Gingerbread Latte Cookies with Brown Butter Icing

Gingerbread Latte Cookies

These molasses-spiced cookies come from one dough but take two shapes: thick, crackled rounds and a smaller batch of gingerbread-person and tree cutouts. Espresso powder adds a mild coffee note beneath the ginger and cinnamon. Some rounds get a sparkling sugar coating, and broad ribbons of brown-butter icing finish selected cookies.

The molasses dough is tacky, so chill it until it is easy to shape, then briefly firm the cutouts in the freezer. Bake the rounds until their edges are set but their centers are still soft; they finish setting on the baking sheet. Makes about 24 cookies: 16 rounds and 8 small cutouts.

Ingredients for Gingerbread Latte Cookies

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (280g)
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened (170g)
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar (150g)
• 1/3 cup unsulphured dark molasses (115g)
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons espresso powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar, for rolling some of the rounds (65g)
• 4 tablespoons butter, for the icing (55g)
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, for the icing (180g)
• 1–2 tablespoons milk, as needed for the icing

Optional: A small pinch of flaky sea salt for the wet icing.

How to Make Gingerbread Latte Cookies

1. Mix the dry ingredients: Whisk the flour, espresso powder, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and salt in a medium bowl.
2. Make the dough: Beat the softened butter and brown sugar in a large bowl until creamy. Beat in the egg, molasses, and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients and mix just until no dry flour remains. The dough will be thick and tacky.
3. Chill and divide: Cover and refrigerate for about 30 minutes, or until the dough is manageable. Reserve roughly one-third for cutouts. If it still smears or sticks heavily, chill it longer rather than working in a lot of extra flour.
4. Shape the cutouts: Roll the reserved dough about 1/4 inch thick on a lightly floured surface. Cut small gingerbread-person and tree shapes and transfer them gently to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Freeze briefly, until their edges feel firm.
5. Shape the rounds and preheat: Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) with a rack in the center. Scoop the remaining dough into roughly 2-tablespoon portions. Roll some in granulated sugar and place them about 2 inches apart on a separate parchment-lined baking sheet. Keep the portions similar in size.
6. Bake: Bake one sheet at a time when possible. Start checking the cutouts at 8 minutes; they will usually take 8–10 minutes. Start checking the rounds at 9 minutes; they will usually take 9–11 minutes. Remove the cutouts when their edges are set and the shapes hold. The rounds should be cracked, with set edges and soft, slightly puffy centers. If baking two sheets at once, rotate their positions halfway through.
7. Cool: Leave the cookies on their baking sheets for about 5 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
8. Make the icing: Melt the icing butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook, swirling the pan, until it smells nutty and has golden-brown flecks; do not let the flecks turn black. Let the butter cool until warm but not hot. Whisk in the powdered sugar, then add milk a little at a time until the icing falls in thick ribbons.
9. Finish: Drizzle broad ribbons of icing over some of the cooled rounds and cutouts, leaving others uniced. Add a light pinch of flaky salt to the wet icing, if using. Let the icing set before stacking.

Why Chill the Dough and Cutouts Separately?

The first chill makes the molasses dough easier to scoop and roll. About 30 minutes is a starting point: work with one portion at a time, and refrigerate it longer if it still sticks heavily. Adding too much flour to make it workable can leave the cookies dry.

The cutouts need a second, brief firming step after shaping. Transfer them gently, then freeze them until their edges feel firm so the small figures and trees are less likely to distort in the oven. For a recipe devoted to sharply defined shapes, see No-Spread Gingerbread Cutout Cookies with White Icing.

How to Tell When the Cookies Are Done

Check the smaller cutouts separately from the rounds; their edges may set sooner. The rounds are ready when their surfaces are cracked and their edges look set, even though the centers still look soft. They continue to set during the 5-minute rest on the hot sheet, so waiting for firm centers in the oven can make them dry.

For a coffee-free cookie with a similar soft texture, try Soft and Chewy Gingerbread Cookies with White Icing.

Molasses, Coffee, and Icing Notes

Unsulphured dark molasses gives the cookies their deep color and pronounced gingerbread flavor. Blackstrap molasses can taste more bitter and intense, so it is not a flavor-neutral substitute. If espresso powder is unavailable, use the same amount of finely powdered instant coffee. Ordinary ground coffee can leave the dough gritty.

Cool the cookies completely before icing so the ribbons stay visible rather than melting into the surface. Add milk gradually: the icing should fall slowly from a spoon and briefly hold a raised ribbon. If it becomes too thin, whisk in a little more powdered sugar.

Serving and Storage

Arrange the iced and uniced cookies together on a platter so both the pale icing and crackled, sugar-coated tops show. For gifting, let the icing set first.

Store fully cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for about 4–5 days. Place parchment between layers of iced cookies to reduce smearing. For longer storage, freeze uniced baked cookies in a well-sealed container for up to about 1 month; thaw at room temperature before icing.

The dough can be made ahead and chilled. If it becomes too firm to roll, let it sit briefly at room temperature until workable. Portioned dough can be frozen for up to about 1 month; thaw it before baking so it can spread as intended.

Nutrition

Approximate nutrition per cookie, based on 1 of 24 cookies and including the sugar coating and icing: 195 calories, 2g protein, 8g fat, and 29g carbohydrates. Approximate nutrition per 100g: 445 calories, 4g protein, 19g fat, and 68g carbohydrates. Values will vary with cookie size and how much icing is used.