Sourdough Gingerbread Cookies
Gingerbread cookies made with sourdough discard are an easy and delicious holiday cookie!
Using sourdough discard in cookies is one of my favorite things! The discard makes the cookies extra soft, and gives them a depth of flavor that is subtle but great! When added with the awesome spices of cinnamon and clove in gingerbread, its a match made in heaven!
You can use any shape cookie cutter for this recipe. We used gingerbread men shape, but you can use stars, hearts, trees, anything you want! We decorated them simply with just white frosting, but you can use any royal icing, buttercream frosting, or a powdered sugar glaze, too!
Want more recipes to use your discard in? Check out these other sourdough discard cookie recipes!
For the full set of directions, make sure you scroll down to the recipe card below.
Mix the dough
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, ground ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, allspice, cloves, and cardamom.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the combine the brown sugar and butter until soft and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
- Add in the discard, molasses, egg, and vanilla extract and beat until combined well.
- Add in the flour mixture and mix until just combined. Do not overmix. The dough should be smooth and pliable.
Chill the dough
- Divide the dough into two equal portions and form each portion into a disc.
- Wrap each disc in plastic wrap and place in the fridge to chill for at least 4 hours, or overnight.
Roll and Bake
- When ready to bake, place the dough on the counter to warm and preheat the oven to 325 F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with silicone baking mats or pachment paper.
- Use a silicone rolling mat with a tiny sprinkle of flour to roll out one disc at a time until it is a bout 1/4″ thick.
- Use cookie cutters to cut out desired shapes. Place the cookies 1″ apart on the prepared baking pans.
- Bake for 10-15 minutes, depending on the size of your cookies. The cookies should just barely look done and not be too browned on the edges.
- Transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely before decorating.
- Decorate as desired.
New to sourdough? Read my Ultimate Guide to Sourdough for Beginners to answer all the questions you have!
Frequently Asked Questions
What kind of sourdough starter do I need for this recipe?
This recipe uses a 100% hydration starter, or a starter that is fed with equal parts flour and water. You can use either fed and active starter, or inactive discard. Starters that are fed with all purpose flour, whole wheat flour, and rye flour all work well in this recipe.
Read “Feeding your sourdough starter” to get information on hydration rates and how to properly feed and maintain your sourdough starter.
The sourness level of these recipes will depend on your starter and how long it has been since you fed it last.
- Starters that have been recently fed have a milder sourdough flavor.
- Starters that have not been fed for a week or more will have a more pronounced sourdough tang.
These cookies store best in an airtight container on the counter for 3-4 days!
These cookies also freeze really well! Once they are totally cooled, place them in a sealed freezer bag or container and freeze for up to 2 months. Make sure to label them so you don’t forget what they are!
Love using your sourdough starter for more than bread? Make sure you also check out my collection of sourdough discard recipes, and my collection of sourdough dessert recipes.
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Sourdough Gingerbread Cookie Recipe
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, ground ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, allspice, cloves, and cardamom.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the combine the brown sugar and butter until soft and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
- Add in the discard, molasses, egg, and vanilla extract and beat until combined well.
- Add in the flour mixture and mix until just combined. Do not overmix. The dough should be smooth and pliable.
- Divide the dough into two equal portions and form each portion into a disc.
- Wrap each disc in plastic wrap and place in the fridge to chill for at least 4 hours, or overnight.
- When ready to bake, place the dough on the counter to warm and preheat the oven to 325 F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with silicone baking mats or pachment paper.
- Use a silicone rolling mat with a tiny sprinkle of flour to roll out one disc at a time until it is a bout 1/4" thick.
- Use cookie cutters to cut out desired shapes. Place the cookies 1" apart on the prepared baking pans.
- Bake for 10-15 minutes, depending on the size of your cookies. The cookies should just barely look done and not be too browned on the edges.
- Transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely before decorating.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is provided as a general estimate and may vary based on ingredients, brands, and substitutions. For specific dietary needs, we recommend calculating nutrition using your preferred tool.
Hi. Thank you for this! Helpful and clear instructions, but I fear there was a typo (or an AI got involved) with the Nutrition section.
According to it, each 1g serving contains 23 grams of carbohydrates and 10 grams of sugar. Perhaps a serving size was meant to be something like 4 cookies, or maybe even more?
😀 Thanks again!
Hi! Thanks for the comment. I don’t use AI on my site, but the recipe card that I use does calculate the nutrition automatically based on the ingredients that I input and I have noticed that it does struggle with sourdough recipes. As always, nutrition calculation is very much an estimate and very dependent on brands and measuring. If you are concerned about keeping track of your specific macros, I suggest running the numbers themselves on the products you use to ensure the most accurate calculations.
Can I use this dough to make a house?
Would this recipe work for a gingerbread house also?
Hi Kim! I have not personally tried using this recipe to make a house, but it does hold up really well to making shapes, so I assume that it would. You might want to decrease the baking soda by half so they are less puffy. If you try it, let me know how it goes!
Very tasty, cookies came out soft and fluffy. The ginger flavor wasn’t overpowering, and I think the discard adds some complexity. The family loved them
This was amazing and such a treat! Thank you! Everyone in my family loved it.
Can these cookies be frozen and then thawed and baked at another time?
Hi Ashley! Yes, you can definitely do this! The two easiest ways are to freeze the dough to bake later, or you can freeze the baked but unfrosted cookies. You can also cut out the shapes and freeze those before baking but this is a little trickier. You need to make sure you place the cookies in a single layer to freeze, and then transfer them to an airtight container (something vacuumed sealed to remove air is best) with parchment paper in between them so they don’t stick to each other. This one is tricky because it takes a lot of freezer space and you need to make sure you use an airtight container because the edges will dry out easily.
Great gingerbread recipe and tips. I have it saved for Christmas. Thanks!