Pierniczki (Polish Gingerbread Christmas Cookies)

Polish Gingerbread Christmas Cookies or Pierniczki are wonderfully soft and spiced with aromatic cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. Decorate them with royal icing or white chocolate and stud with nuts and raisins, if you want, although they are also delicious on their own.

Baking Pierniczki Świąteczne is a holiday season must at our Polish-American house. I rotate other cookie recipes but pierniczki (or pierniki) are something I come back to every single year and could not really have Christmas without them.

There are many pierniczki recipies out there, some of them passed on from generation to generation. My mom’s recipe makes crunchy and hard cookies that smell of orange peel. She then decorates with dark chocolate and nuts.

They are all made with honey and aromatic spices, but different versions use ingredients such as lard, margarine, cocoa powder, eggs and various types of flour. Some people like them crunchy (like my parents), though most prefer softer cookies decorated with colorful icing, nuts, dried fruit and sprinkles.

Looking for more cutout cookie ideas? Try these Healthy Almond Shortbread Heart Cookies.

How to make soft gingerbread cookies

Typically, if you want your pierniczki to soften in time for Christmas, you need to make them way ahead of time, three weeks or more. This can be problematic if you don’t have the forethought or time to plan your baking so early on.

After experimenting with different recipes, I’ve developed one that produces Polish gingerbread cookies that are soft immediately after baking. To achieve this, I add egg yolks and sour cream to the dough which needs to sit in the fridge overnight. The chilling time is necessary because the dough is too sticky and soft to cut out cookies right away but I promise it’s totally worth it!

If you’re looking for a pierniczki recipe that can be made a few days (or even the day before) Christmas, you’ve arrived at the right place!

Ingredient notes

• Flour: I use white whole wheat flour for some extra fiber but all purpose flour can also be used
• Sugar: use regular granulated sugar
• Honey: any kind of runny honey will work
• Butter: I always use unsalted butter in baking
• Baking Soda: to help the cookies rise
• Sour Cream: it’s what makes the cookies soft. My favorite sour cream brand is full fat Daisy’s because it has no funky ingredients, only cultured cream.
• Egg Yolks: make sure to use large eggs
• Spices: they are an essential ingredient in Polish pierniczki. I used cinnamon, dried ginger and ground nutmeg but you can also add some ground cloves, cardamom, allspice and even black pepper.

If you're looking for other Polish dessert recipes, try my Szarlotka (Polish apple cake) and this Polish babka cake too.

How to make Polish Gingerbread Cookies

1. STEP 1: Melt butter in a small saucepan together with honey, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. If you’re using other spices, add them now. You don’t need to bring this mixture to a boil. Just let the butter melt and stir everything together. Take the saucepan off the heat and set aside to cool down.
2. STEP 2: Whisk together dry ingredients in a large bowl: flour, baking soda and sugar.
3. STEP 3: Add wet ingredients: egg yolks, sour cream and cooled down butter-honey mixture. Stir with a wooden spoon until sticky dough forms.

4. STEP 4: Chill the dough overnight. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place it in the fridge for at least 8 hours.
5. STEP 5: Roll out the dough. The next day take the bowl out of the fridge, dump the dough onto a floured surface and form a ball. Cut it in half, wrap one half in plastic wrap and set aside. Roll the other half to ⅛ inch thickness using flour on the surface and on the rolling pin. You should be able to move the rolled out dough on the floured counter when you push it slightly – otherwise the cookies will stick to the surface.

Note: I like my cookies on the thinner side but thicker cookies (¼ inch thick before baking) will also work. The thicker the cookie, the softer it is after baking.

6. STEP 6: Cut out the cookies. Using Holiday themed cookie cutters, cut out the shapes and place the cookies on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Gather leftover dough, shape a ball and repeat the process until all your dough is used up.

Decorating ideas

Traditionally, pierniczki are decorated with royal icing (icing made out of egg whites and powdered sugar), nuts, raisins and sometimes sprinkles. Melted white, milk or dark chocolate also works great. My kids like them best with white chocolate and way too many sprinkles so we always make a batch like that.

For the version in the photos, I used royal icing by whipping up one egg white and stirring in 100 grams of confectioner's sugar. You can also add a couple drops of lemon juice and/or vanilla. I placed the icing in a zip lock bag, cut a tiny corner off and decorated the cookies. It’s easier and faster than it looks!

For festive and classy sprinkle idea, I used these gorgeous gold glitter stars that I purchased on Amazon.

For more Polish recipes, check out this Polish Mushroom Soup, Rosół (Polish Chicken Noodle Soup), naleśniki (Polish crepes) or Drożdżówki (strawberry yeast rolls).

Storage and freezing tips

Store pierniczki in tins or airtight containers. These cookies can be made up to 4 weeks before serving as long as you store them at room temperature in an airtight container.

Once decorated, they can still sit at room temperature for quite some time (in a container) but  to make sure the icing and nuts stay fresh, store them in the fridge for up to 4 weeks or freezer for up to four months.

Substitutions and variations

• If you like darker cookies, add 1 teaspoon of cocoa powder to the dough.
• For spicier pierniczki, use more ground spices! Cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, allspice, cardamom and black pepper can all be added.
• If you have access to a Polish or European deli, you may be able to find a mix of spices called Przyprawa do pierniczków (or Przyprawa do piernika). For this recipe I would use half a pack of this mix.
• For dairy free cookies, use vegan butter and dairy free sour cream, such as Kite Hill.
• These will also work with spelt or rye flour though you may need to experiment with amounts. Sometimes I make these using a mix of rye and all purpose flour.

More Holiday ideas

• Christmas Charcuterie Board
• Small Charcuterie Board
• Roasted Beet Salad with Orange Tahini Dressing
• Spinach Strawberry Feta Salad
• Easy No Bake Cake Pops
• Sourdough Bread Stuffing

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