Christmas is almost here! Which means it is the perfect time to try an internet famous bake-off with gingerbread cookies. If you’re on the hunt for the perfect gingerbread cookies recipe for your holiday parties or yearly cookie decorating tradition, check our our rankings for the 6 internet famous gingerbread cookie recipes.
Gingerbread Cookie Recipes Selection Walkthrough
As an amateur baker, I am always looking for ways to learn new things and gain new skills as a baker. So, in order to teach myself the basics I started making 5 internet famous recipes of any bake that I wanted to learn more about. With each recipe I was able to see how different ingredients, cook time, and technique affected the way a bake turns out.
This is how the “Internet Famous Bake-Off” series started on the blog. The way that recipes are selected are based off the number of reviews a recipe receives on the internet. The five recipes with the most reviews online are selected to teach me what I need to know about that bake.
To see our past results, check out I Made 5 Internet Famous Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipes, Oatmeal Cream Pie Bake-Off, I Made 5 Internet Famous Pecan Pie Recipes, I Made 5 Internet Famous Pumpkin Pie Recipes, I Made 5 Traeger Dessert Recipes, and Testing the Best Biscuit Recipes on the Internet.
Please keep reading to see the results for the six highest reviewed Gingerbread Cookie recipes on the internet.
Making the Gingerbread Cookie Recipes
When baking each recipe of gingerbread cookies, we cooked each to the lower end of the baking recommendation. We prefer a softer gingerbread cookie, but understand that many may prefer a super crispy bake instead.
However, we did bake all according to recipe instructions and chose to bake at the lower recommended bake time to achieve as similar results as possible across all bakes. Since we chose to make the softer version of these gingerbread cookie recipes, it may affect the rankings. Some recipes may work better when baked for the longer recommended bake time, so be sure to take that into consideration when perusing our findings.
Recipe #1: Tastes Better From Scratch Gingerbread Cookies Recipe
Coming in at number one is Tastes Better From Scratch Gingerbread Cookies with 291 online reviews. We loved the flavor and texture of these cookies. Rolled thicker than most, these cookies resembled a more traditional soft ginger and molasses cookie, which we prefer. If you prefer a very crispy gingerbread cookie, this may not be for you!
Best For: Flavor & Texture
- What I liked: These gingerbread cookies had the best texture and a very strong ginger and molasses flavor, almost spicy. Most recipes instruct you to roll out the dough to a 1/8 – 1/4 inch thick. However, these cookies are rolled out twice as thick to a 1/2 inch thickness which results in a slightly crisp exterior and a soft, fluffy interior.
- What I disliked: Maybe how many of these that I ended up eating…
- What I learned: This recipe is the only one that used the “cut in the butter” method with a pastry cutter. Every other recipe used the creaming method using a mixer, so I appreciated the opportunity to try another technique.
Recipe #2: Food.com The Most Wonderful Gingerbread Cookies
Coming in at number two is Food.com Gingerbread Cookies with 565 reviews. This is by far the most unique gingerbread cookie recipe that we tested by far, all thanks to one small addition of a different ingredient. The inclusion of lemon zest creates a more in depth flavor profile that is a nice change up from traditional gingerbread cookies.
Best For: Unique Flavor
- What I liked: I loved the uniqueness of the flavor profile of this cookie. With a crispy exterior, soft center, and a nice lemon flavor, it’s a very different and pleasant cookie to eat.
- What I disliked: Because this dough is left at room temperature before rolling, it results in a very soft dough that is a little bit harder to work with because it is quite sticky. However, ample flour is a great way to combat this issue.
- What I learned: While this cookie dough can be quite sticky, I found that adding some extra flour when rolling really helps everything come together. I also learned that you can add citrus to a gingerbread cookie. In fact, I think you should! It is a great pairing and super underrated.
Recipe #3: King Arthur Gingerbread Cookies
Coming in at number three is the King Arthur Gingerbread Cookies with 300 reviews. We thought this was the most classic gingerbread cookie recipe. With great flavor and texture, this would be a great choice for a cookie decorating party with your loved ones.
Best For: A Classic Gingerbread Cookie
- What I liked: If you are looking for a gingerbread cookie that is easy to make, has a neutral, almost buttery sweet flavor, and is very tasty, then this is the recipe for you!
- What I disliked: Not much to dislike here. They are satisfactory. However, I would prefer to eat the top two recipes and use this recipe for cookie decorating purposes.
- What I learned: Rolled to a 1/4 inch thickness and baked for 9 minutes, these cookies were just right. Feel free to roll them thinner and baked for a few more minutes for a crispier cookie.
Recipe #4: Savory Nothings The Perfect Soft Gingerbread Cookies
Coming in at number four is the Savory Nothings Gingerbread Cookie with 276 reviews. This is another good option for cookie decorating purposes. The flavor is good, the texture not so great, but the recipe is fairly easy. These gingerbread cookies will get the job done!
Best For: Simplicity
- What I liked: These gingerbread cookies had a nice flavor profile. They tasted mild, with an almost savory kick at the end. It’s a nice changeup from the most of the strong flavored gingerbread cookies that you will find out there.
- What I disliked: However, the texture of these cookie were a bit dry and crumbly. They lacked the nice crispy exterior you would expect from a traditional gingerbread cookie.
- What I learned: While the cookie texture on this recipe fell flat, I think it could be remedied with a longer bake time! If you choose this recipe, be sure to play around with the bake time to find out what is right for you.
Recipe #5: Martha Stewart Gingerbread Cookies
Coming in at number five is Martha Stewart’s Gingerbread Cookies with 948 reviews. Unfortunately, these cookies were rather bland and did not have great texture. Most other bakers must agree, as this recipe has one a 3 star rating average online.
Best For: Rolling Technique
- What I liked: This recipe was fairly easy to make. I liked that the recipe instructs you to roll the dough into a squares instead of discs. I find squares easier to roll out with the edges cracking less.
- What I disliked: Unfortunately, these cookie had a dry interior, only a slightly crisp interior, and a bland flavor. There wasn’t much that we liked about these when eating them. Also, this recipe requires that you freeze the dough once it has been rolled out. This is after it has already chilled in the refrigerator for a few hours. Trying to fit a large baking sheet into the freezer was difficult and inconvenient. None of the other recipes required this and it was not my preference.
- What I learned: Having too wide of a baking range is not helpful for amateur bakers like myself. Since I am still learning the basics, it is hard for me to know when things are just right. Usually, you rely on the recipe to instruct you on how to get the perfect result. This recipe has a baking rage of 10-18 minutes, which is just too big. A cookie baked for 10 minutes, versus a cookie baked for 18 minutes will be wildly different.
Recipe #6: Sally’s Baking Addiction My Favorite Gingerbread Cookies
I was so sad to see Sally’s Baking Addiction’s Gingerbread Cookies come in last place. With 231 reviews, it has the least reviews but I wanted to include it because I’ve always loved Sally’s recipes and have learned so much from her.
We found these to be our least favorite of the bunch, but I believe it could be because we baked them at the lower bake time range suggested in the recipe. Perhaps if we baked these at the longer bake time suggestion, they would be higher on this list. We plan to bake them again and see what that does for the texture and flavor.
Best For: Recipe Instructions
- What I liked: Sally always has excellent recipe instructions and notes. I’ve learned so much about baking from her because of this. This recipe was no exception. With clear and helpful instructions, it was a joy to bake.
- What I disliked: Unfortunately, these cookies had a very weird texture and bland flavor. They were so dry but soft, which was off-putting to eat.
- What I learned: Not every recipe will work for you every time. Usually if I don’t like a recipe, I won’t make it again. However, since these cookies had different suggested bake times, I am willing to give them another shot! I am sure they will taste better when cooked to a crispier consistency.
And that’s it! One giant bake day later, we discovered our favorite gingerbread cookies recipe. It was a lot of work, but also so much fun. While we may prefer a softer gingerbread cookie, I have no doubt you will enjoy any of these recipes. I hope our feedback was helpful to you for selecting your next gingerbread cookie bake.
Let us know what you think of our bake-off down in the comments below! We’d also love to hear what recipe bake-off you’d like to see next. Happy Baking!