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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!
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
Beat the butter with dark brown sugar and a high-quality espresso or instant coffee powder. 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.
Roll the dough into decently sized balls. This is a sticky dough, but if you’re having trouble, add a couple of tablespoons of additional flour.
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 butter on the stove. Then add everything to the brown butter and thin it out with some milk. 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.
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.Â
Delicious! I didn’t have espresso powder the first time I made them so, um, experimented with grinding regular coffee down, and added less than called for worried about texture, but they were still amazing! (added hot coffee to the glaze). I got some instant espresso and am trying them again today. The drop form is easy to make! I’m still handing out holiday cookies so my mechanic and postal carrier will get some of these…
Hi Peg! Thank you soooo much for trying out this recipe! I’m so glad you enjoyed it! 🙂 xT
AMAZING🤗
My daughter is home for the holidays, and we made these together:) they are delicious. Recipe and instructions are great . Well written and easy to follow.
These are a new favorite . 😇since it’s 9:15 pm, we had them with a Pinot Noir (🤗), but looking forward to pairing them with coffee in the morning. Thank you , Tieghan 🩷🎄
Hi Michelle! Thank you so so much for trying out the recipe! Hope you had a wonderful Christmas! xT
Hi, can these be baked, iced and frozen for later? Thank you!
We make these for our teachers Christmas cookie box gifts and they turned out so well. My daughter said two of her teachers said they were the favourite! Soft, chewy, and the brown butter icing is sooo good!
Hi! Thank you so much for giving the recipe a try! Hope you have an amazing Christmas! xT
Great recipe! I made drop cookies and the chew on them is *so*perfect*
The brown butter icing is addicting…It is seriously hard to stop eating these! Delicious with coffee. I made these for Christmas cookie tins but I am about to bake an entire batch to keep at home!
Hi! Thank you so much for giving the recipe a try! Hope you have an amazing Christmas! xT
Great recipe! I like coffee and would personally add up to double the espresso (8 tbps) to get a true coffee flavor.
Hi! Thank you so much for giving the recipe a try! Hope you have an amazing Christmas! xT
Is it possible to use regular molasses instead of blackstrap, or will that change the flavor and texture in a significant way?
Hi Megan! Yes you can definitely use regular molasses! xT
I made these last year with regular molasses, and they were delicious!
These cookies taste amazing! The only problem I have making these is they turned out super flat! Is this normal?
HI Lacey! I would add a little bit more flour if your cookies are seeming too flat! xT
Really easy cookie to make. I did the drop cookies and they came out perfect! I ended up using vanilla bean paste in the icing and actually let the butter cool enough to treat it more like a frosting. Grated some fresh nutmeg on top so it looked a little more festive for my cookie exchange. The molasses flavor really comes through nicely and the texture is a perfect combo of crispy exterior with chewy interior. Keeping this in the holiday rotation.
Thank you so much Jess! So glad you loved this recipe! xT
Can I substitute vanilla extract for the vanilla powder? If so, how much?
Yes! I would use about a teaspoon! xT
Inspired by HBH, I made cookie boxes for the first time this year and maaay have overdone it a tad (10 varieties of cookie to 20 recipients). But of the recipients that could bring themselves to rank the cookies, these were in *everyone’s* top 3.
I used a 1.5 tbsp scoop and skipped the icing, and also banged the cookie sheets on the counter briskly 4 minutes into the bake time and once they were out of the oven. The results were cinematic perfection—soft, chewy cookies with a hint of firmness around the edges and an appealingly crinkly surface, dense enough to withstand transportation and not go stale. The balance between spice and espresso in these is gorgeous; enough spice to be festive but not overwhelming, and enough espresso to add flavor and richness but subdued enough that even my coffee-hating mom loved these. I definitely recommend *espresso* powder, and I used fresh spices for maximum flavor.
Veganized with Just Egg and Earth Balance sticks instead of egg and butter! The dough behaved and baked perfectly.
Hi Surya! Awww I love this so so much! Thank you for this sweet comment, I’m sure your cookie boxes were so beautiful! xT
If I don’t want espresso powder in the cookies because I want to make it for kids. What can I use as a substitute?
Try Dutch processed cocoa powder, perhaps? It has a rich, deep flavor that might complement the spices well.
Do you think these would come out good when replaced with a 1:1 gluten free flour?
Hi Vanessa! I would just omit the espresso powder! xT
Can you use ground coffee instead of instant for this? Or could I perhaps pull a shot of espresso and use that instead?
Thanks
Hi Ellen! Yes, I think some ground coffee should work just fine in this! xT
These were so good! I did have to sub dark karo syrup for the molasses because the store was out but still yummy!
Hey Jenny! Thanks so much for trying out the recipe! Have a wonderful holiday season! xT
Wondering if these are freezer friendly?
Yes, you can definitely throw these in the freezer! xT
I’m excited to make this recipe! Question about icing – should I put the icing on the cookies shortly after the cookies come out of the oven? Or could I make the cookies ahead of time and then do the icing in a couple days? Thanks!
I put the frosting on one tray of the cookies fresh out of the oven and it basically melted. I waited 15 minutes of cooling time before drizzling the icing on the second batch and it looked like her picture. I don’t think you would need to wait a day. They were really yummy!
Hi there! I would make the icing right before serving! xT