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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
I don’t have vanilla bean powder accessible, can I just use more vanilla extract for the icing?
Hi Ada,
You bet, that will work nicely for you! I hope you love these cookies!
Happy Holidays!
Can I use vanilla bean paste instead of vanilla bean powder? If so what is the ratio? Thanks!
Hi Caitlyn,
I’ve not tried that, but I don’t see why not! Let me know how these cookies turn out for you!
These were a hit! I used 2 tbsp of espresso powder and will probably drop it to 1 or 1.5 next time to help the ginger stand out more. I was unable to roll the dough, way too sticky even when attempting to apply flour, so I just rolled them into tbsp balls and smushed them down onto the parchment. Nice soft texture after 10-12 minutes, might shoot for a bit crispier next time. Frosting was too thick to be drizzled so I will add an extra tbsp or two of milk next time to thin it out. But these are all nitpicks, I brought these to a party where I didn’t know many people and they were popular enough to make me some new friends. What more can you ask of a recipe?
Thanks so much, Seth! I am so glad to hear these cookies turned out well for you, I appreciate you making the recipe!
Happy Holidays!
I had these at a cookie exchange party recently and they were to die for, I went in search for the recipe immediately!
Thanks so much, Lindsay! Love to hear this:) Have a great week!
Hi! Can I use regular molasses instead of blackstrap molasses? So excited to make these!! (:
Hi Mikayla,
Sure, that will be okay for you to do. I hope you love these cookies, please let me know if you give them a try!
Hi! Love these!
Can I freeze them once they’ve been baked and iced?
Hey Emily,
Yay! Love to hear this recipe turned out nicely for you, I appreciate you making it! I would freeze without the icing. Happy Holidays!
Icing is to die for. It’s probably something I did but mine were flat and coffee flavor was too much. I used 3T of ground instant coffee. 1st time we haven’t loved any of your recipes. Like I said, user error. Merry Christmas
Hi Julie,
Thanks so much for trying these cookies and sharing your feedback! So sorry to hear you didn’t love them. Happy Holidays!
How many grammes is a ‘stick’ of butter? I’m in the UK so we can have 100g-250g in a block, usually 200 or 250.
Hey Fiona,
1 stick of butter is equal to 113 grams or 1/2 cup.
Please let me know if you have any other questions!
Making these for a Christmas Cookie contest/party and not gonna lie – I don’t see how these can lose. IN. SANE. Like I was not prepared for how good this brown butter icing is. My husband was speechless after tasting it.
I made these exactly as outlined in the recipe and they turned out perfect. Only change is that I made them gluten-free by using Bob’s Red Mills all-purpose baking flour (1:1). No one will know or care except me:) Thank you for an AH-MAZING recipe. I will definitely be trying more of your cookie recipes this holiday season!
Hey Leslie,
Big thanks for making this and sharing back. So glad it hit the spot!
Have a wonderful weekend!🎄
Hey there! These look amazing- do they freeze well? I want to be proactive for my Christmas baking!
Hey Isabella,
Yes, just freeze without the icing. I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions!
This cookie was DELISH! The icing is TO DIE FOR!!
Hey Isela,
Awesome! So glad to hear these cookies were enjoyed, thanks for making them!
Can I use vanilla paste instead of powder?
Hi Kathy,
Sure, that will also work nicely for you! I hope you love these cookies!
Happy Holidays!
This is my question too!
Hello! Can these be frozen and baked at a later time?
Hey Monica,
I would bake them, freeze, and then ice once thawed.
I hope this helps, please let me know if you have any other questions!
I’ve done these for cookie swaps twice now and they are always so pretty and yummy! I always do them drop-cookie style because I love them chewy. Thank you!
Hey Jess,
Love to hear this! Thanks a lot for making this recipe and your comment!
Have a great Sunday!
Love this recipe but I always have problems with the icing being too thickened and not able to drizzle.
Any suggestions?
Thanks so much, Vera!! For the icing, just add a touch more milk until it is the right consistency. I hope this helps!
What did I do wrong? Mine are crumbly and dry. I doubled the receipe for a swap but measured exactly. They are a total loss as cookies so I am going to use them in a trifle instead.
Hi Sara,
I am so sorry to hear this! I would have done two batches rather than doubling the recipe, sometimes baking can be finicky in that way.
I hope you will try again!