Description
This classic Gingerbread Cookie recipe yields soft, spicy cookies perfect for holiday baking and decorating. They feature warm spices like ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg, combined with molasses for a rich flavor and chewy texture. The dough requires chilling to manage its stickiness, then is rolled out and cut into festive shapes before baking. Finished cookies are decorated with royal icing and optional sprinkles or candies, making them a fun and delicious treat for gatherings or gifting.
Ingredients
Scale
Dry Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour (360g)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
Wet Ingredients
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, room temperature (170g)
- ¾ cup firmly packed light brown sugar (165g)
- ½ cup unsulphured molasses (120mL)
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (5mL)
For Decoration
- Royal icing or easy sugar cookie icing
- Sprinkles or candies (optional)
Instructions
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking soda, salt, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg until evenly combined.
- Cream Butter Mixture: Using a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the unsalted butter, light brown sugar, and molasses on medium speed until fluffy, about 3 to 5 minutes. This aerates the mixture and ensures smooth texture.
- Add Egg and Vanilla: Add the large egg and vanilla extract to the butter mixture and mix until fully combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix again to incorporate all ingredients.
- Combine Dry and Wet Ingredients: With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients. Continue mixing until a cohesive dough forms, avoiding over-mixing.
- Chill the Dough: Divide the dough into two equal halves and shape each into a disk. Wrap each disk tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight. This chilling step is crucial to make the dough manageable and reduce stickiness.
- Preheat Oven and Prepare Pans: When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats to prevent sticking.
- Roll Out Dough: On a lightly floured surface, roll out one disk of chilled dough at a time to approximately ¼-inch thickness. If the dough cracks while rolling, cover it and let it rest for 5 to 10 minutes to soften slightly.
- Cut Out Cookies: Dip your cookie cutters in flour to prevent sticking, and cut out shapes from the rolled dough. Size of shapes typically ranges from 2½ inches to 4 inches. Carefully transfer the cutouts to the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 1 inch of space between cookies. Reroll scraps once for additional cookies.
- Bake Cookies: Bake one sheet of cookies at a time in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. Once baked, let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Decorate Cookies: Fill a piping bag fitted with a small round tip (or snipped tip) with royal icing or sugar cookie icing. Pipe decorations onto cooled cookies. While the icing is still wet, optionally attach sprinkles or candies for extra decoration.
- Allow Icing to Dry: Let the decorated cookies sit at room temperature until the icing hardens, about 1 to 2 hours, before serving or storing.
Notes
- Chilling the dough is essential to prevent excessive spreading and ease rolling.
- Room temperature eggs and butter blend better for a smooth dough.
- Rolling dough to an even ¼-inch thickness ensures uniform baking.
- Use parchment paper or silicone mats to avoid sticking and burning on baking sheets.
- Decorate with royal icing for best results; it hardens nicely.
- Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week.
- For stronger spice flavor, you can toast the dry spices lightly before mixing.
