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Looking for a winning gingerbread cookie recipe? This is the perfect one to use for festive cut-out shapes.
Does anyone else here love a good from scratch gingerbread cookie? With holiday cookie season in full swing, I thought it would be fun to share some festive gingerbread cookies you can bake at home as a fun activity for dessert! I know there are lots of cookie kits in the stores, but nothing beats a delicious homemade cookie.
The result is a perfectly chewy and soft cookie you can decorate with frosting. The taste has lots of flavor from the molasses and warm spices, yet is balanced with sweetness too. YUM!
Guys, who knew gingerbread cookie recipes can be kind of tricky?
Cookies can come out too dry or hard, the dough can be too crumbly or too sticky. I tried three popular recipes and methods for making cut-out gingerbread cookies and came out with a clear winner in this recipe from TasteofHome.com.
This dough comes together smoothly and easily with little to know guesswork, and it’s not too overwhelming with too much molasses. I did add more of the warm spices and ground clove to ensure deeper flavor and do recommend chilling for a longer period of time, preferably overnight to make sure the shapes don’t spread.
Grab those cookie cutters and let’s go!
Gingerbread Cookies
yield: 24 SERVINGS
prep time: 40 MINUTES
cook time: 7 MINUTES
total time: 47 MINUTES
A soft and chewy gingerbread cookie with warm spices, great for making cutout cookies.
For the cookies:
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
-
1/3 cup molasses - 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons water
-
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour - 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 3 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
For the icing:
- 3 cups confectioners sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon softened butter
- 3 tablespoons milk
1
To make the cookies:
In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter and brown sugar using a hand mixer or stand mixer for a minute or two. Mix in the molasses, egg, and water. Set aside.
2
In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and spices. Slowly stir in the wet ingredients until dough forms. Place the dough in a plastic bag or container in the fridge for at least 3 hours or overnight to chill.
3
To make the cut outs:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and prep a sheet pan with parchment paper.
4
Dust a rolling pin with flour. Roll out 1/2 the dough 1/8 inch thick onto a piece of parchment paper. Use the cookie cutters to cut shapes and place them on the baking sheet. Bake in the oven for 7-8 minutes until firm. Transfer cookies to a cooling rack. Repeat the steps with the remaining dough, and let the cookies cool.
5
To make the icing:
Place ingredients for the icing into a mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer until smooth. Fill a pastry bag with icing and decorate cookies as desired with a thin tip.
6
Store any leftovers in a covered container for up to a week. Baked cookies or raw dough can last in the freezer for up 6 months. Enjoy!
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Tips for making the perfect gingerbread cookie recipe:
- This dough must be chilled before rolling into shapes. It’s best to chill them overnight, or at least for a few hours in the fridge. I suggest making the day dough a day ahead of time and then decorating the next day for convenience.
- Consider rolling out the dough onto parchment paper. In my opinion, they are much easier to transfer to a cookie sheet instead of from the counter.
- You can even use the same piece of parchment paper on the baking sheet. I am using nonstick Caraway sheet pans, so no paper is needed on those.
- Be sure to not roll the dough too thin. If you make them on the thicker side about 1/8 inch, they will be softer.
Oh my, I am in gingerbread heaven!
This simple recipe tastes so great and the shapes turn out so adorable too. This batch made about 24 three-inch cookies for me and would be great to double if you’d like a larger batch for cookie exchanges. Baking holiday cookies together is one of our favorite traditions, and this is a fun idea to do.
Wishing you all a beautiful holiday with lots of family, love, and warm cookies. Merry Christmas!
Check out my easy applesauce tree ornaments that look (and smell) like gingerbread cookies!
About the writer:
Lina has a Bachelor’s Degree from Northern Arizona University with 11 years of blogging and photography experience having work featured in Today.com, Martha Stewart, Country Living, Fox News, Buzzfeed, and HGTV.
