Gingerbread Latte Cookies Recipe for Soft and Chewy Holiday Baking

Gingerbread Latte Cookies

Soft and chewy gingerbread latte cookies bring together warm holiday spices and a gentle espresso kick. Each one is rolled in sugar for a crackly coating, then finished with an easy optional icing drizzle.

this …

This recipe makes 12 cookies and takes about 1 hour 10 minutes in total, with roughly 45 minutes of prep, 15 minutes of chilling, and 10 minutes in the oven.

Why you’ll love this recipe

I bake a lot of holiday cookies, and these are the ones that vanish first from my kitchen counter. Here is what makes them work so well:

• A chewy middle. Molasses, brown sugar, and centers that leave the oven slightly underbaked keep every single bite soft.
• Big gingerbread and coffee flavor. A full tablespoon of espresso powder meets cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg, so each cookie tastes like a gingerbread latte in cookie form.
• A sparkly sugar coating. Rolling the dough balls in granulated sugar gives the outside a light crunch and a festive, glittering look.
• An icing drizzle that is up to you. The simple powdered sugar icing is optional. These cookies taste and look wonderful without it, so you can skip it on a busy baking day.

Tools

You do not need much equipment for this recipe, but a few tools make the sticky dough easier to handle.

Because this dough spreads quite a bit, scoop size matters. I reach for a cookie scoop that holds 3 tablespoons for large cookies, and a 4 tablespoon scoop works just as well. If you prefer smaller cookies, a 2 tablespoon scoop is a good choice, though you will want to watch the bake time closely.

Ingredients

Gather everything before you start, because the dough comes together quickly once the butter is soft.

For the cookies

• 250 g all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon espresso powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 150 g unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 100 g brown sugar
• 50 g granulated sugar
• 100 g cooking molasses
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

For rolling

• 30 g granulated sugar

For the optional icing

• 40 g powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon milk, dairy or non dairy
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

The espresso powder is what creates the latte flavor. If you do not have it, instant coffee powder works as a stand in. The spice blend of cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg is what gives these cookies their classic gingerbread character, so keep all four if you can.

For the molasses, use cooking molasses, which is a blend of blackstrap and fancy molasses, or choose light or dark molasses. Please avoid blackstrap molasses on its own. It is thicker and noticeably more bitter, and it will pull the flavor of the whole batch in the wrong direction.

Let the butter and the egg sit out until they reach room temperature before you begin. The icing ingredients are entirely optional. If you would rather serve the cookies plain, simply leave the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla out of your shopping list.

Based on the source recipe, one cookie has about 272 calories, 41 g carbohydrates, 25 g sugar, 3 g protein, 11 g fat, 7 g saturated fat, 1 g fiber, 153 mg sodium, and 41 mg cholesterol.

How to make gingerbread latte cookies

Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper before you start mixing. The dough itself comes together fast, and the only real waiting happens in the fridge.

1. Heat the oven. Preheat to 350°F, line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and set it aside.
2. Stir the dry ingredients together. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, espresso powder, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and salt. Set the bowl aside.
3. Cream the butter and sugars. In a large mixing bowl, beat the softened butter with an electric hand mixer on medium speed until it becomes very creamy and pale in color. Add the granulated sugar and brown sugar, then cream everything together until fluffy.
4. Beat in the wet ingredients. Add the molasses, egg, and vanilla extract and beat until combined.
5. Bring the dough together. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix until the cookie dough is just combined. Stop as soon as the last streaks of dry flour disappear.
6. Scoop the dough. Use a cookie scoop that holds 3 tablespoons to scoop the dough, releasing each portion onto a cutting board lined with a scrap sheet of parchment paper.
7. Chill briefly. Slide the whole board into the fridge for about 15 minutes, just until the outside of each scoop is dry to the touch so the dough is easier to roll in your hands without sticking.
8. Roll and coat. Roll each cookie dough ball between your hands until it forms a smooth ball. Roll each ball in granulated sugar until it is fully coated, then place the balls on the lined baking sheet, leaving about 2 inches between each one to allow for spreading.
9. Bake. Bake for 10 to 11 minutes, until the cookies are puffy but still very soft. Right after you take the sheet out of the oven, tap it once against a wire rack to release the puffiness and create cracks on the cookies.
10. Cool. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.

For the optional icing

1. In a small bowl, stir together the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla extract until the icing becomes a thick but pourable consistency.
2. Transfer the icing to a piping bag, or simply use a spoon, and drizzle it over the cooled cookies.

That single tap of the baking sheet against the wire rack is the trick behind the crackled tops. Skip it and the cookies stay domed, which still tastes great, but they will not have that bakery look.

Storage

Keep the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature, or wrap them tightly in plastic wrap. Stored this way, they stay soft and chewy for up to 5 days. If you add the icing, let it set completely before you cover or stack the cookies so the glaze does not smear.

Freezing

These cookies freeze beautifully. Place the baked cookies in an airtight container or a freezer bag, or wrap them well in plastic wrap, and freeze them for up to 1 month. Thaw at room temperature for several hours before serving.

You can also freeze unbaked dough balls for up to 1 month, then thaw them at room temperature and bake from room temperature so they spread properly.

Tips for success

After testing this recipe a few times, these are the habits that make the biggest difference in the final cookie.

• Start with room temperature ingredients. Softened butter creams properly and a room temperature egg blends in smoothly. Cold butter will leave you with lumps that never fully smooth out.
• Use a cookie scoop. Even portions mean all your cookies are the same size and bake at the same rate. Keep a 3 or 4 tablespoon scoop for large cookies, and a 1 or 1.5 tablespoon scoop for smaller ones such as blossom cookies.
• Do not overbake. Pull the cookies when they are puffy and still very soft, with an outside that looks set and dry. They keep baking on the hot sheet and settle into that chewy texture as they cool.
• Chill just until dry. About 15 minutes is usually enough. The goal is a surface that no longer sticks to your hands, not a fully chilled block of dough.
• Coat the dough balls before baking. Roll each one in granulated sugar until it is completely covered. That coating is what gives the finished cookie its crunch and sparkle.

More Cookies

If you are baking your way through the holidays, these gingerbread latte cookies sit happily on a cookie platter next to chewy chocolate chip cookies, snickerdoodles, and classic oatmeal cookies. Soft molasses cookies and iced gingerbread are natural companions too.

I often bake a double batch and freeze half, because a warm spiced cookie in the middle of January is a very good thing to have on hand.

FAQs

Gingerbread Latte Cookies

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

No reviews

Print Recipe

Pin Recipe

Gingerbread Latte Cookies Soft and chewy gingerbread latte cookies bring together warm holiday spices and a gentle espresso kick. Each one is rolled in sugar for a crackly coating, then finished with an easy optional icing drizzle.

• Total Time: 70 min
• Yield: 12 cookies 1x

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

Cookies
250 g all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon espresso powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
0.25 teaspoon ground cloves
0.25 teaspoon ground nutmeg
0.25 teaspoon salt
150 g unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
100 g brown sugar
50 g granulated sugar
100 g cooking molasses
1 large egg, room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

For rolling
30 g granulated sugar

Icing (optional)
40 g powdered sugar
1 teaspoon milk, dairy or non-dairy
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

Cookies
1-Preheat the oven to 350°F: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment and set aside.
2-In a medium bowl, stir together flour,: In a medium bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, espresso powder, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and salt. Set aside.
3-In a large mixing bowl, use an: In a large mixing bowl, use an electric hand mixer to beat softened butter on medium speed until it becomes very creamy and pale in colour. Add the granulated sugar and brown sugar and cream together until fluffy.
4-Add the molasses, egg, and vanilla extract: Add the molasses, egg, and vanilla extract and beat together until combined.
5-Add the flour mixture to the butter: Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix until the cookie dough is just combined.
6-Use a 3-tablespoon cookie scooper to scoop: Use a 3-tablespoon cookie scooper to scoop the cookie dough and release it on a cutting board lined with a scrap sheet of parchment paper.
7-Chill the whole board of cookie dough: Chill the whole board of cookie dough in the fridge for about 15 minutes, just until the outside is dry to the touch so that they’re easier to roll in your hands without sticking.
8-Roll each cookie dough ball in between: Roll each cookie dough ball in between your hands until they form a perfect ball. Roll each ball in granulated sugar until they’re all coated. Place the balls on your lined baking sheet, leaving about 2″ in between each ball to allow for spreading.
9-Bake cookies for 10-11 minutes or until: Bake cookies for 10-11 minutes or until they’re puffy but still very soft. After taking them out of the oven, bang the baking sheet against a wire rack once to release the puffiness and create cracks on the cookies.
10-Let them cool on the baking sheet: Let them cool on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Icing (optional)
11-In a small bowl, stir together powdered: In a small bowl, stir together powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla extract until it becomes a thick but pourable consistency.
12-Transfer the icing to a piping bag: Transfer the icing to a piping bag or use a spoon to drizzle it on top of the cookies.

Last Step:

Please leave a rating and comment letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business to thrive and continue providing free, high-quality recipes for you.

• Prep Time: 45 min
• Cook Time: 10 min
• Method: bake

Nutrition

• Calories: 272
• Sugar: 25g
• Sodium: 153mg
• Fat: 11g
• Saturated Fat: 7g
• Carbohydrates: 41g
• Fiber: 1g
• Protein: 3g
• Cholesterol: 41mg