These festive Air Fryer Gingerbread Cookies are sure to light up any holiday party with a shorter baking time, classic rich gingerbread flavor and adorable edible decoration!
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If you love these Air Fryer Gingerbread Cookies, try Air Fryer Christmas Cookies or Air Fryer Peanut Butter Cookies.
I can never get enough of that rich gingerbread flavor during the holiday season! It's why I've been constantly adding to my gingerbread recipes – from gingerbread loaf, pudding cakes, cheesecake, and even gingerbread tiramisu. Yip, you heard right!
There's something magical about traditional gingerbread cookies though. And while I do love tradition, sometimes it's worth breaking the mold and that's exactly what I've done by using my trusty air fryer to bake these cookies to golden perfection!
WHY OUR RECIPE
- Using the air fryer offers a shorter baking time than traditional oven-baked cookies. That's always a win during the busy holiday season!
- These gingerbread cookies are golden with crispy outer edges and a slightly chewy interior – just how we love classic gingerbread cookies!
- They are fun to decorate with the kids, keeping them busy personalizing their gingerbread cookies while you get on with other holiday party preparations.
Get creative with this air fryer gingerbread cookies recipe by adding some chopped nuts and dried fruit to the cookie dough for delicious texture, or create other fun shapes using Christmas tree and star-shaped cookie cutters.
INGREDIENT NOTES
- All-Purpose Flour – This is my go-to flour for baking, but you could use a gluten-free flour blend instead.
- Ground Ginger – Adds warmth and that classic holiday flavor.
- Ground Cinnamon – provides extra warmth and flavor in addition to the ginger.
- Baking Soda – A leavening agent that helps the cookie dough to rise while cooking.
- Salt – Provides balance to the cookie dough ingredients and enhances the flavor of these cookies.
- Unsalted Butter – Soften at room temperature for easy mixing. Omit the salt in the cookie dough if you use salted butter.
- Granulated sugar – The white sugar adds sweetness and creates a crispy outer edge to these cookies. Light brown sugar could be used instead.
- Honey/Molasses – The molasses will provide a richer, more caramel-like flavor to these gingerbread cookies.
- Egg – Bring your egg to room temperature for best results.
- Vanilla Extract – Provides depth of flavor to the cookie dough.
- Royal Icing – Combining powdered sugar, egg white, and lemon juice.
NO AIR FRYER? NO PROBLEM!
Don't miss out on making these adorable air fryer gingerbread cookies just because you don't have an air fryer! They can just as easily be baked in the oven. Here's how:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. You may need two baking sheets to make 10 of these cookies.
- Follow the steps in the recipe card below to make the gingerbread cookie dough. Roll out the dough and transfer the cut out gingerbread cookies to the prepared baking sheet, allowing about 2-inches of space between each cookie for a natural amount of spreading.
- Bake the cookies, one baking sheet at a time, for 15-20 minutes, or until the cookies are puffed up, browned on the bottom, and firm to the touch.
- Follow the rest of the recipe steps as directed in the recipe card below.
It's as easy as that!
WHY CHILL COOKIE DOUGH?
While the baking time of these cookies is just 10 minutes, you do need to chill the dough first for at least 30 minutes. I sometimes like to make the dough 1-2 days in advance which makes this recipe even more convenient for whipping up holiday cookies on demand.
Chilling the dough helps to prevent the cookies spreading too much while baking. The fats in the dough will solidify so that they take longer to melt when the cookies are in the heated air fryer.
Chilling the dough is another clever trick to allow the flavors in the dough to meld together and intensify for the most scrumptious tasting gingerbread treats!
MAKE-AHEAD INSTRUCTIONS
Refrigeration Instructions
Make the gingerbread cookie dough up to 3 days ahead of baking and store it in the refrigerator, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap.
Freezer Instructions
Make the gingerbread cookie dough up to 2-3 months ahead of baking and store it in the freezer, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap. Thaw the dough in the fridge and then roll out to bake. You may need to add 1-2 minutes to the air frying time for chilled dough.
STORAGE INSTRUCTIONS
- Room Temperature: Once completely cool, store these air fryer gingerbread cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.
- Freezer: These cookies can also be stored in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 2 months. Allow them to thaw at room temperature before serving again.
MORE CHRISTMAS COOKIE RECIPES
Air Fryer Gingerbread Cookies
Ingredients
Gingerbread Cookies
- 220 grams 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger 2g
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1g
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 3g
- 1/8 teaspoon salt 0.5g
- 3/8 cup 85g unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3/8 cup 75g granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup 59mL honey or molasses
- 1 egg room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoon 2.5mL vanilla extract
Royal Icing
- 225 grams 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 egg white
- 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, combine honey (or molasses), granulated sugar, ground ginger, and ground cinnamon. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is smooth.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat and immediately add the baking soda, stirring well. The mixture will foam slightly. Quickly add the room temperature unsalted butter, stirring until it melts and is well incorporated.
- Allow the mixture to cool slightly, then whisk in the room temperature egg and vanilla extract until well combined.
- Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl. Gradually add the sifted all-purpose flour, stirring with a wooden spoon or spatula until a firm dough forms. The dough should be pliable but not sticky. If the dough is too sticky, add a little more flour, one tablespoon at a time, until the desired consistency is achieved.
- Shape the dough into a ball, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Chilling the dough makes it easier to roll out and cut into shapes.
- Lightly flour a clean surface and a rolling pin. Roll out the chilled dough to a thickness of about 5mm (1/4 inch). If the dough becomes too soft to handle, place it back in the refrigerator for an additional 15 minutes.
- Use a gingerbread cookie cutter to cut out shapes from the rolled dough.
- Preheat your air fryer to 350°F (180°C) for about 5 minutes.
- Arrange the cut-out cookies in a single layer in the air fryer basket, making sure they do not overlap. Depending on the size of your air fryer, you may need to bake the cookies in batches.
- Cook the cookies at 284°F (140°C) for about 10 minutes or until they are golden brown around the edges. Keep an eye on them to prevent overbaking.
- Remove the cookies from the air fryer and let them cool on a wire rack.
- Sift the powdered sugar into the bowl of an electric mixer to remove any lumps. Add the egg white and mix with a fork until combined.
- Add the lemon juice and beat the mixture on medium-high speed for approximately 5 minutes, or until stiff peaks form. Be careful not to overbeat, as the icing can become too stiff and difficult to work with.
- Transfer the royal icing to a piping bag fitted with a small round tip or use a toothpick for more intricate designs. Decorate the cooled cookies as desired. Allow the icing to set completely before storing the cookies.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Chopped nuts and dried fruit are great additions to these air fryer gingerbread cookies, providing delicious texture and added flavor.
Absolutely! It's completely safe to do so and often a much faster method for baking delicious cookies. It also frees up your oven for other cooking.
Yes. Gingerbread cookies are rolled out flat and then shaped with cookie cutters while ginger cookies are baked as dough balls.
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