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Soft Gingerbread Latte Cookies with Brown Butter Icing. A cross between a really great soft, chewy gingerbread cookie and a delicious steaming gingerbread latte made with real espresso. These cookies are made with sweet dark brown sugar, molasses, ginger, and the real secret – espresso powder. They’re generously glazed with a sweet, thick, and creamy brown butter icing that melts in your mouth. You can make them as drop cookies or as Christmas cutouts, there’s really nothing not to love! They’re the perfect holiday cookie to bake, share, and gift this holiday season!
Ingredients
- Salted butter
- Light or dark brown sugar
- Espresso powder or instant coffee powder
- Vanilla extract
- Large egg
- Blackstrap molasses
- All-purpose flour
- Baking soda
- Ground ginger
- Ground cinnamon
- Kosher salt
- Granulated sugar
- Powdered sugar
- Milk
- Vanilla bean powder
What you will need in the kitchen:
- Parchment paper
- Mixing bowl
- spatula
- Small bowl
- Tablespoons
- Prepared baking sheets
- Christmas cookie cut outs
- Airtight container
- wire rack
- electric mixer
More cookies!! When I say I have been baking cookies non-stop, I mean it. These took me days. They’re the simplest cookie, but it took a long time to figure out how to get them from just ok to the amazing Christmas cookie I envisioned in my head.
The amount of gingerbread cookies I’ve baked in a week’s time is unreal, but look at these!! Oh, they are so, so yummy! And now I can look at them and truly say I really love these.
These are soft and chewy gingerbread. I did both drop cookies and cutouts, but I think I love the drop style more. Either way, they’re my favorite gingery cookie!
When I set out to make these, I really wanted to achieve a gingerbread that was chewy all around, soft, and not like other gingerbread cookies.
For some reason, the sound of a gingerbread latte cookie really excited me. I thought back to the gingerbread latte I created long ago, and then the mocha-cinnamon rolls I made last year. I love the added depth of flavor the espresso adds, so I knew these cookies needed three things. Lots of ginger, some espresso mixed in, and then, they also needed to be chewy.
Here are details
Step One
Let’s start by preheating the oven to 350 and lining two baking sheets with parchment paper! Easy! Next, In a medium mixing bowl, beat the butter with dark brown sugar and a high-quality espresso or instant coffee powder to create a butter mixture. Then add egg and molasses. Next, add the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, and salt. That’s the dough. It’s perfectly spiced and the espresso only helps to highlight the warming spices.
Step Two
Roll the dough into walnut-size balls. You can use a tablespoon measure for the correct size. This is a sticky dough, but if you’re having trouble, add a couple of tablespoons of additional flour.
Step Three
Then just bake. That’s literally it if you’re making drop cookies. Which are probably my preferred cookie, but only because they’re chewier than the cutouts.
If you want to make the cutouts, add some additional four flour to the dough. Then the key is to roll the dough out onto a piece of parchment paper.
Just as I do with my sugar cookies, I always like to roll out the dough, cut the cookies, and then freeze the cut cookies on a baking sheet for a few minutes. This ensures that the cookies hold their shape. To cut my cookies, I used Christmas tree cutters. But you can use any shapes you have on hand, or that your family loves the most.
On to the icing
This icing is everything. Just a handful of ingredients, but I love the nutty brown butter flavor and creaminess. It’s what makes these cookies really melt in your mouth.
The ingredients: butter, sugar, vanilla, a pinch of cinnamon, and salt.
The key is to brown the salted or unsalted butter (your choice) on the stove in a small or medium saucepan. Add the butter to a pot set over medium heat to brown the butter. Allow the brown butter to brown lightly until it smells toasted, about 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool for five minutes. Once cooled, add everything to the brown butter and thin it out with some milk. This includes whisking in the powdered sugar, milk, vanilla, a pinch of cinnamon, and salt. Ice each cookie quickly, the frosting does set up pretty quickly.
This combo of ginger, espresso, and brown butter is unexpected, but I’m finding that everyone LOVES it. You won’t even detect the espresso, it just compliments the ginger and cinnamon so wonderfully. The result is a perfectly chewy, gingery, molasses cookie with rich notes of espresso, vanilla, and ginger.
We couldn’t love these easy gingerbread cookies more. And the frosting really makes them special. Hope you guys love these just as much as I do!
Looking for Christmas cookie recipes? Here are a few ideas:
Chewy Frosted Cinnamon Swirl Snickerdoodles
Easy Slice ‘n’ Bake Vanilla Bean Sugar Cookies
Easy Vanilla Bean Christmas Lights Cookies
Lastly, if you make these Soft Gingerbread Latte Cookies with Brown Butter Icing be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Soft Gingerbread Latte Cookies with Brown Butter Icing
Servings: 22 cookies
Calories Per Serving: 250 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Watch the How-To Reel
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 sticks salted butter, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup light or dark brown sugar
- 2-4 tablespoons espresso powder or instant coffee powder
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 1/3 cup blackstrap molasses
- 2 1/4 cups, plus 1-2 tablespoons, as needed all-purpose flour
- 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- granulated sugar, for rolling
Brown Butter Icing
- 1 stick salted butter, at room temperature
- 1 1/2 -2 cups powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoos milk
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean powder
- 1 pinch cinnamon
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. 2. In a mixing bowl, beat together the butter, brown sugar, espresso, and vanilla until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Add the egg, mixing to combine. Then, add the molasses and mix to combine. Add the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, and salt, beating until combined. 3. Place the sugar in a small bowl. 3. For drop cookies: Roll the dough into tablespoon-size balls (if the dough is too sticky, add 2-4 additional tablespoons flour), then roll through the sugar. Place on the prepared baking sheet, spacing the cookies 2 inches apart. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the cookies are just starting to set around the edges, the centers should be a little doughy. Let cool on the pan. 4. For cutouts: Divide the dough in half. Roll out the dough on a floured piece of parchment paper to 1/4 inch thickness. Make sure you're using enough flour or your dough will stick. Cut out the cookies into desired shapes. Transfer the cookies to a parchment-lined baking sheet. I recommend using a floured spatula to lift the cookies. Cover the baking sheet and place in the freezer until firm, 15 minutes. Roll out the leftover scraps, and repeat with the remaining dough. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until just set.5. Meanwhile, make the icing. Add the butter to a pot set over medium heat. Allow the butter to brown lightly until it smells toasted, about 2-3 minutes. Remove from the heat. Let cool 5 minutes. Whisk in the powdered sugar, milk, vanilla, a pinch of cinnamon, and salt. Immediately spread the icing over the cookies, it will set quickly. Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
This post was originally published on December 6, 2022
These cookies are INSANELY good! I’ve made them twice in the last 2 weeks for different dinner parties and they were a huge hit all around!
I made them with gluten free flour and added 1 teaspoon of xantham gum so they’d hold together; used coconut sugar instead of brown; decaf instant coffee; and coconut milk in the icing vs cow milk.
I’m going to make them again for Christmas Eve too! Such a winning recipe, as always Tiegan! Thank you so much!
Hey Tamara,
Fantastic!! I’m so glad to hear this recipe turned out nicely for you, thanks a bunch for making it! Thanks for sharing what worked well for you. Have the best week!🎄☃️ xT
These were delicious. I did the drop cookies and they’re not as flat as yours. They’re more round and puffy. Any idea why that would be?
Hey Jessica,
Thanks so much for making these cookies, so glad to hear they were enjoyed! For a flatter cookie, try banging your baking sheet on the counter while the cookies are baking. I hope this helps! xx
i really like this recipe for drop cookies, but am doing cutouts this year and i’m not sure how i feel about the texture i have right now – how much flour would you add to one batch to create a cutout dough?? thank you for all your efforts 😀
Hey Jules,
Thanks for trying this recipe! I really wouldn’t add any flour to the dough, just to surface you are rolling out on. I hope this helps! xx
Thank you so much for creating this recipe! The cookies are delicious!!! Do you have any tricks for spreading the icing better? Maybe I need to thin it with more milk, but it feels impossible to make the drizzle look like yours does! The taste is still there though!!
Thanks so much for making these cookies, Cecilia! I’m so glad to hear they were enjoyed! For the icing you could try adding more milk. You might also have some better luck putting it into a plastic bag to pipe onto the cookies. I hope this helps! xx
I don’t have blackstrap molasses, will regular molasses work or does that completely chance the flavor?
Regular molasses will work for you:)
Oh my. I’m not sure if I like these or the maple latte cookies better. They’re both so tasty! I will say that I must need better cookie cutters, because they pretty much looked blobby after baking. But it sure didn’t hurt the taste. Gosh I hope I win one of those barista machines. It would be great to have a cappuccino with this cookie. 😊 😆
Hey Ash,
Happy Holidays! Thanks a bunch for making these cookies, I’m so glad to hear they were enjoyed! Have the best day:) xx
Do you think this dough would freeze well? I wanted to roll them into balls then freeze to bake later. If so, should I wait to roll in the sugar until I am ready to bake?
Hi Cori,
Totally, I think that would work nicely for you! Yes, I would wait to roll in sugar:) I hope you love this recipe! xxT
I froze my dough and it baked perfectly! Just add a few minutes to the bake time.
I freeze many cookie dough types and I would recommend to roll in sugar first before freezing. It doesn’t change the cookie at all and I don’t think the sugar would stick well if you want to roll them right out of the freezer.
Will the icing harden so they don’t stick together when packaged in a treat box? They sound divine.
Hey Lisa,
You bet, that will work nicely for you. I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xx
Thank you for this recipe and Happy Holidays! I work with the NYS Police regularly because in doing my job I need their assistance in catching criminals. To thank them every year at the holidays, for all of their hard work, I bake a whole bunch of Christmas cookies for the troopers at our local barracks. This year they will be getting these cookies, as well as bunch of others. These cookies are fantastic!
Hi Diane,
Thanks so much for choosing to make these cookies and sharing with others! Happy Friday and Happy Holidays! xT
Hey Tieghan, can this dough be made and frozen ahead of baking? I did the similar ones that were maple espresso, and they were addictive. Thank goodness I’m doing cookie boxes, or I’d probably eat all of these.
Hey Ash,
You bet! You could also bake the cookies and freeze them and then add the icing once thawed. I hope this helps! xx
have you tried freezing already iced cookies by chance? For simplicity I was hoping to do that!
Sorry, I wouldn’t recommend that:)
Last year I iced these and froze them, so I could have time to make them in advance. After thawed, they were still delicious! It sounds like it is better to ice them closer to the time of eating, but sample size of one – it seemed to have worked?
Thanks Tieghan for another amazing recipe. Always foolproof 🙂
Thank you T!
Hi Tieghan – if I don’t have molasses on hand, do you think I could omit it or perhaps add a second egg instead? Thank you!
Sarah
Hi Sarah,
So sorry, you definitely need the molasses for this recipe. Please let me know if I can help in any other way! xx
Added fresh vanilla beans and maple extract to the icing and it was perfection!
Hey Meg,
Happy Sunday!! Thanks a bunch for making this recipe and your comment, I’m so glad it turned out well for you! xx
Has anyone tried these with coconut flour or almond flour?
Hi Katie,
So sorry, I have not tested this. I think your best option would be to use a gluten free flour blend. I hope this helps! xx
These look great! Can I use vanilla instead of vanilla powder in the icing? And could I use actual espresso instead of powder or would it not give enough flavour?
Last question – do you think they would freeze well after icing them?
Chris, I used vanilla extract a little maple extract, and fresh vanilla beans and it worked perfectly. I also used fresh ground espresso (was fearful it would taste like coffee grounds yuck) and it also worked!!
Hi Chris,
Yes, vanilla in place of the powder will work and same with actual espresso. If you want to freeze these, I would do so before icing them. I hope this helps! xx
Just pulled them out of the oven! They are perfectly delicious!
How do you make the drop version crinkle? Mine turned out smooth and I prefer the cracked look you were able to achieve.
Hi Hannah,
Happy Thanksgiving! Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, I’m so glad it was enjoyed! I bang my baking sheet on the counter. Have a great weekend! xT
I mean, these are incredible. I forgot to brown the butter the first time I made them and they were still amazing . Then, because they were so good I made a double batch with the brown butter icing and they are a 10/10. Just when I thought they couldn’t get any better!
Hi Shawna,
Wonderful! Thank you so much for making this recipe and your comment! So glad to hear it was enjoyed! Happy Sunday! xx
These are the absolute best cookies! I used 2 Tb of the espresso powder and it was just perfect. I dipped the cookies about half way rather than drizzling and it made a beautiful cookie! This is a keeper!
Hey Emma,
Fantastic! I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe, thanks a lot for making it! Happy Thanksgiving! xxT
I made these yesterday and they were amazing. I do have a question about the recipe ratios. When I go to print, the metric measurements differ drastically from the standard US measurement, especially with the butter amount in the dough, and the amounts for the frosting. Am I using 2 sticks of butter or 1.5 sticks in the dough batter? Thanks!
Hi Victoria,
Fantastic! I’m so glad to hear this recipe turned out well for you, thanks for making it! You are using 1 1/2 sticks of butter in the dough. XxT