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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!
Ingredients
- Salted butter
- Light or dark brown sugar
- Espresso powder or instant coffee powder
- Vanilla extract
- Large egg
- Blackstrap molasses
- All-purpose flour
- Baking soda
- Ground ginger
- Ground cinnamon
- Kosher salt
- Granulated sugar
- Powdered sugar
- Milk
- Vanilla bean powder
What you will need in the kitchen:
- Parchment paper
- Mixing bowl
- spatula
- Small bowl
- Tablespoons
- Prepared baking sheets
- Christmas cookie cut outs
- Airtight container
- wire rack
- electric mixer
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
Step One
Let’s start by preheating the oven to 350 and lining two baking sheets with parchment paper! Easy! Next, In a medium mixing bowl, beat the butter with dark brown sugar and a high-quality espresso or instant coffee powder to create a butter mixture. 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.
Step Two
Roll the dough into walnut-size balls. You can use a tablespoon measure for the correct size. This is a sticky dough, but if you’re having trouble, add a couple of tablespoons of additional flour.
Step Three
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 salted or unsalted butter (your choice) on the stove in a small or medium saucepan. Add the butter to a pot set over medium heat to brown the butter. Allow the brown butter to brown lightly until it smells toasted, about 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool for five minutes. Once cooled, add everything to the brown butter and thin it out with some milk. This includes whisking in the powdered sugar, milk, vanilla, a pinch of cinnamon, and salt. 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.
A 5-star cookie recipe, so delicious!
Thanks again Bonita:)
Greetings,
Recently I made about 150 of your Gingerbread Latte Cookies for donation as a dessert for meals given to feed the local needy through our community People Helping People. I bake monthly for this important service. Due to the sheer volume of cookies, I did not make your brown butter icing, instead choosing to use the maple glaze I already had on hand. Each serving is two cookies in a snack-sized bag.
Because of the frigid, snowy weather, fewer people were served. Thus, I put the remaining cookies in my refrigerator, out of sight, and quite honestly forgot about them.
Today, over six weeks later, I retrieved them, and my husband and I enjoyed a few for dessert at lunchtime. I was amazed to find the cookies were still as soft and flavorful as when first baked. I fully expected the cookies to be stale, but they held up beautifully.
A 1-1/2 tablespoon (#60, I think) cookie scoop achieved uniform cookies that fit nicely, two for each snack bag. I substituted mild unsulphured molasses for the blackstrap version in the recipe. I also added a bit of cloves. I doubled and even tripled the recipe as necessary, without compromising the quality of the cookie dough. A very light sprinkle of fleur de sel served to enhance the variety of flavors found in this cookie. As you said, the espresso was not detected, but a more robust flavor was evident. All went deliciously well and according to your instructions.
Thank you for sharing. I have only recently come across your website. I am always in search for a special cookie, muffin, etc., recipe to serve as a dessert for these dear people who so need and deserve kindness in their lives.
Most sincerely,
Bonita
Hi Bonita,
Ohh wow this is amazing! So glad to hear that these cookies were still good after some time in the fridge:) What awesome work you are doing to provide for those less fortunate. Thanks for making this recipe to share with others:) xT
Such a perfect recipe and the cookies are delicious! Definitely going in my cookie box this year!
Hi Laura,
Thanks so much for making these cookies and your comment, I love to hear that they turned out well! xT
Absolutely fabulous! So yummy. The first time I made the icing, it broke. I made it again and the 2nd time worked. I think the trick it to add the milk to the dry ingredients first and then whisk in the butter. I am taking these to a Super Bowl party tomorrow 🏈. Thanks for another great recipe!
Hi Julie,
Happy Sunday!! Thanks for your comment and making this recipe, love to hear it was a hit! xT
Great! My husband wanted lemon frosting so I added lemon extract to the frosting and everyone was very happy (:
Thank you so much! Always loveee to hear when a recipe is enjoyed! Have a great rest of your week! 🙂 xT
Just wondering, can I use regular molasses? I hate to buy black strap just for one recipe.
Yes, you can use regular molasses! xT
I love this recipe so much. The only reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 is because the icing never turns out for me. But I’ve made the cookie recipe many times and it’s always phenomenal. I make the drop cookie version, but without the espresso powder.
There’s just one thing I’m curious about. The cookies in the photo look nice and flat, with little cracks on each one, and they’re so beautiful. Mine don’t turn out that flat normally… they’re round and thicker, and they don’t ever have those beautiful cracks. Am I making my dough balls too small? What might be another reason for this?
TIA!
P.S. I make so many of your recipes- mostly pasta ones- and they’re next level!! Thank you so much.
Hi Maria! Thanks for trying out the recipe! For the icing, I would let the butter cool a little bit longer before adding the other ingredients in! Hopefully that helps! As far as the size of your cookie dough balls, I would maybe make them a little bit larger and then flatten the dough ball with your hand! xT
Thanks for responding about the icing. I just made the cookies but icing was unappetizing. The better separated so I added a bit of milk. Perhaps not so much butter?
Thanks.
Hi Tieghen and All– I’ve made these crack cookies a bunch of times. They are so freaking delicious, people can’t get enough of them. I’ve made them using regular flour AND gluten free (Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1.) No one could ever tell the difference. I use a convection oven, and take these out at about 7 minutes in the CONVECTION oven at 325. Not sure about a regular oven. That took trial and error. THE TIMING WITH THESE COOKIES IS EVERYTHING. They must be chewy. Don’t be afraid to take them out a little early. Lately I’ve made a couple of personal adjustments to suit my taste. (1) I always need to thin the glaze. I’ve used half and half or heavy cream. Whatever on hand. This makes the glaze very smooth. (2.) When I glaze the cookies, I cluster as many cookies as I can onto a sheet so they are all touching. I dip a fork into the glaze and with a quick diagonal motion, I wave the fork full of glaze over the cookie pan, never stopping motion. This makes lacy strings of glaze all over the cookies. It looks quite pretty. (3) I most recently made the glaze with a teaspoon of rum. THAT was really nice! (and thinned the glaze, too.) I suspect Kahlua or Baileys would also be a nice touch. I am not a good baker by ANY means, but these make me feel like I’ve done something special. Thank you for that. I’d even load a photo if I could. That would be a first from MY kitchen! LOL.
Hi Angelia! Wow thank you so so much for this comment! I really appreciate all of the feedback, this is super helpful! xT
Sorry but these tasted awful 🙁
Oh no I’m so sorry you didn’t enjoy these cookies!! Is there anything I can do to help? xT
I’ve been meaning to make this recipe for a while, it looks so delicious! However, I haven’t gotten around to it yet. Can you freeze the cookie dough, and if so, for how long? Thanks!!
Hi there! Yes, you can definitely freeze the dough! xT
Hi Tieghan, thank you so much for your reply! Sorry, but I have another question: do you freeze as drop cookies or cut-and-slice cookies? Thanks!
These are delicious and will be a tradition every year. The icing turned out perfectly for me. Maybe because I let the butter cool a little longer while I was busy doing other things. I did the drop cookies and banged the pan a couple times during baking and after to get the tops to crack some. I ordered the espresso powder and blackstrap molasses online. The icing I just drizzled on the cookies. These and the Jolly Santa cookies are our favs.
Hi Nikki! Thank you so much for giving this recipe a try! Hope you have an amazing New Year! 🙂 xT
Made these as one of my Christmas cookies this year. Heaven. I usually skip icing. I’d say for these cookies, it is required. That brown butter flavor is everything. These cookies finally convinced my husband that he doesn’t hate gingerbread flavor!! These will be a tradition.
Thank you sooo much for giving this recipe a try! I hope you enjoyed it! xT