Fermented Gingerbread
It is so easy to make sourdough fermented gingerbread cookies. The key to making a great sourdough cookie is weighing the ingredients with a kitchen scale, and making sure you mix the ingredients in the correct order.
The order in which you mix the ingredients determines the texture of the cookie. Follow the directions in the recipe card to incorporate sourdough starter into these cookies while maintaining a quality cookie texture.
Also, fermenting cookie dough should always be kept in the fridge, never at room temperature!
Soft Fermented Gingerbread Cookies
These cookies are so soft and delicate; they really do melt in your mouth. The texture reminds me of those big sugar cookies with the excessive icing and sprinkles on top. These are obviously much healthier, though!
For this recipe, you will ferment the cookie dough in the fridge overnight (12 hours) to develop the gingerbread’s flavors and make the cookies easier to digest.
Once you’ve mixed the cookie dough, cover it and stick it in the fridge for up to 24 hours before you scoop it into balls and bake (or freeze).
How to Prep and Freeze the Cookie Dough for Later!
- After you portion out the cookie dough and roll it into balls (step 8 in the recipe), you can place the dough balls in an airtight bag and freeze.
- Store in the freezer for up to 6 months
- To bake, place the frozen cookie dough balls on a parchment paper-lined pan and bake at 350 F for about 15 minutes.
- They may need a couple of extra minutes when baking from frozen.
My Favorite Ways to Decorate
I decorate these cookies in four ways! This gives the whole batch of cookies such a beautiful, wintery variety. When I bring these to holiday gatherings, people always love the option of having a non-decorated cookie too.
- icing drizzle
- icing dollop
- powdered sugar
- plain
Sourdough Gingerbread Cookies
I’m sure some people will be curious if you can use sourdough discard instead of active starter in these gingerbread cookies. Yes, you can!
You can use discard straight from the fridge, or you can use an active bubbly starter in this recipe. Some cookies are considered “sourdough discard” cookies because you use sourdough starter in the recipe, but we don’t use it for rising, and it is not necessary for the baking process. So the starter is considered “discarded” into the recipe.
In this recipe, we are using the starter to ferment the ingredients in the dough. Therefore, I use a stirred-down active, bubbly sourdough starter in all of my sourdough cookie recipes. (see directions below on how to make a gingerbread sourdough starter!)
You can use flat sourdough discard from the fridge if you prefer, but the cookie dough might not ferment as well.
Pictured above are my original cookies, photographed by me (Kaitlynn) for this blog in 2022. Pictured below is the same recipe, made by Jon and me in 2025 to test out my gingerbread sourdough starter!
More Sourdough Cookie Recipes
- Soft and Chewy Sourdough Peanut Butter Cookies
- Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies with Pumpkin and Pecans
- Ginger Molasses Gluten-Free Sourdough Cookies
Making a Gingerbread Sourdough Starter
For Christmas 2025, I tried something new with these cookies. I created a gingerbread sourdough starter to use in this recipe! I made it by feeding some of my established starter a mix that includes molasses and gingerbread spices.
When I shared pics of the dark, molasses-y starter on Instagram, I was surprised by how many of you wanted the recipe. I usually make a ton of these cookies to enjoy myself and to give as gifts. To make so many cookies, I aim to use 300 grams of this starter total. Note that different types of flour absorb different amounts of liquid, so if you ever need to add a little extra water to a starter to get it the right consistency, you can! Here is the recipe:
- 30 grams established starter
- 150 grams bread flour
- 60 grams water
- 60 grams organic unsulfured blackstrap molasses
- 1/8 tsp nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp ginger powder
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 3-4 extra tablespoons of water (if needed)
Just mix all the ingredients and let it ferment until it peaks. I suggest mixing the water, established starter, and molasses together first, then mixing in the flour, spices, and any extra water needed. There is plenty of sugar and vitamins in molasses, and you’re feeding an established starter here. Therefore, you should see it bubble up and peak pretty quickly. My gingerbread starter peaked, then I stirred it down, and it peaked again.
Sourdough Fermented Gingerbread Cookies
Sourdough fermented gingerbread cookies are a delicious and unique twist on the classic Christmas cookie. These soft, melt-in-your-mouth sourdough gingerbread cookies are spiced with ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg for the perfect flavor. Leave them plain or decorate them with icing and powdered sugar.
- Prep: 15 minutes
- Cook: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 12 hours 30 minutes
Ingredients
- 340 g all purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 200 g unsalted butter, room temperature
- 150 g cane sugar
- 120 g molasses
- 1 egg + 1 egg yolk
- 14 g vanilla extract
- 100 g sourdough starter (active, hydrated)
Instructions
- In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or with a hand mixer, beat the softened butter, cane sugar, and molasses together until combined.
- Scrape down the bowl and add the egg, egg yolk, vanilla extract, and sourdough starter.
- Mix well until light and fluffy.
- In a separate bowl sift together the flour, baking soda, spices and salt.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and fold together with a spatula until combined.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or reusable beeswax wrap and refrigerate the dough for 12 hours overnight.*
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Using a cookie scoop, scoop the dough out into about 1-inch balls, then drop them 2 inches apart on the prepared cookie sheet. (For big cookies you can roll the dough into 50 gram balls)
- Bake at 350°F for 12-15 minutes until the cookies are set on the edges
- Allow to cool completely on the pan.
- Decorate the cookies with icing or powdered sugar or leave them plain.*
Notes
- You can refrigerate the dough for just 1 hour and bake sooner, but then the cookies won’t be as fermented.
- To make icing, mix 1/2 cup powdered sugar with 1 to 2 tsp milk. You only need to add enough milk for your desired icing consistency. Add a tiny bit of milk to the sugar at a time to see how thick it is before adding more milk.
- To make a gingerbread starter to use in these cookies:
- 30 grams established starter
- 150 grams bread flour
- 60 grams water
- 60 grams organic unsulfured blackstrap molasses
- 1/8 tsp nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp ginger powder
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 3-4 extra tablespoons of water (if needed)
We made these and they are THE BEST. My husband and I aren’t even huge gingerbread cookie fans and now we are all hooked. The cookies are soft, chewy and end with a slight crunch. These will forever be part of our Christmas baking tradition! Thanks for such a perfect recipe!!
Could these be rolled and cut out with cookie cutters? Thanks!
I’m not sure, I haven’t tried it.
I ferment Yogurt and am ready to try new recipes Once you bake the Gingerbread, are you killing your good bacteria?
yep, same with any sourdough. It does not contain live microbes. The benefits come from the fermentation process before baking.
Reading that you’re a microbiologist, I’m thinking you have the answer to my question—how can we safely ferment these with eggs in them for 12 hours at room temp? Excited to hear your answer as I’ve been doing sourdough bread for health purposes for about a year and have played with some other things but have steered cleared of anything with raw eggs unless they are added after the ferment—but that is so limiting.
Hi there! You cannot ferment cookie dough at room temperature. In this recipe, you’re instructed to ferment the dough overnight in the refrigerator. You can leave it in the fridge for a couple of days for a *cold* long ferment.
LOVE THIS! MY new favorite holiday cookie recipe
I’m excited to try, I’ve been trying to avoid eggs and dairy though, not necessarily at the same time.
I’m curious how it would be using coconut oil in place of butter? Or in another batch using flax in place of egg?
If you’ve tried or have any insight on how that would change I’d really appreciate it.
Both substitutions should work! If you can, though, I suggest trying a DF butter substitute instead of coconut oil. I’ve baked with miyoko’s butter and it works great. Also, a flax egg is good, but I prefer to use bob’s red mill egg substitute.
Made these and they turned out so good and delicious! Great recipe and would definitely recommend!
yay! thank you for leaving a review. I’m glad you enjoyed the cookies 🙂
How long could the dough stay in the fridge before being baked?
If freezing the dough, how should we prepare it for baking?
I like to make my holiday doughs in advance and bake as I need them ☺️
Thanks, looking forward to making it!
You can leave it in the fridge for up to 72 hours, covered.
if you want to freeze it, roll the dough into balls, then place in a freezer safe bag, and freeze. The dough balls can be baked straight from the freezer, you may just need to leave them in the oven a few minutes longer.
Such a delightful cookie! My picky 5 year old approves, too! We haven’t tried them with icing yet – they’re perfect as is.
I used sourdough discard since I didn’t time it right and these still turned out nice and fluffy.
These cookies are absolutely delicious! The perfect combination of flavors between the spices and the sour tang – fermented for 24 hours and they are heavenly! Making a double batch tonight for a holiday gathering this weekend. These are our favorite cookies now!
Hi, I was wondering if one could substitute molasse with maple syrup (C)?
maple syrup generally is not as thick as molasses, so using maple instead will probably change the consistency and texture of the cookies.
Kaitlynn, I ended up making the cookies with the maple syrup. Probably the texture and taste are not the same but they turned out fine – soft and fluffy. I added 90g maple syrup to compensate for different thickness
yay! I love when a substitution works out great. Thanks for letting me know!
I can’t wait to try these but I have a question about fermenting cookie dough —do you know if adding baking soda to the mix, which I assume neutralizes the lactic acid, keeps the starter from breaking down the fructans and starches? How can it still improve digestibility once we add baking soda? I’m excited to hear your answer so I can make more cookies 😊
Lactic acid does not break down fructans and starches, microbial enzymes do. And baking soda does not effect those microbial enzymes. The bacteria and yeast in a sourdough starter still produce enzymes and metabolize fructans in cookie dough, with or without baking soda.
I fermented for 24 hours as I forgot about it in the fridge. I also used the hard molasses sugar as I didn’t have liquid molases, it worked fine. I also used mixed spice instead of nutmeg (I’m in the UK) and I’m not the hugest fan of nutmeg. Really tasty cakey biscuits and my children also loved them. They reminded me of a giant kruid noten the Dutch spiced biscuits. I will definitely make again.
Happy to hear you loved the cookies and that all your substitutions worked! Thank you for leaving a review!
Are we to leave the oven on for all 12 hours? 😉 just kidding … thought it would be a good laugh for someone , somewhere 🤷♀️
These cookies were delicious! I used fresh milled flour and just added a but more flour than called for and the cookies still worked! I could use a bit more ginger but my husband thought the amount of ginger was perfect. Thank you for a yummy recipe!
These are truly amazing. I am not a fan of gingerbread cookies, these are to die for. I will be making these regurarly for the holiday seasons. So. So. Good. Also, the dough freezes and bakes beautifully! I made WAY too many and have effortlessly baked fresh cookies mulitple times from frozen dough!
Why preheat an oven for 12 hours?
hahaha whoops! That shouldn’t have been first.
These cookies have become my favorite cookie of all time. Perfection in a cookie. I love to make them at Christmas time but they are wonderful all year long!!!
Would love if you added the instructions of the molasses starter you posted on stories yesterday!!
This has become a Christmastime staple for our family each year! We love these and they always turn out so soft and delicious
These cookies took me straight back to my childhood, my grandma used to give us ginger nut cookies as kids, but these are a million times better, absolute amazing recipe, worked perfect, tasted amazing and look incredible! thank you thank you 🙂
These were delightful! Not a fan of nutmeg so I substituted for clove. I will absolutely make these again and I’m looking forward to sharing them with family and friends this holiday season.
These are so good! Surprisingly delicate and light for a gingerbread cookie. I was out of white sugar, so used brown sugar as a replacement for part of the sugar and molasses.
Thank you for leaving a review! Glad to hear you enjoyed the gingerbread cookies for the holidays!
I made this recipe and the cookies are the best of the best! Super fluffy, soft, and tasty, with delicious crunchy edges –it was really hard to stop eating them haha.
I made them with sourdough discard since I didn’t have an active starter, and I added a bit of grounded cloves; they turned out really good.
I want to bake a batch with less sugar to make them less sweet for my niece. Any suggestion on how to modify that without changing too much the consistency of the cookies?
I love the idea of a gingerbread starter! Especially with making gingerbread baked goods for the Christmas season. How would using the gingerbread starter make the recipe different? Do you just substitute it for the regular sourdough starter and not alter any of the dry spices? (Forgive me if I missed this information in the post, I reread it multiple times before asking but couldn’t find it if it is there). Thank you!
yeah! you just sub. The gingerbread starter just adds more spice and more flavor!