Gingerbread Sandwich Cookies
These delicious gingerbread sandwich cookies are soft yet chewy, perfectly spiced, and filled with the most delicious buttercream frosting.
Servings: 12 sandwich cookies
Calories: 472kcal
Equipment
Ingredients
Gingerbread Cookie Dough
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature 113g
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar 150g
- 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar 50g
- 1 large egg, room temperature 56g
- 1/4 cup dark molasses 70g
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 290g
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1/4 tsp fine salt
- 1 cup white sanding sugar or granulated sugar
Fluffy Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature 113g
- 1 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste 4g
- 1/4 tsp fine salt
- 2 cups powdered sugar 250g
- 2 Tbsp heavy cream or milk, room temperature 30g
Instructions
Gingerbread Cookies
- Preheat oven to 350°F/175°C and line 2 large cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats. Set aside.
- Cream together 1/2 cup butter, 3/4 cup granulated sugar, and 1/4 light brown sugar in a large bowl with an electric hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on a medium-high speed with an electric mixer until the mixture becomes lighter in color (about 2 minutes).
- Mix in 1 egg and 1/4 cup molasses on a medium speed until combined. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed with a rubber spatula.
- Then mix 2 1/4 cups flour, 2 tsp ginger, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, 1/4 tsp cloves, and 1/4 tsp salt into the wet ingredients on a low speed. Mix until just combined. The dough should be quite thick.
- Use a 1 1/2 Tbsp cookie scoop or a large spoon to scoop and roll 24 cookie dough balls.
- Roll them in white sanding sugar or granulated sugar, then place the cookies about 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Bake for 10-11 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies seem set and the centers are puffy.
- Gently flatten the cookies with the bottom of a metal measuring cup or glass while they're still warm. Then let the cookies cool on the sheet for 10 minutes, then place them on a wire rack to finish cooling.
Fluffy Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
- While the cookies bake and cool, make the buttercream frosting. Mix 1/2 cup butter on a medium speed in a large bowl for 30 seconds, or until smooth.
- Add 1 tsp vanilla extract and 1/4 tsp salt. Mix on a medium speed until combined.
- Mix in 2 cups powdered sugar and 2 Tbsp heavy cream or milk on a low speed. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed with a rubber spatula.
- If the frosting seems too thick, add an extra Tbsp of heavy cream. If it seems too thin, add another 1/4 cup of powdered sugar. If you're not sure what consistency you're after, check out my buttercream consistency post.
- Once the powdered sugar is incorporated, mix for an additional minute on a medium-high speed to give the frosting a fluffy consistency. Place the buttercream in a large piping bag and snip a 1/2-inch opening at the base of the bag.
- Pair up the cookies, then fill them with buttercream and sandwich them together. Store the cookies at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 2 days or in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Video
Notes
The soft-batch gingerbread cookie recipe makes 24 total cookies, which are then used to make 12 sandwich cookies using a 1 1/2 Tbsp cookie scoop.
If you want to make more cookies, you can double the ingredients and make a double batch using either a hand mixer or a stand mixer.
You can also make mini gingerbread sandwich cookies that are half the size, and end up with 24 little sandwich cookies! Scoop 48 cookies using a 3/4 Tbsp cookie scoop and bake for 7-8 minutes at 350°F/175°C.
Tips for Making the Best Gingerbread Sandwich Cookies
- Make sure your ground spices are still fresh and full of flavor! As they sit, sometimes they can lose their potency, leaving you with lackluster-tasting cookies.
- Use a 1 1/2 Tbsp cookie scoop to make sure your cookies are uniformly sized.
- Space your cookies about 2 inches apart before baking them. They will spread as they bake.
- Don't over-bake your cookies! The color of the dough makes it hard to tell when they start to brown, so keep an eye on the texture of the top of the cookie. Even if they seem a bit soft coming out of the oven, they will continue to bake and set on the tray once they're out of the oven.
- Gently flatten the baked cookies with the bottom of a metal measuring cup or glass while they're still warm. This will make them easier to eat once they're filled.
- I used a piping bag to fill these cookies, but you can also use a Ziplock bag if you don't have a piping bag. I recommend using the freezer type because they're a bit sturdier.
Making These Cookies in Advance and Storing Them
This cookie dough can be made up to 2 days in advance. Store it in the fridge in an airtight container, then when you're ready to bake them, let the dough thaw to room temperature, scoop the cookies, and bake them. Baked and filled cookies can be stored in an airtight container or ziplock bag at room temperature for up to 2 days, in the fridge for 5 days, or in the freezer for a month. You can also freeze unbaked cookie dough for up to 3 months.Nutrition
Serving: 1 | Calories: 472kcal | Carbohydrates: 76g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 61mg | Sodium: 226mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 57g