Mini Gingerbread Cookies with Maple Icing
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These homemade mini gingerbread cookies are 1,000% better than store-bought. With warm spices and maple icing, they’re soft, chewy, and so fun to decorate with friends and family. Add them to a cookie box or bring them to holiday parties for a cute, bite-sized treat!
As someone who has been known to throw a tiny fit over frustrating, tedious tasks, I’ve always avoided gingerbread type things in favor of less fussy holiday treats like mocha crinkle cookies or molasses crinkle cookies. Honestly, I think I just got burnt out from shaping fondant and decorating sugar cookies when I was in pastry school lol.
But either way, this felt like my year to get into gingerbread. So I popped myself in front of the TV, turned on a the cheesiest, Hallmark-esque Christmas movie I could find, opened a bottle of wine, and… As it turns out, decorating cookies is actually a lot of fun?
And these ones are my all-time fave! The recipe is based on my stamped cardamom gingerbread cookies. But like mini sprinkle cookies, mini M&M cookies, and mini chocolate chip cookies, they’re tiny for a little bite-sized treat!
Here’s a few more highlights, because you definitely need to make them before Christmas is over!
- These cookies are nice and chewy with just the right amount of spice.
- The icing is ridiculously easy and has a pop of maple to complement the spices.
- You can freeze the dough and bake later. The perfect make-ahead treat.
- This recipe makes about 48 cookies per batch, so they’re great for parties and holidays.
Mini cookie cutters
Since this is a roll-and-cut recipe, you will need some mini Christmas cookie cutters. I tested this recipe multiple times with both 2-inch and 1 1/2-inch cookie cutters. The dough works great for either, so it’ll just depend on what size you want!
- 2-inch cutters – the 2-inch cookies are nice for 2-3 bites each.
- 1 1/2-inch cutters – for extra mini, 1-bite cookies, use 1 1/2-inch cookie cutters instead.
Unsulphured molasses
Molasses is key in gingerbread. It just isn’t gingerbread without it. But you want to make sure that you get unsulphured molasses which is sweet and spicy. Do not use blackstrap molasses which is salty and bitter and will totally ruin the cookies.
Other than that, you’ll need all-purpose flour, baking soda, Kosher salt, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, nutmeg, unsalted butter, brown sugar, an egg yolk, and vanilla extract. For the icing, you’ll also need powdered sugar, whole milk, and pure maple extract.
How to make the dough
Don’t over-mix the dough! You want to combine it just until the dough comes together, or the cookies could come out tough and dense.
Don’t skip chilling the dough! First off, the cookies are so much more flavorful after some time in the fridge. But also, the dough is way too sticky right when it’s mixed. Chilling helps it firm up for easy rolling and baking.
Roll & bake
It’s important to keep the dough chilled so it doesn’t stick. Refrigerate extra dough and unbaked cookies while you’re rolling and cutting.
Icing & decorating
The icing should be the consistency of a very thick glue. You want it to be thin enough for piping but thick enough that it holds its shape.
More decoration ideas
The icing in this recipe is pretty basic for easy piping. But, it won’t work for intricate, complicated designs. If you want to decorate the cookies with more elaborate designs (like a sugar cookie), then I would use the maple royal icing in this recipe instead. Here’s some more decoration ideas!
- Use gel food coloring for different colors of icing.
- Sprinkle the cookies with coarse sanding sugar for a sparkly look.
- Or, use festive holiday sprinkles for a pop of color!
- Add gumdrops, mini M&Ms, or other candies.
- Use extra mini cookies as garnishes for cocktails and hot chocolate!
Since these cookies are tiny, you’ll want to use a very small round tip for piping. I used Wilton’s round piping tip number 2.
Crispy gingerbread cookies
If you’re a fan of crispy gingerbread cookies, I got you. I tested a version of this recipe to make crispy, sturdy cookies for cocktail garnishes, and there were two super easy tricks for crisp (but not burnt!) cookies.
- Roll the dough extra thin, about 1/8-inch thick. The thinner the dough, the crispier the cookies.
- Bake the cookies for an extra 1-2 minutes. They’re ready when they’re sturdy and starting to get toasty on the bottoms. But be careful that they don’t burn!
Storing & keeping the cookies soft
The key to keeping these cookies soft and chewy is to store them the right way. First, make sure that the icing is completely set. Then, gently stack the cookies in an airtight container. They can sit on the counter for 2-3 days before they start to lose their chewiness.
If you want to make 100% sure that the icing doesn’t smudge, store the cookies in a single layer. But, as long as the icing sets for a few hours, it should be fine to stack!
Freezing & make-ahead
If you want to store the cookies for longer than 2-3 days, I would freeze them. This is a great make-ahead option for stress-free holiday baking!
- Freeze the dough – wrap the dough discs in plastic wrap and then pop them in a freezer bag. Freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost the dough at room temp for 1-2 hours or overnight in the fridge.
- Freeze the baked cookies – stack the cookies in a freezer bag or container lined with parchment paper. Freeze for up to 3 months and defrost for 1-2 hours at room temp.
If I’m freezing baked cookies, I like to keep them undecorated so the icing doesn’t chip off. But if you want to freeze decorated cookies, it’ll be fine, you might just end up with a few smudges.
For amazing cookies every time, use a kitchen scale to weigh the ingredients instead of using measuring cups. If you don’t have a scale, then use the fluff-and-spoon method to measure the flour. First, whisk the flour until it’s nice and fluffy. Then, spoon the fluffed flour into a measuring cup and level it off without packing it in.
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Mini Gingerbread Cookies with Maple Icing
Ingredients
Mini Gingerbread Cookies
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting (210 grams)
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon cardamom
- 1/4 teaspoon cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened (114 grams)
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar (105 grams)
- 1 egg yolk, room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup unsulphured molasses (60 grams)
Maple Icing
- 1 cup powdered sugar (120 grams)
- 2 Tablespoon whole milk, (24 milliliters)
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon maple extract
- Sprinkles, for decorating (optional)
Equipment
- Kitchen scale (or measuring cups)
- Stand mixer (or hand mixer)
- Mini Christmas cookie cutters (2-inches)
- Piping bag, with a small round tip
Instructions
Make the dough
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking soda, Kosher salt, ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, and nutmeg. Set aside.
- Using a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat the butter and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl until it's light and fluffy, 3-4 minutes. Add the egg yolk and vanilla extract until incorporated. Then, beat in the molasses until thoroughly mixed.
- Add the flour mixture, beating just until the dough comes together. Don't over-mix! Stir the dough with a rubber spatula to make sure there are no dry spots.
- Pat the dough into two 1/2-inch thick discs. Wrap each dough disc in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2-3 hours, or overnight.
Roll & bake
- Once the dough is chilled, preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C) and line two sheet pans with parchment paper.
- Dust a clean surface with all-purpose flour. Working one disc at a time, roll the dough with a rolling pin until it's about 1/4-inch thick, turning it a quarter after each roll. If the dough cracks, just press it together with your fingers and keep rolling.
- Use mini (2-inch) cookie cutters to cut out as many cookies as you can. Re-roll the dough scraps until all the dough is used up. Repeat with the second disc of dough.
- Line the cookies about 1 1/2 inches apart on the parchment-lined sheet pans. Bake the cookies for 7-8 minutes, until the edges are set and the tops are dry. Let the cookies cool on the sheet pan for 5 minutes and then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Make the icing & decorate
- In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, milk, vanilla extract, and maple extract. Add more milk (1 Tablespoon at a time) if it's too thick or more powdered sugar (1 Tablespoon at a time) if it's too thin. The icing should be the consistency of a very thick glue. You want it to be thin enough to pipe but thick enough to hold its shape.
- Spoon the icing into a piping bag with a small round tip. Pipe the icing on the cooled gingerbread cookies and decorate with sprinkles, if desired. Enjoy!
