Sourdough Gingerbread Cookies Recipe
This sourdough gingerbread cookies recipe uses active starter or discard with brown sugar, molasses, and warm spices to produce soft, tender cut-out or drop cookies with a mild tang and classic gingerbread flavor. Makes 24 cookies and chills in as little as 2 hours.
Servings: 24
Calories: 166kcal
Equipment
- 1 Large mixing bowl
- 1 Medium Mixing Bowl
- 1 Whisk
- 1 Baking sheet
- 1 Parchment Paper
- 1 Rolling Pin
- 1 Set of cookie cutters
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour 360 grams
- 1 teaspoon baking soda 5 grams
- ½ teaspoon salt 3 grams
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger 4 grams
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 3 grams
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg 1 gram
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves 0.5 grams
Wet Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened, 113 grams
- ½ cup brown sugar packed, 100 grams
- ¼ cup granulated sugar 50 grams
- 1 large egg 50 grams
- ½ cup sourdough starter or discard 120 grams
- ⅓ cup unsulfured molasses 113 grams, not blackstrap
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 4 grams
Optional Finishes
- ¼ cup coarse sugar for rolling 50 grams,
- ½ cup royal icing for decorating cut-out cookies
Instructions
- Make the dough – cream the softened butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together until the mixture turns paler in color and looks lightly aerated. Beat in the egg until fully incorporated, then add the sourdough starter, molasses, and vanilla extract and mix until smooth.
- Combine the dry ingredients – in a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, ground ginger, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, and ground cloves until evenly distributed.
- Bring the dough together – add the dry mixture to the wet mixture and stir until a soft, even dough forms. The dough will be sticky before chilling — that is correct.
- Chill the dough – cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or overnight for deeper flavor and easier handling.
- Portion or roll – for drop cookies, scoop into rounded balls and roll the tops in coarse sugar before placing on a parchment-lined sheet pan. For cut-out cookies, lightly flour the work surface and roll the chilled dough to a quarter inch thickness before cutting into holiday shapes.
- Bake the cookies – transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake at 350°F for 9 to 11 minutes. The edges should look set and the centers should shift from glossy to matte.
- Cool and decorate – rest on the sheet pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack. Decorate with royal icing once fully cooled.
Notes
Chill time – a minimum 2-hour chill is required for the dough to firm enough to roll and cut cleanly. An overnight chill deepens the gingerbread flavor and is worth the extra time when baking for gifting.
Measure flour by weight – measure to 360 grams for the most consistent dough. Too much flour produces a dry, crumbly dough that cracks when rolled.
Watch for the matte center – pull the tray the moment the centers shift from glossy to matte for the softest finished cookie.
Storage – store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. Freeze baked cookies with parchment between layers for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
Serving: 140G | Calories: 166kcal | Carbohydrates: 29g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 17mg | Sodium: 109mg | Potassium: 100mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 15g | Vitamin A: 128IU | Vitamin C: 0.01mg | Calcium: 19mg | Iron: 1mg