You only need four ingredients to make this festive and delicious gingerbread dessert that’s perfect for sharing during the holiday season.

Gingerbread cookie cups are made with cookie mix and a can of frosting, but they look and taste like a bakery-style treat. They’re super easy to make for a cookie swap, party, or an addition to your Christmas dessert table.

Gingerbread cookie cups decorated with frosting and sprinkles are served on a Christmas plate.

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Gingerbread is one of those nostalgic Christmas flavors that always feels so cozy, thanks to warm spices and the sweetness of molasses.

And although gingerbread cookies are a mainstay during the holiday season, there are times when I don’t want the hassle of rolling out dough, cutting it into shapes, and painstakingly decorating the cookies.

That’s where these gingerbread cookie cups come in! They have all of the festive flavor of the traditional cookies and a beautiful look, but with way less work.

The process for making them is similar to the way I make my Christmas sugar cookie cups and red velvet cookie cups, using a packaged mix and a simple technique that’s sure to make this a new holiday tradition in your home.

They’re pretty enough to add to a cookie box for friends and family, unique enough to bring to a cookie swap party, and delicious enough to serve after Christmas dinner.

More Gingerbread Recipes for the Holidays:

Overhead view of a white rectangular platter with several frosted gingerbread cookie cups displayed on it.

How to Make Gingerbread Cookie Bites

It’s really easy to make this shortcut dessert.

Ingredients You’ll Need

Gingerbread cookie mix (I use Betty Crocker)
Unsalted butter
Egg
Vanilla frosting
Optional: sprinkles

Gingerbread cookie cups on a white platter, one of which has a bite taken out of it.

How to Make It:

Find the full printable recipe available below

Make the gingerbread cookie dough. First, you’ll combine the gingerbread cookie mix, a stick of softened butter, and an egg in a mixing bowl.

Using an electric mixer on low speed, mix everything together until a soft dough forms. This may take a minute or two for everything to come together, but it will.

Two photos; one shows gingerbread cookie mix, butter, and egg in a mixing bowl; the other shows the ingredients mixed into cookie dough.

Shape the rounds of dough. Then, use a small cookie scoop to scoop out rounds of cookie dough. Place each dough ball in a greased well of a mini muffin pan.

Use the back of a round teaspoon to press an indentation in each dough ball, creating a cup-like shape. You can spritz the back of the spoon with nonstick spray if it’s sticking to your dough.

I use the teaspoon from this set to accomplish this, but if you don’t have a rounded spoon, you can always just use your fingers to press them into little cups.

Two photos; one shows rounds of cookie dough in a mini muffin pan; the other shows a teaspoon being pressed into the dough balls to form cups.

Bake. Transfer the mini muffin pan to the oven and bake for about 12-14 minutes, until the edges of the cookie cups are set but the centers are still soft and puffed up. Remove them from the oven.

While they’re still warm, go ahead and take the same teaspoon (after washing it) and press the puffed centers down, so you have a cup shape.

Two photos; one shows cookie cups immediately after baking, with puffed up centers. The other shows the teaspoon being pressed into the center of the cookies to create the cup shape.

Cool and decorate the cookie cups. Let the cookies cool in the pan for about 15 minutes to allow them firm up a little so they don’t fall apart.

Then gently remove them from the pan and set them on a plate or cooling rack. Allow them to cool completely before decorating them.

Once they’re cooled, scoop your canned frosting into a piping bag fitted with a piping tip. Squeeze some frosting into each cookie cup.

If you’d like, go ahead and add some sprinkles or sanding sugar for a little festive color. Then serve and enjoy!

Two photos; one shows cooled gingerbread cookie cups in the muffin pan; the other shows a piping bag piping frosting into the cookie cups.

Notes and Adaptations:

A piping bag and tip make it easy to add decorative frosting to the cookie cups, but if you don’t have those, you can add the frosting to a heavy-duty zip-top bag and snip the corner of the bag, then squeeze it through the opening.
I use vanilla frosting, but cream cheese frosting would also be delicious.
These cookie cups freeze well–you’ll just want to freeze them in a single layer so the frosting doesn’t get messed up. I freeze mine in a freezer-safe container with a lid, then thaw them out at room temperature.

Overhead view of gingerbread Christmas cookie cups topped with frosting and holiday sprinkles.

Recommended Equipment:

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Gingerbread Cookie Cups

Author: Chrysti Benner

Serves: Servings

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 12

Cooling Time 1

You only need four ingredients to make these festive and delicious gingerbread cookie cups! They start with a cookie mix and canned frosting, creating a beautiful holiday dessert that's perfect for sharing.

Ingredients

▢ 17.5 ounce gingerbread cookie mix (I use Betty Crocker)
▢ 1/2 cup unsalted butter (softened to room temperature)
▢ 1 egg
▢ 16 ounce can vanilla frosting (or cream cheese frosting)
▢ Sprinkles for decorating (optional)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a 24-well mini muffin pan with nonstick spray and set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or in a large mixing bowl with an electric hand mixer), combine gingerbread cookie mix, butter, and egg. Mix on low speed until combined into a soft dough.
Using a small cookie scoop, scoop out rounds of dough into each well of the prepared mini muffin pan.
Using the back of a round teaspoon, press an indentation into the center of each round of dough, forming a cup-like shape (If necessary, spray the back of the spoon with nonstick spray to keep it from sticking to the dough). Wash the teaspoon and set aside for later use.
Bake in preheated oven for about 12-14 minutes, until the edges are set. The centers will puff up a bit and still be a little soft.
Remove from oven and use the back of the round teaspoon to gently press down the puffed-up centers while the cookie cups are still warm. Let the cookie cups cool in the pan for about 15 minutes, then carefully remove them to a plate or wire rack to cool completely.
Once cookie cups are completely cooled, scoop frosting from can into a piping bag fitted with a piping tip (I use a large open star Ateco 825 tip). Squeeze a dollop of frosting into the center of each cookie cup. If desired, add sprinkles to the top of the frosting, then serve and enjoy!

Notes

A piping bag and tip make it easy to add decorative frosting to the cookie cups, but if you don’t have those, you can add the frosting to a heavy-duty zip-top bag and snip the corner of the bag, then squeeze it through the opening.
I use vanilla frosting, but you can also use cream cheese frosting or other white frosting.
Sprinkles or sanding sugar can be a fun way to add some festive color to your cookie bites.
Makes 24 cookie cups.