golden syrup can replace 1 cup of molasses. Golden syrup has a unique flavor, so it may alter the flavor of your recipe slightly.

Why are my gingerbread cookies hard? ›

Keep in mind that the longer the cookies bake, the harder and crunchier they'll be. For soft gingerbread cookies, follow my suggested bake times. Allow cookies to cool for 5 minutes on the cookie sheet. Transfer to cooling rack to cool completely.

How long should you chill gingerbread dough? ›

Divide the dough into two thick disks and wrap each disk in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until chilled, about 3 hours. (The dough can be prepared up to 2 days ahead.) To roll out the cookies, work with one disk at a time, keeping the other disk refrigerated.

How do you know when gingerbread is done? ›

Timing is the key to achieving the crispy edges and chewy centers of a perfect gingerbread cookie. Due to gingerbread's dark color, it can be tricky to tell when they're done baking—look for puffed up, just-set centers. Gingerbread cookies will collapse as they cool, delivering that chewy cookie texture.

Why is my gingerbread flat? ›

Bicarbonate of soda is an extremely active raising agent and if you add too much then the gingerbread will rise up a lot during baking, then sink back fairly dramatically. If the surface of the gingerbread is wrinkled then this is also a sign that there was too much bicarbonate of soda.

Should gingerbread dough be dry? ›

Dough should be soft (not dry or crumbly) but not sticky. If sticky, add a few tablespoons of flour until desired consistency is achieved.

Can I leave gingerbread out overnight? ›

Sure. You can make gingerbread that's sturdy enough to stand up and still tasty and tender. You usually need to roll it out thicker than you ordinarily would for cookies (as thick as your little finger?) but it is still good to eat.

What is a substitute for molasses in gingerbread cookies? ›

Brown sugar is a great substitute for molasses in recipes since it's so often available in the kitchen. Brown sugar is molasses and granulated sugar combined, so you can achieve some similar taste and texture. For every 1 cup of molasses, use 3/4 cup of brown sugar.

What is Victorian gingerbread? ›

In Medieval England gingerbread meant preserved ginger. The hard cookies were a staple at Medieval fairs in England and on the continent. These became known as “gingerbread fairs” and the cookies called “fairings”.

What are the flavors in gingerbread? ›

The general term of gingerbread is used to describe the broad category of baked goods which are flavoured with the spice blend of ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, cardamom, anise and molasses/honey.

What's the difference between ginger and gingerbread? ›

Yes, of course gingerbread in all its forms from cookies to cake smells different from ginger. Ginger is only one of the spices traditionally used in gingerbread. Yes, cinnamon plays a role in that distinct aroma. As do the addition of nutmeg or allspice and cloves, all very distinct by themselves.

What are 6 adjectives to describe gingerbread? ›

Synonyms of gingerbread
  • ornate.
  • decorated.
  • baroque.
  • gingerbready.
  • adorned.
  • extravagant.
  • loud.
  • gilded.

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