It may be a few months from the holiday season but fall is almost here and gingerbread is one of the key ingredients to a good fall-time treat in my family. Gingerbread is always a classic and it’s actually one of the easiest traditional cookie recipes to make. In this post you are going to learn gingerbread cookie recipe.
That being said, finding the best gingerbread recipe that combines the right amount of spice and sweetness can be tough. Nothing is more disappointing than waiting for your cookies to cool enough to eat and finding out that they are more like sugar cookies. A good gingerbread cookie recipe will always deliver the right amount of sweetness and savory that is distinctively gingerbread and nothing else.
Thankfully, this great recipe is easy to make and will never disappoint you! It makes cookies that are soft on the inside, crispy in the middle and delightfully spicy and sweet.
What Makes a Good Gingerbread Cookie?
The key to making really good gingerbread is to make sure that you have the right amount of flour in the mix so that it’s not too soft or too firm. You will also want to be sure to use brown sugar instead of white sugar for that extra crunchiness to the outside of the cookie and the richness of the flavor.
Always be sure to chill the dough before you cut out your cookies. Warm dough just doesn’t make tidy cookies. Chill for three hours. No cheating!
Wrap your dough in plastic wrap while it chills. You don’t want to lose any moisture from the dough while it is cooling off. Flatten the dough into smooth discs before cooling it off. This makes rolling it out much easier when the time comes.
When you roll out the dough, don’t be afraid to use flour to keep things from sticking together and make sure that it’s about ¼ inch thick. Leaving your dough too thick or rolling out too thin will greatly affect the bake and can lead to cookies that just aren’t edible.
Always decorate your cookies with icing and other decorations of your choosing. Have fun with this part! Decorating is the best part! Well, besides eating them of course!
Tips and Tricks
Don’t leave out the molasses or replace it with something else. Molasses is the primary thing that leads to the signature taste of a gingerbread cookie recipe. Leave enough space between cookies so they don’t spread out into a big blob. Be careful not to bake at too hot of a temperature. Always let the cookies cool off before decorating or your icing will melt into the cookies and make them mushy.
Don’t grease the cookie sheet as it will ruin the finish on the cookies and will lead to mushy cookies. Make sure to rotate your cookie sheets as needed during cooking to avoid hot spots in the oven. Make sure to allow enough time for big cut outs to cook through and reduce cooking time for smaller cut outs.
Lastly, always have fun making your cookies!
Gingerbread Cookie Recipe
Ingredients:
- 10 tbs unsalted butter. Soften to room temperature.
- ¾ C packed light or dark brown sugar
- 2/3 C unsulphured molasses
- 1 large egg at room temp
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 and ½ C all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tbs ground cinnamon
- 1tbs ground ginger
- ½ tsp allspice
- ½ tsp cloves
- Optional: royal icing
Instructions:
- In a large bowl, use a hand-held mixer or you can use a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Beat the butter for 1 minute until smooth and creamy. Add brown sugar and molasses and beat on medium high speed until creamy. Scrape down the sides as needed.
- Beat in the egg and the vanilla on high for 2 minutes. Scrape the sides again as needed. Butter might separate and that’s fine.
- In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon ginger, cloves and allspice until combined.
- On low, slowly mix wet and dry ingredients until combined. Dough should be quite thick and slightly sticky.
- Divide dough in half and wrap in plastic wrap. Flatten each into a flat disc.
- Chill for at least three hours. You can wait up to three days before you use the dough.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Line 2-3 baking sheets with parchment paper. You can also use silicone baking mats
- Take one of your discs of dough out and place on a floured surface. Using more flour as needed, roll out until it is ¼ inch thick.
- Cut out cookies. Place 1 inch apart on the cookie sheets.
- Bake for 9-10 minutes. If cookies are cut out into small shapes, cook for 8 minutes. Be sure to rotate the sheets if you need to for even baking.
- Repeat until both discs of dough are used up.
- Allow to cool for 5 minutes before you decorate.
- Cookies are good at room temp for up to a week.
This is a foolproof gingerbread cookie recipe and you will quickly find that it is one of your staples for the holiday season or for fall. Make for your family only or make a large enough batch to share with friends! Don’t feel like you have to wait until the holidays to make this recipe. If you want to make gingerbread cookies in April, no one will stop you!
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