Perfectly spiced gingerbread sandwich cookies with a creamy ginger cream cheese buttercream filling on the inside
Gingerbread is my favourite easy, make-ahead holiday cookies. They are a perfect baking and decorating activity with family, friends, and children. You can make the dough several days in advance and the baked gingerbread cookies will last for weeks. The decoration possibilities are really endless. Above all, they taste like the holidays and your house will smell SO GOOD the day after you bake them.
With these gingerbread sandwich cookies, I opted for a simple look with a cute heart out-out with tiny cutter and a dusting of powdered sugar. The cookies are deep in flavour of spices and molasses. They will be crisp on the first day after baking and get softer over the next few days.
The ginger cream cheese buttercream sandwiched in between the two cookies is creamy and spiced with just enough ginger flavour but you can always add more if you like them very gingery.
How to make gingerbread cookies
Mix the dry ingredients: In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and cloves. Set aside.
Cream the butter & sugar: In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer until it becomes very pale and creamy.
Add dry to wet ingredients: Beat in the molasses, egg, and vanilla extract until combined. Add in the dry ingredients you set aside earlier and mix on low speed until it comes together as a slightly crumbly dough.
Chill the dough: Turn out the dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap and press together to form a flattened disc. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight.
Roll & cut out cookies: On a well-floured surface, roll the dough out to about ⅛" thick. Use a cookie cutter of your choice to cut out your cookies and transfer them to a baking sheet, leaving about ½"-1" in between each cookie. Re-roll the scraps and repeat until you can't get any more cookies out of the dough.
Bake cookies: Bake at 350°F for 10-11 minutes. Let them cool on the baking tray for at least 10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack.
How to make ginger cream cheese buttercream
Cream together ingredients: In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and cream cheese until smooth and creamy. Add in the powdered sugar and beat until it becomes aerated, light, and fluffy. Beat in the ground ginger and vanilla extract until combined.
Fill piping bag: Transfer the ginger cream to a piping bag fitted with a piping tip of your choice.
Assemble the gingerbread sandwich cookies: Match up two similarly sized and shaped cookies and pipe the filling onto one cookie. Gently sandwich the other cookie on top. Dust the tops with powdered sugar if you like before enjoying.
Storing gingerbread sandwich cookies
Gingerbread cookies have a very long shelf life, making it easy to make them ahead of the holiday rush and enjoy them all season.
Since there is cream cheese in the ginger filling, store your sandwiched cookies in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.
If you have only made the gingerbread cookies without the filling, you can store them in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 weeks or in the freezer for 3 months.
Gingerbread cookie dough can be wrapped securely in plastic wrap and stored in the fridge for 3 days or in the freezer for 3 months.
Other holiday cookie recipes to try
- Hazelnut Linzer Cookies
- Ferrero Rocher Macarons
- Easy Gingerbread Cookies
- Salted Chocolate Sablé Cookies
- Butter Cookie Box (10 cookies from 1 dough)
Recipe
Gingerbread Sandwich Cookies with Ginger Cream Filling
Ingredients
Gingerbread Cookies
- 450 g all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- 125 g unsalted butter, softened
- 125 g brown sugar
- 200 g cooking molasses
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Ginger Cream Filling
- 80 g unsalted butter, softened
- 100 g cream cheese, softened
- 220 g powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons milk, optional
Instructions
Gingerbread Cookies
- In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and cloves. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer until it becomes very pale and creamy.
- Beat in the molasses, egg, and vanilla extract until combined. Add in the dry ingredients you set aside earlier and mix on low speed until it comes together as a slightly crumbly dough.
- Turn out the dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap and press together to form a flattened disc. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Meanwhile, leave the dough out at room temperature for 15-20 minutes to soften before rolling out to prevent the edges from cracking.
- On a well-floured surface, roll the dough out to about ⅛" thick. Use a cookie cutter of your choice to cut out your cookies and transfer them to a baking sheet, leaving about ½"-1" in between each cookie. Re-roll the scraps and repeat until you can't get any more cookies out of the dough.
- Bake the cookies for 10-11 minutes. Let them cool on the baking tray for at least 10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack.
Ginger Cream Filling
- In large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and cream cheese until smooth and creamy. Add in the powdered sugar and beat until it becomes aerated, light, and fluffy.
- Beat in the ground ginger and vanilla extract until combined. If the mixture is too thick, add the milk, one tablespoon at a time, until your desired consistency. Transfer the ginger cream to a piping bag fitted with a piping tip of your choice.
- Match up two similarly sized and shaped cookies and pipe the filling onto one cookie. Gently sandwich the other cookie on top. Dust the tops with powdered sugar if you like before enjoying.
Notes
- This is a cookie that tastes better after a few days (in my opinion), rather than freshly baked, because they get softer as the days go by. If you've used the ginger cream, then store the cookie sandwiches in the fridge and leave them at room temperature for 15 minutes before eating. If you've just made the plain cookies, they can keep in an airtight container at room temperature.
Kara says
I’d like to make these then hand them out. With the cream, would they survive 8ish hours not in the fridge? Fine if they go a bit melty as recipients will put them back in their fridge after, would just like to see if they’d survive without becoming total liquid Xx
Shelly says
New favorite Christmas cookie! Great recipe.
Ally says
My dough has lighter color than yours. Is that normal?
Michelle says
There is milk in the ingredient list for the cream, yet you don’t mention adding it in. Doesn’t seem like it’s necessary as I’m making them. Am
I missing something?
Thanks!
Gail Ng says
Oops, I will fix this in the recipe! The milk is just for thinning out your frosting if it looks too thick. You might not need it (like in your case!)
Delilah says
Gingerbread cookies turned out perfect! Thank you!
Damaris says
I can’t wait to try this recipe with my nephew! I wanted to ask, do you remember where you got your gingerbread cookie cutter? I know the heart was a separate cutter but I like the arms of the gingerbread man.
Gail Ng says
I can't remember exactly but it was most likely from Amazon! That's where most of my cookie cutters are from.
Tony says
Hello--I am wondering where you got the mini heart cutout?
Gail Ng says
I got them on Amazon, from the brand Ateco. I can't find the exact ones anymore but these are similar!
Alexis says
These cookies were beautiful and had wonderful flavor. Turned out exactly like the picture. Made no changes to the recipe. Now time for a second batch!
Missy says
Hi! Great recipe! But I’m curious, if I make the sandwich cookies with the cream inside it, how long will they stay good in the fridge? I’d hate for them to turn into a crumbly soggy mess. Should I just wait until the day of serving them?
Gail Ng says
They won't get soggy! The gingerbread cookies are very firm to begin with and the cream doesn't have much moisture in it. They actually taste better after 1-2 days because the cream will soften the cookies slightly. Just don't forget to bring them back to room temperature before eating so they aren't hard & fridge cold!