Eggless Gingerbread Cookies with Royal Icing
Gingerbread cookies are a classic spiced treat, especially popular during the Christmas season. These cookies are traditionally made with molasses or honey and warming spices like ginger, cinnamon, and cloves. The iconic gingerbread man shape is loved by both children and adults alike.
This recipe includes eggless cookies and a super simple royal icing, perfect for decorating. The cookies with icing are not only delicious but also visually appealing. Decorating them can be a fun activity to share with kids or family members, making the holidays even more special.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Eggless and family-friendly – suitable for everyone.
- Quick and simple icing – no complicated ingredients.
- Customizable decorations – add sprinkles, colored sugar, or edible glitter.
- Perfect for holiday gifting or festive parties.
Easy Royal Icing
One of the highlights of this recipe is the eggless royal icing, which is surprisingly simple to make. I use store-bought icing sugar mixed with a little milk. Because most store-bought icing sugar contains corn starch, there is no need to add any other stabilizer. The result is a smooth, pipeable icing that dries perfectly and holds its shape.
Fun for the Whole Family
Making gingerbread cookies is not just baking—it’s an experience. Rolling the dough, cutting out shapes, and decorating with icing is a wonderful way to involve kids. You can create gingerbread men, stars, trees, or any fun shapes. It’s a great activity for holiday bonding while also teaching basic baking skills.
Tips and Variations
- For softer cookies, slightly underbake and allow to cool on the tray.
- Use colored icing or edible markers for creative designs.
- Store cookies in an airtight container to maintain freshness.
- Perfect for gifting: wrap decorated cookies in cellophane with a festive ribbon.
If you are looking for more festive recipes, do try following,
Also visit my YouTube channel Shriyog Kitchen by Yogita for more recipe videos.
Eggless Gingerbread cookies and icing
Ingredients
Method
- In a large bowl, beat 1/2 cup softened butter until creamy and fluffy.
- Add 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1/3 cup molasses. Beat again until smooth and creamy.
- Place a strainer over the bowl. Sift in all-purpose flour, corn starch, ginger powder, cinnamon powder, allspice, clove powder, and salt.
- Gently fold the dry ingredients into the butter mixture using a spatula.
- Add 1 tablespoon of milk to bind the dough. Mix until soft and non-sticky.
- Cover and refrigerate the dough for at least 1 hour to firm up.
- Place the dough between two sheets of parchment paper. Roll it out evenly to 1/4-inch thickness.
- Dip cookie cutters in flour and cut the dough into desired shapes.
- Arrange the cookies on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
- Bake cookies for 10–12 minutes or until the edges turn light brown.
- Keep an eye on the cookies, as baking time depends on their size, oven type, and tray position.
- Do not wait for cookies to become fully crispy in the oven. Remove them when edges are lightly golden.
- Let the cookies cool completely; they will harden and become crisp as they cool.
- Sift icing sugar into a bowl and add 1/2 tablespoon milk. Mix well.
- Gradually add more milk in small amounts to achieve thick icing for borders.
- Set aside half of the thick icing for border outlines.
- To the remaining icing, add milk gradually until it reaches a flowing consistency. This is the flood icing for filling cookies.
- Optionally, add food colors to make your cookies more festive and visually appealing.
Notes
- For making icing, don’t forget to sift the sugar and remove big particles. This will help the us to get plain lump free icing.
- Prefer store bought powdered sugar as it has some corn starch that helps with binding
- It will take around 8 hours for icing to dry, make sure you give enough time for icing to settle, overnight is preferred
- Honey is substitute for molasses if later is not available easily
GINGERBREAD COOKIES WITH DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS AND STEP BY STEP PHOTOS
In a large bowl, beat 1/2 cup softened butter until creamy and fluffy.
Add 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1/3 cup molasses. Beat again until smooth and creamy.
Place a strainer over the bowl. Sift in all-purpose flour, corn starch, ginger powder, cinnamon powder, allspice, clove powder, and salt.
Gently fold the dry ingredients into the butter mixture using a spatula.
Add 1 tablespoon of milk to bind the dough. Mix until soft and non-sticky.
Cover and refrigerate the dough for at least 1 hour to firm up.
Place the dough between two sheets of parchment paper. Roll it out evenly to 1/4-inch thickness.
Dip cookie cutters in flour and cut the dough into desired shapes.
Arrange the cookies on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Bake in preheated oven at 350°F(180°C) for 10 to 12 minutes or until edges are barely brown.
Sift icing sugar into a bowl and add 1/2 tablespoon milk. Mix well.
Gradually add more milk in small amounts to achieve thick icing for borders.
To the remaining icing, add milk gradually until it reaches a flowing consistency. This is the flood icing for filling cookies.
Optionally, add food colors to make your cookies more festive and visually appealing.
Decorate the cookies in your way.
These eggless gingerbread cookies with royal icing are festive, fun, and easy to make. The combination of soft, spiced cookies and sweet, decorative icing makes them a favorite during the holiday season. Bake them with family or friends and enjoy both the baking process and the delicious results.