I literally cannot look at these adorable little gingerbread people without smiling. They are so cute! And everyone of them look just a little bit different, which is ok, because they are more fun that way.
Making a deliciously spicy gingerbread cookie dough, cutting it into adorable shapes and then decorating those tiny little treats however the spirit moves you is one of the quintessential holiday traditions.
Let’s get started…
To make a nice big batch of gingerbread cookies, you will need 6 tablespoons of room temperature butter with 2/3 cup of brown sugar, 1 large egg, 1/2 cup of molasses, 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon of fresh lemon zest, 3 cups of all purpose flour, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg, 1/2 teaspoon of ground cloves, 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon, 2 teaspoons of ground ginger, 1 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder and 3/4 teaspoon of baking soda.
Begin by whisking 6 tablespoons of room temperature butter with 2/3 cup of brown sugar, 1 large egg, 1/2 cup of molasses, 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract and 1 teaspoon of fresh lemon zest in a large bowl until smooth and creamy.
Next, add 3 cups of all purpose flour, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg, 1/2 teaspoon of ground cloves, 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon, 2 teaspoons of ground ginger, 1 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder and 3/4 teaspoon of baking soda into the bowl and mix until combined.
You may need to knead the mixture a bit with your hands to fully bring it together.
Transfer the dough onto a floured surface and divide it in 2 equal portions.
Roll the dough out to anywhere between 1/4 and 1/2 inch thickness, depending on how thick you want your cookies. If the dough is sticky, lightly dust with flour as you roll it out.
Now comes the first fun part…
Grab your favorite cookie cutters and cut out as many as possible. Transfer the cut out cookies onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Gather together the scraps from between the cut outs, re-roll them and cut out a few more cookies.
Repeat the process with the other portion of dough.
Once all of the cookies have been cut out and placed onto parchment lined baking sheets, transfer them into the freezer to chill for 10 minutes. Chilling the cut out cookies will ensure that they maintain their shape and size during baking.
Bake the chilled cookies in a 350 degree oven for 7-10 minutes. The baking time will depend on how thick and large your cookies are. If you rolled them out thin and used small cutters, they will be done in 7 minutes, but if you kept your dough on the thicker side and used full sized cookie cutters, you may need the whole 10 minutes.
The cookies will feel lightly set to the touch when they are done. If you want a softer gingerbread cookie, take them out before their edges begin to brown, but if you prefer a more crispy cookie, wait a bit longer.
Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet until they are set enough to maintain their shape when you pick them up and then transfer the cookies directly onto a cooling rack. They should be completely cooled before you decorate them.
Once they are cooled, get to decorating!
I love Googling “gingerbread cookies” and looking at everyones clever ideas. You can do the classic full perimeter outline, add little faces, sleeves, winter hats, scarves… anything!
Then after you have worked your frosting magic, add some sprinkles or sanding sugar to top off your tasty masterpieces.
The most important thing to remember during this process is that you can eat your mistakes, so decorate boldly my friends… whats the worst that can happen?
Happy holidays!!
Gingerbread Cookies
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons butter, room temperature
- 2/3 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup molasses
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon zest
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- white icing (optional decoration)
- sprinkles or sanding sugar (optional decoration)
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk 6 tablespoons of room temperature butter with 2/3 cup of brown sugar, 1 large egg, 1/2 cup of molasses, 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract and 1 teaspoon of fresh lemon zest until smooth and creamy
- Place a mesh sifter over the bowl and add 3 cups of all purpose flour, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg, 1/2 teaspoon of ground cloves, 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon, 2 teaspoons of ground ginger, 1 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder and 3/4 teaspoon of baking soda into it
- Gently sift the dry ingredients into the bowl
- Mix the ingredients with a silicone spatula until all of the dry ingredients have been incorporated into the dough
- Transfer the dough onto a floured surface and divide it into 2 equal portions
- Roll 1 portion out to a thickness of 1/4-1/2 inch (depending on how thick you want your cookies) dusting with additional flour, if necessary
- Cut out cookie shapes and transfer onto a parchment lined baking sheets
- Repeat until all of the dough has been used
- Transfer the baking sheets into the freezer to chill the cut out cookies for 10 minutes
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees
- Bake the chilled cookies for 7-10 minutes (depending on the size and thickness of the cookies) *Note: The cookies are done when they feel lightly set to the touch. If you prefer softer cookies, take them out before the edges begin to brown. If you prefer more crisp cookies, take them out when the edges begin to brown
- Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheets until they are set enough to hold their shape when picked up and then transfer them onto a cooling rack to cool fully before decorating
- Decorate using frosting, chocolate, sprinkles, sanding sugar or confectioners sugar
- Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature
