Gingerbread Latte Cookies – Soft and Chewy Holiday Recipe

Gingerbread Latte Cookies

These gingerbread latte cookies turn the flavors of a cozy holiday latte into a soft, chewy cookie you can hold in one hand.

Warm gingerbread spices meet a real espresso kick, and every dough ball gets rolled in granulated sugar for a sparkly coating that crackles in the oven.

A simple icing drizzle adds just the right touch of sweetness, and you can skip it entirely if you prefer. One batch makes 12 cookies, which is an easy number to carry to a cookie swap, a holiday tray, or a potluck dessert table.

Why you’ll love this recipe

I bake a lot of cookies during the holidays, and this recipe keeps earning its spot on the tray. Here is what makes it stand out.

• Soft and chewy centers. Molasses and brown sugar keep the middles tender, and the cookies come out of the oven slightly underbaked so they stay chewy as they cool.
• Real gingerbread and coffee flavor. Cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg bring the classic spice blend, while a full tablespoon of espresso powder adds a smooth coffee note that balances the sweetness.
• A crunchy sugar coating. Rolling each dough ball in granulated sugar gives you a thin, sparkly shell that contrasts with the soft middle and looks beautiful on a platter.
• An easy optional icing. Three ingredients and a spoon are all you need for the drizzle. The cookies taste and look perfectly fine without it, so the choice is yours.

Between the spice, the coffee, and the sugar coating, these read as a holiday cookie without any fussy decorating.

Tools

You do not need much specialty equipment for this recipe, but a few tools make the process smoother.

• Electric hand mixer. Creaming the butter and sugars by hand works, but a hand mixer gets the mixture pale and fluffy much faster and with far less effort.
• Cookie scoop. The recipe is written for a scoop that holds about 3 tablespoons. If you want smaller cookies, use a 2 tablespoon scoop instead. This dough spreads quite a bit, so a smaller scoop gives you a tidier shape.
• Rimmed baking sheet. Line it with parchment paper so nothing sticks.
• Wire rack. You will use it right after baking to bang the sheet, and again for cooling.
• Cutting board. A small board lined with parchment holds the scooped dough while it chills in the fridge.
• Small bowl, spoon, and piping bag. All three come in handy for the optional icing.

If you bake often, most of these already live in your kitchen, and none of them are expensive.

Ingredients

Here is everything you need. I list the weights the recipe was developed with, because a kitchen scale gives you the most consistent results. Set the butter and the egg out ahead of time so they reach room temperature before you start.

For the cookies:

• 250 g all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon espresso powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 150 g unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 100 g brown sugar
• 50 g granulated sugar
• 100 g cooking molasses
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

For rolling:

• 30 g granulated sugar

For the optional icing:

• 40 g powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon milk, dairy or plant based
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

A few notes on ingredients. Espresso powder gives the boldest coffee flavor, and instant coffee powder works as a substitute if that is what you keep in the pantry. For the molasses, cooking molasses is ideal, and light or dark molasses also work well.

Skip blackstrap molasses, which is thicker and far more bitter. The icing is optional, so if you would rather leave the cookies plain, you can skip those three ingredients completely. Any milk works in the icing, dairy or plant based.

Nutrition per cookie, based on 12 cookies and the values provided with the recipe:

How to make gingerbread latte cookies

The whole batch takes about 1 hour 10 minutes from start to finish, with 45 minutes of prep, 15 minutes of chilling, and 10 minutes in the oven. Here is the method, step by step.

1. Preheat and prepare. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set it aside.
2. Mix the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, espresso powder, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and salt. Set the bowl aside.
3. Cream the butter and sugars. In a large mixing bowl, beat the softened butter with an electric hand mixer on medium speed until it looks very creamy and pale. Add the granulated sugar and the brown sugar, then cream everything together until fluffy.
4. Add the wet ingredients. Beat in the molasses, the egg, and the vanilla extract until the mixture is combined.
5. Bring the dough together. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix until the cookie dough is just combined. Stop as soon as the last streaks of flour disappear.
6. Scoop the dough. Use a scoop that holds about 3 tablespoons to portion the dough, releasing each scoop onto a cutting board lined with a scrap piece of parchment paper.
7. Chill briefly. Slide the whole board into the fridge for about 15 minutes, just until the outside of each portion feels dry to the touch. That short rest is what makes the dough easy to roll without sticking to your hands.
8. Roll and coat. Roll each portion between your palms until it forms a smooth ball. Roll each ball in granulated sugar until it is fully coated, then place the balls on the lined baking sheet about 2 inches apart to allow for spreading.
9. Bake. Bake the cookies for 10 to 11 minutes, until they are puffy but still very soft. The moment you take the sheet out of the oven, bang it once against a wire rack. This releases the puffiness and creates cracks across the tops.
10. Cool. Let the cookies sit on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Optional icing. In a small bowl, stir together the powdered sugar, the milk, and the vanilla extract until the icing is thick but still pourable. Transfer it to a piping bag, or simply use a spoon, and drizzle it over the cookies.

The bang on the wire rack is not just for looks. It releases the puffiness that builds in the oven and opens up those pretty cracks on top.

You should end up with 12 cookies. They will still look soft when they come out of the oven, and that is exactly what you want.

Storage

Once the cookies are completely cool, store them at room temperature. An airtight container works best, or set them on a plate and cover the plate tightly with plastic wrap. Stored this way, the cookies stay soft and chewy for up to 5 days.

If you added the icing, let it set fully before you stack the cookies, and slide a piece of parchment between layers to protect the drizzle.

Freezing

These cookies freeze well. Place cooled cookies in an airtight container or a freezer bag, or wrap them well in plastic wrap, and freeze for up to 1 month. To serve, thaw them at room temperature for several hours.

They come back soft and taste freshly baked. If you plan to ice them, wait until after thawing so the glaze stays smooth and glossy. The sugar coating holds up nicely through freezing, so no extra work is needed before you pack them away.

Tips for success

These are the three habits that make the biggest difference, plus one note for planning ahead.

Use room temperature ingredients. Softened butter creams properly with the sugars and traps air, which is what gives you a light, tender cookie. Cold butter leaves you with a dense dough and lumps. Set the butter and the egg out about an hour before you plan to bake.

Portion with a cookie scoop. A scoop keeps every cookie the same size so they bake evenly. A scoop that holds about 3 or 4 tablespoons makes large cookies, while a 2 tablespoon scoop makes smaller ones. This dough spreads, so leave space between the balls on the sheet.

Do not overbake. Pull the cookies when they are puffy, set around the edges, and still very soft in the middle. They finish setting on the hot baking sheet as they cool, and that is what gives you a chewy center instead of a crisp one.

Plan ahead if you need to. Baked cookies can be made 1 to 2 days in advance and kept at room temperature. You can also freeze the unbaked dough balls for up to 1 month, thaw them overnight in the fridge or at room temperature, and bake them from room temperature so they spread the way they should.

If you only remember one thing, remember this. Take the cookies out early. A soft, slightly underbaked center is the whole point of this recipe.

More Cookies

If these gingerbread latte cookies earn a spot on your holiday tray, keep the cookie theme going. Soft molasses cookies, simple sugar cookies, and easy drop cookies all sit happily next to these on a platter.

Around here, the real test is whether a batch survives long enough to reach the potluck table. Bake a double batch when you are feeding a crowd, and tuck a few away in the tin you keep at home for the quiet nights after the party.

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Gingerbread Latte Cookies

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Gingerbread Latte Cookies These gingerbread latte cookies turn the flavors of a cozy holiday latte into a soft, chewy cookie you can hold in one hand. Warm gingerbread spices meet a real espresso kick, and every dough ball gets rolled in granulated sugar for a sparkly coating that crackles in the oven.

• Total Time: 70 min
• Yield: 12 cookies 1x

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

Cookies
250 g all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon espresso powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon salt
150 g unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
100 g brown sugar
50 g granulated sugar
100 g cooking molasses
1 large egg, room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

For rolling
30 g granulated sugar

Icing (optional)
40 g powdered sugar
1 teaspoon milk, dairy or non-dairy
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

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Instructions

Cookies
1-Preheat the oven to 350°F: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment and set aside.
2-In a medium bowl, stir together flour,: In a medium bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, espresso powder, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and salt. Set aside.
3-In a large mixing bowl, use an: In a large mixing bowl, use an electric hand mixer to beat softened butter on medium speed until it becomes very creamy and pale in colour. Add the granulated sugar and brown sugar and cream together until fluffy.
4-Add the molasses, egg, and vanilla extract: Add the molasses, egg, and vanilla extract and beat together until combined.
5-Add the flour mixture to the butter: Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix until the cookie dough is just combined.
6-Use a 3-tablespoon cookie scooper to scoop: Use a 3-tablespoon cookie scooper to scoop the cookie dough and release it on a cutting board lined with a scrap sheet of parchment paper.
7-Chill the whole board of cookie dough: Chill the whole board of cookie dough in the fridge for about 15 minutes, just until the outside is dry to the touch so that they’re easier to roll in your hands without sticking.
8-Roll each cookie dough ball in between: Roll each cookie dough ball in between your hands until they form a perfect ball. Roll each ball in granulated sugar until they’re all coated. Place the balls on your lined baking sheet, leaving about 2″ in between each ball to allow for spreading.
9-Bake cookies for 10-11 minutes or until: Bake cookies for 10-11 minutes or until they’re puffy but still very soft. After taking them out of the oven, bang the baking sheet against a wire rack once to release the puffiness and create cracks on the cookies.
10-Let them cool on the baking sheet: Let them cool on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Icing (optional)
11-In a small bowl, stir together powdered: In a small bowl, stir together powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla extract until it becomes a thick but pourable consistency.
12-Transfer the icing to a piping bag: Transfer the icing to a piping bag or use a spoon to drizzle it on top of the cookies.

Last Step:

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• Prep Time: 45 min
• Cook Time: 10 min
• Method: bake

Nutrition

• Calories: 272kcal
• Sugar: 25g
• Sodium: 153mg
• Fat: 11g
• Saturated Fat: 7g
• Carbohydrates: 41g
• Fiber: 1g
• Protein: 3g
• Cholesterol: 41mg