No Spread Gingerbread Sugar Cookies
These Gingerbread Sugar Cookies are perfect for this time of the year. Whether you want to eat them as is or decorate them. Unlike regular gingerbread cookies, these do not spread which makes them perfect for decorating with fondant and adding them to the cookie hamper.
No Spread Gingerbread Cookies Recipes by Veena Azmanov
Why gingerbread sugar cookies you ask?
I love decorating sugar cookies with fondant, which means they should not spread. These are perfect for this time of the year. So I can add them to my cookie hamper or give them away as gifts to family and friends. I can decorate regular sugar cookies and yet I love gingerbread flavor at this time of the year.
Gingerbread is either too hard to eat or too delicate to decorate with fondant. So I had to make a gingerbread sugar cookie recipe just so I can decorate them with fondant. My kids love this recipe so much that now it’s become a tradition to decorate gingerbread sugar cookies every year.
I made a few knit inspired stockings, boots, gloves and hats with fondant. Cannot wait to share that video with you. In addition, the kids and I had fun with just some simple royal icing borders.
No Spread Gingerbread Cookies Recipes by Veena Azmanov
What does “No Spread” mean? Pin It
Most cookies tend to spread and increase in size when baked due to the leavening agents. Sometimes the shape begins to look flat and distorted. This recipe does not spread. Which means it holds its shape well and can be covered with fondant very easily.
All you need to do is use the same cookie cutter you used to cut out the cookies to cut the shape in fondant. You can see that done in my next video where I share how to decorate these cookies. Knit Inspired Winter Theme Christmas Cookies.
Traditional Cookies
Now, these are not the same as my traditional gingerbread cookies. Those are absolutely heavenly and do not spread either! But I think they are not a great candidate for decorating with fondant. They tend to break faster. That is why I created this adaptation from my most popular Vanilla Sugar Cookies and Traditional Gingerbread Cookies. You can pin my traditional gingerbread cookies recipe to your cookie board for later here.
Let’s talk ingredients and substitutes
- Unsalted butter – I always use unsalted butter so I can control the amount of salt. And yet, you can use salted butter. If you do use salted butter omit the salt in the recipe.
- Molasses – I highly recommend you use molasses. It’s what gives gingerbread cookies that unique flavor.
- Brown sugar – Brown sugar has molasses which add to the flavor. And yet, if you must, go ahead and use white sugar.
- Eggs – I highly recommend you use two egg yolks and one egg white. You want the dough to be firm but delicate with a little crispiness.
- Spices – I am using ground ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg but you can also use store-bought gingerbread spice. Every brand is different and uses spices in different ratios. And yet, in general, it’s a good spice mix to add to your pantry.
No Spread Gingerbread Cookies Recipes by Veena Azmanov
See these? Decorated these with my Rhea. Held her hand and we piped together. Oh, the pride!! She took them to school too!
No Spread Gingerbread Cookies
Recipe – NO Spread -Gingerbread Sugar Cookies
(Pin this recipe to Cookie on Pinterest for later)
Useful Tips and Tools
- I’m not a slave to mixers. And yet, when you need some good creaming I have to insist that you use the K-Mix or Kitchen Aid.
- A good baking tray is always important. Try using a light colored baking trayBaking tray. Another option is to line the baking tray with Parchment Paper.
- If you aren’t going to fill or decorate these cookies a regular rolling pin will work just fine. And yet, a Cookie rolling pin has the side spacers that will also help you with rolling. So all your cookies are leveled and bake evenly.
- Also, it is really important to cool cookies completely on all sides as soon as they come out of the oven. So take them off the baking tray to prevent them cooking further and place them on a Cooking rack so they air circulates on all sides. This prevents steam from going back into the cookie thus…… keeping them crispy not soggy.
- Always bake cookies on the center rack of your Oven. If you have more than one tray simply bake them one at a time. You can bake two trays at the same time, and yet this can lead to some of the cookies in the bottom tray spreading too much. Also, you can rotate the trays during the baking. This is helpful with some cookies.
- Most cookies usually bake between 10 to 12 minutes. These took me about 10 minutes. Since cookies bake quickly they can also get over-baked. This is due to our tendency to get distracted at the last minute. Hence, my solution is a kitchen timer that is always set to 10 minutes. I turn it on as soon as I place the cookies in the oven. This has saved me many cookies since my kids always keep me busy.
No Spread Gingerbread Cookies Recipes by Veena Azmanov
Ingredients
- Unsalted butter – 228 grams (2 sticks)
- Brown sugar – 200 grams (1 cup)
- Flour – 440 grams
- Molasses – 120 ml (1/2 cup)
- Eggs white – 1 large
- and egg yolk – 2 large
- Vanilla – 2 tsp
- Salt – 1/2 tsp
- Ground Ginger – 1 tsp
- and ground cinnamon – 1 tsp
- Ground nutmeg – 1 tsp
Method
Prepare
- Mix the spices and salt into the flour.
- Ensure all ingredients are at room temperature.
No Spread Gingerbread Sugar Cookie Recipe
Prepare dough
- Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add the molasses and continue to mix well.
- Next, add the egg white and yolks.
- Followed by the vanilla.
- Add the flour mixture in two batches.
- Mix until everything is well incorporated.
- The dough will be very soft,
- Divide into two discs and wrap in cling wrap.
- Chill until firm enough to roll.
No Spread Gingerbread Sugar Cookies Recipe
Roll cookies
- Preheat oven at 170 C / 340 F.
- Roll the well-chilled dough on to a well-floured surface about 1/4 inch thick.
- Cut out shapes and place on a parchment lined tray.
- Chill cookies while the oven is preheating.
- Bake in a preheated oven for 10 to 11 minutes.
- Cool on a wire rack completely before you decorate and store in cookie jars.
Don’t forget to save this recipe on Pinterest for later.
You can find a collection of my tutorials and recipes here on Pinterest.
NO Spread Gingerbread Cookies Recipe by Veena Azmanov
No Spread Gingerbread Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- 228 grams Unsalted butter
- 200 grams Brown sugar
- 440 grams All-purpose flour
- 120 ml Molasses
- 1 Eggs white large
- 2 Egg yolk large
- 2 tsp Vanilla
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Ground ginger
- 1 tsp Ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp Ground nutmeg
Instructions
Prepare
- Mix the spices and salt into the flour.
- Ensure all ingredients are at room temperature.
Prepare dough
- Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add the molasses and continue to mix well.
- Next, add the egg white and yolks.
- Followed by the vanilla.
- Add the flour mixture in two batches.
- Mix until everything is well incorporated.
- The dough will be very soft.
- Divide into two discs and wrap in cling wrap.
- Chill until firm enough to roll.
Roll cookies
- Preheat oven at 170 C / 340 F.
- Roll the well-chilled dough on to a well-floured surface about 1/4 inch thick.
- Cut out shapes and place on a parchment lined tray.
- Chill cookies while the oven is preheating.
- Bake in a preheated oven for 10 to 11 minutes.
- Cool on a wire rack completely before you decorate and store in cookie jars.
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Nutrition Information
Love Cookies? Me too! You may like to check out some of my other cookie recipes. Or Click here to see a Recipe Index of all recipes on my blog.
These cookies sound so good. I bet they smell amazing while they cook.
Thank you, Kate.
These cookies look so delicious! I love gingerbread!
Me too, Thanks Natalie
This recipe looks great! I’m going to give this a try. Can I freeze baked gingerbread cookies though as I want to make them beforehand?
Thank you, Diana.
These cookies are so much fun, and I love the blend of a sugar cookie with the spices of the gingerbread. I’m inspired to do some holiday baking now! 🙂
Thank you, Valentina. I think you will love it.
I love gingerbread cookies these look fab, loving the no spread promise, looking forward to trying these.
Thank you, Brian. Yes, these do not have any leavening.
Thank you so much for this recipe. Tried it and loved it. Thanks
Thank you so much Francoise. Happy to hear you had success with this recipe. Thank you for coming back to write this feedback. Always happy to her from those who has tried my recipes or tutorials. If you share it on Instagram please do tag me @veenaazmanov so I can see your finished work. Thanks
I love that you combined the spice of a gingerbread cookie and the softness of a sugar cookie into one. It makes me wish I could spend my afternoon in the kitchen baking instead of doing chores. I’ve pinned this recipe for later.
Thank you Renee. I love the texture of these cookies too. Thanks for pinning.
What a great recipe and the cookies looks absolutely beautiful. Thank you for sharing your tips and informative post. Save this.
Thank you Elcitrakale. You are very welcome.
I’m a cookie novice so this was very helpful to me. Definitely saving this for later. I need to show my daughter, we had cookies that spread and we had no idea why, until now. Thanks!
Thank you Tina. Yeah I know that feeling. I hate decorating cookies that spread too much too!
I hate frosting cookies that’ve spread, too. It’s no fun when they all look like blobs. Your cookies turned out beautifully!
Thank you Abby. Yeah I decorate quite a few cookies so I know how important it is that these do not not spread!!
Love Gingerbread cookies! these are so cute and perfect for the upcoming season!
Thank you Prasanna. Yes they are perfect for the upcoming season
I love gingerbread cookies! These would be great for upcoming holiday cookie exchanges!
Absolutely Kathryn. Would be great for upcoming holidays
Yum! I love gingerbread cookies. THese sound just perfect. I can’t wait for Christmas cookie season!
Me too Kate. Thank you
Cute cookies. They look delicious! Thanks for the tips on substitution options.
Thank you Rachel.
What does ‘spread’ mean in the context of this recipe?
Most cookies tend to spread and increase in size when baked due to the leavening agents. Sometimes the shape begins to look flat and distorted. This recipe does not spread which means it holds it’s shape well and can be covered with fondant every easily. All you do is use the same cookie cutter you used to cut out the cookies and cut the shape in fondant. You can see that done in my next video post where I share how to decorate these cookies.
I’ve never really tried my hand at making gingerbread cookies but your recipe is a good place to start! My kids are going to love these, I’m sure. They look so pretty!
The flavor of the spices and the softness of the molasses in the cookies is very addictive. Once you make them you will get hooked. The house smells Christmasy too!
I will have to make these with my kids this holiday season. They look fabulous!
Thank you Alison. I love making these with the kids too!
Thee are perfect as food gifts 🙂 Thanks for sharing.. I know you really recommend using Molasses, but I would still need to ask for a substitute.. I haven’t seen molasses here in the supermarkets..
lots of love!
Ashima. The only other substitute I would say would be dark brown sugar. Same quantity
I love that these cookies don’t spread when you bake them. It’s always disappointing when the cookies lose too much of their shape to look pretty when decorated. (They still taste good, though.) I love the ration of cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg in this recipe. It seems like the perfect amount. I love decorating cookies with my kids at Christmas, and I can’t wait to make these with my family.
Thanks Patti. As a decorator I do get frustrated when cookies loose their shape. I love pretty perfect cookies and these work great for this time of the year. I hope you give the a try.
I love gingerbread, so these will definitely be on our cookie tray this December.
Thank you Patti. Happy to hear that
These look delicious! You tempt me every day! LOL! I’m wondering if you’d consider some gluten-free recipes for cookies, desserts, that I could make for staff potlucks; we have a number of people who are gluten- and lactose-intolerant.
Thank you Sherry. I know what you mean. I do need to make a few gluten free and eggless cookie recipes. Have had many request for them. I only have the Coconut Macaroons that are GF so far. I will add more to my collection. In fact I have a very yummy GF shortbread cookies which I need to make for the blog. I hope to share that soon. Thanks.