Hanging Gingerbread Cookie Recipe

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This Hanging Gingerbread Cookie recipe is a unique spin on the classic that has been shared over 100 thousand times. Just add a small candy cane to the back and hang the cookies from a cup of cocoa! This recipe has been shared over 100,000 times! 

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My 5-year-old daughter LOVES helping me in the kitchen, and she’s becoming quite the little sous chef! We often make treats while my 2-year-old is napping. I like it when we can make a recipe from start to finish while he’s sleeping like this Hanging Gingerbread Cookie Recipe.

My daughter has been helping me in the kitchen since she was 2, and I’ve been slowly building her recipe know-how and confidence.

Today she learned that sometimes the best tool in the kitchen is your hands! Mia loved squishing the gingerbread dough between her fingers! She also loved cutting out the dough with our snowflake cookie cutter.

She also learned the many uses of Reynolds Cookie Baking Sheets parchment paper! They’re so convenient because they’re already cut to the size of our cookie sheets! She also learned you can use parchment paper for:

• Wrapping cookie dough while it chills.
• Lining cookie sheets for perfectly baked cookies.
• For using under cookies while decorating for quick cleanup (I’m all about the quick cleanup!).

This gingerbread recipe is easily one of my favorite Christmas-time recipes! They’re different from other Christmas cutout cookies with a simple twist. It is so easy; all it takes is a small candy cane adhered to the back of these gingerbread cookies to make them hang! You will love how soft these gingerbread cookies taste with a cup of hot cocoa. 

My family loves hanging these off of mugs of warm cocoa, they make them cozier that way. I also like making them for gifts and cookie exchanges. And trust me, if you make these for a cookie exchange you’ll be the most popular person in the room! They really are the best gingerbread cookies out there! 

If you love Gingerbread, then you must try my Gingerbread Cheesecake Dip recipe. You can make it in just 5 minutes and it’s my most popular Christmas recipe! Check out these other Gingerbread recipes too:

• Gingerbread Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
• Gingerbread Waffles
• Chewy Gingerbread Cookie Bars
• Gingerbread Oreo Truffles
• Gingerbread Cookies with Orange Glaze

This Hanging Gingerbread Cookie recipe is SO easy to make, let me show you how!

How to Make Hanging Gingerbread Cookies:

1. Make, roll out, and cut cookie dough.
2. Add cut dough to parchment-lined cookie sheets.
3. Bake until edges are set.
4. Decorate with royal icing and dry.
5. Attach a candy cane to the back of each cookie using royal icing.
6. Allow icing to dry completely, then hang cookies from cups of hot cocoa!

Hanging Gingerbread Cookies Recipe Questions Answered:

Are gingerbread cookies soft or hard?

Gingerbread cookies are meant to be soft and not hard. If some crumbs fall on you while taking a bite into the cookie then you know they are a perfect consistency!

How long do gingerbread cookies last?

If you wrap the cookies in freezer wrap and then place the cookies in an airtight container they can be stored in the freezer for 6-8 months. They will stay fresh in an airtight container stored at room temperature for up to one week. 

How do you know when gingerbread cookies are done?

It can be difficult to tell when a darker color cookie is done baking as you cannot tell when it is lightly browned on top as you can with most other cookies. A quick tip is to use a spatula to gently press the edge of the cookie to check that the edges are firm. If the edges are firm, the cookies are done!

Cook’s Note:

• Use your favorite gingerbread recipe, pouch mix, or refrigerated dough for this recipe.
• You can use the method of decorating and attaching the candy canes to this cutout sugar cookie recipe.
• The royal icing recipe below made about 1 ½-2 cups. It was the perfect amount for decorating 24, 3-inch snowflake gingerbread cookies.
• The Royal Icing recipe can be doubled, tripled, etc.
• The cookies will keep, in an air-tight container at room temperature between layers of parchment paper, for up to 5 days.
• I do not recommend freezing these cookies once the candy canes are attached. For some reason, candy canes “melt” in the freezer.
• To speed up the icing drying time I like to pop decorated cookies in the refrigerator.

Disclosure: This post includes affiliate links. 

Cook’s Tools and Ingredients:

• baking sheets
• parchment paper
• edible glitter
• mini candy canes

Hanging Gingerbread Cookie Recipe

This Hanging Gingerbread Cookie recipe is a unique spin on the classic. Just add a small candy cane to the back and hang the cookies from a nice warm cup of cocoa!

5 from 6 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: German

Keyword: Christmas, Cookies, gingerbread, holiday

Prep Time: 1 hour

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Cooling Time:: 30 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes

Servings: 18 people

US Customary - Metric

Calories: 165kcal

Author: Jillian - a Food, Folks and Fun original!

Ingredients

• 1 recipe gingerbread cookie dough

ROYAL ICING:

• ¾ cups powdered sugar
• ½ Tablespoon meringue powder or 1 Tablespoon egg white
• 1 teaspoons lemon juice
• ***2 Tablespoons + 1 teaspoon water

GARNISH:

• Edible glitter or sprinkles
• Mini candy canes

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Line baking sheets with Reynolds Parchment Paper. Make, roll out, cut and bake gingerbread cookie dough according to your recipe. Cool cookies completely before decorating.

MAKE ROYAL ICING:

• Add powdered sugar, meringue powder (or egg whites), lemon juice and 2 tablespoons ***water to bowl of a stand mixer. Mix on low until combined. Increase speed to high and beat until stiff peaks form, about 5 minutes.

DECORATE COOKIES:

• Place icing in a small, resealable plastic bag. Cut a small portion of one corner off. Squeeze icing onto cutout cookies and sprinkle with edible glitter or sprinkles. Dry completely on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

FINISH COOKIES:

• Flip cookies over, apply a small amount of royal icing to each cookie, and lightly press candy canes into the icing. Dry completely before hanging cookies from mugs.

Notes

***If you’re using egg white instead of meringue powder, please use only 1 Tablespoon of water!

Nutrition

Calories: 165kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 4mg | Sodium: 99mg | Potassium: 49mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 17g | Vitamin A: 10IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 3mg | Iron: 0.6mg

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This Hanging Gingerbread Cookie recipe is a unique spin on the classic that has been shared over 100 thousand times. Just add a small candy cane to the back and hang the cookies from a cup of cocoa! This recipe has been shared over 100,000 times!