Gingerbread Cookies
User Reviews
4.9
171 reviews
Excellent
Gingerbread Cookies
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Gingerbread Cookies are spiced treats combining ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg with molasses and brown sugar for a classic holiday flavor. The dough is rolled thin and chilled before cutting into shapes, resulting in cookies that balance softness and a slightly crisp edge depending on baking time. The addition of molasses brings moisture and depth, making them suitable for decorating with traditional icing.
Description
The Gingerbread Cookies recipe blends ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and baking agents with dark brown sugar, softened butter, egg yolk, vanilla, molasses, and milk to create a spiced cookie dough. Chilling the butter and dough helps control spreading during baking. Rolling the dough between parchment paper to 1/4-inch thickness and chilling ensures clean, uniform shapes. Once baked, the cookies offer a tender texture with an option for softness or crispness depending on baking duration. The provided icing mixes powdered sugar, meringue powder, water, and vanilla to decorate the cookies with a smooth, sweet topping, highlighting the festive nature of this treat.
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Ingredients
Cookies
- 3 cups (425g) all-purpose flour
- 1 Tbsp ground ginger
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp cloves ground
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 3/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup (165g) dark brown sugar packed
- 10 Tbsp (142g) unsalted butter softened about halfway
- 1 egg large, yolk
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup molasses 172g; not blackstrap
- 1 - 2 Tbsp milk
Icing
- 3 (420g) cups powdered sugar
- 1 1/2 Tbsp (15g) meringue powder
- 4 - 6 Tbsp water
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Whisk dry ingredients: In a mixing bowl whisk together flour, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda and salt set aside.
- Cream butter and sugar: In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment cream together sugar and butter until well combined, occasionally stopping and scraping down bowl.
- Mix in wet ingredients: Mix egg yolk and vanilla. Mix in molasses and 1 Tbsp milk.
- Mix dry mixture with wet mixture: With mixer set on low speed slowly add in dry ingredients and mix until combined, while adding additional milk as needed just to bring dough together.
- Roll dough: Divide dough into two equal portions then roll each portion out evenly to 1/4-inch thickness (into more of a oblong or rectangular shape so it will fit on a cookie sheet) between two sheets of parchment paper.
- Chill briefly: chill on a cookie sheet in freezer 10 - 20 minutes, or until firm then cut into shapes using cookie cutters.
- Transfer to baking sheets and bake: Remove from paper using a thin metal spatula or pastry scraper if needed then transfer to parchment paper lined cookie sheet, spacing cookies about 1-inch apart, and bake in preheated oven 8 minutes or until slightly set*.
- Let cookies cool: Remove from oven and cool on baking sheet 2 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat process with remaining dough.
- Make the icing: Add powdered sugar and meringue powder to the bowl of an electric stand mixer. Fit mixer with paddle attachment, add in 4 Tbsp water and the vanilla them mix on low speed until combined.
- Thin as needed and whip: Add more water to thin as needed and increase speed and whip mixture until it is glossy and thickens up. Tint with food coloring if desired. Transfer to piping bags fitted with tiny round tips.
- Decorate as desired: decorate cookies with icing and add sprinkles if desired. Let icing set at room temperature and store in an airtight container.
Notes
- Keep the butter cool but soft to prevent cookie spreading and ease dough handling.
- Watch baking time carefully for desired texture: shorter for soft cookies, longer for crisp edges.
- Allow cookies to rest a day for softer texture and enhanced flavors.
- Refer to additional decorating instructions if making shaped gingerbread figures, such as reindeer.
Genuine Reviews
User Reviews
Overall Rating
4.9
171 reviews
Excellent
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