These gingerbread cookies are bold and spicy, the kind that actually taste like winter instead of just looking like it. You melt the butter and sugars with dark syrup, orange zest, and a full lineup of warm spices (cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, cardamom), then let the dough rest overnight so the flavor gets deeper and the cookies bake up just right. They’re rolled thick, baked fast, and finished with crisp royal icing for that classic snap and shine holiday look.

What is the history behind gingerbread houses?

Gingerbread houses feel like a cute holiday craft but they have real history behind them. Gingerbread itself goes back centuries in Europe, especially in Germany, where spiced honey cakes and molded gingerbread were made for festivals and markets. The house version became popular in the 1800s and it’s usually linked to the rise of the Brothers Grimm fairy tale Hansel and Gretel; the story about a candy covered house basically dared people to recreate it in real life. From there gingerbread houses turned into a Christmas tradition especially in German speaking regions where elaborate decorated cookies and structures were sold at holiday markets and made at home as a winter ritual.

How to make gingerbread cookies?

Now let’s get baking! In a medium pot, melt together butter, sugar, brown sugar, dark syrup, orange zest, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and cardamom and bring to boil. Cool to room temperature. Transfer the sugar/spice mixture into a large bowl and mix in the eggs. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and baking soda. Add the flour one cup at a time into the sugar/spice mixture. Lightly oil a large bowl and transfer the dough in it, cover and refrigerate overnight. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Dust a counter with flour and roll the dough to just under 1cm thick. Cut out cookie shapes and bake for 6-8 minutes. Let each batch sit for 5 minutes after pulling them out of the oven before transferring on the wire rack. To make the royal icing, whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form. Add powdered sugar one cup at a time, then the vanilla extract. Whisk on high speed until stiff peaks form. Fold in food coloring. Decorate the cookies and let them sit in room temperature until the royal icing has hardened.

Tips

Let the cookie dough rest for at least 8 hours before baking for best results.
Let each batch cool on the cookie sheet before moving. The cookies will be soft straight out of the oven but will harden within couple minutes.
Make sure the cookies are completely cool before decorating them.