BEST Gingerbread Cookies
Total Time
48 minutes + 30 minutes chilling
Prep Time
40 minutes
Cook Time
8 minutes
Rating
4.9 out of 5 stars
(9)
Ingredients
22 cookies
- 2–3 cups all purpose flour (2 cups = 265g)
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground clove
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter, room temp (reg or vegan)
- 1/2 cup (100g) light brown sugar, packed
- 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp milk (reg or plant-based)
- 1/2 cup (140g) molasses
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 4–5 tsp water
- 1 tsp corn syrup
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- Gel food coloring (optional)
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Preparation
Step 1
Combine two cups of flour, salt, ginger, cinnamon, clove and nutmeg and whisk well. Set aside.
Step 2
In a large mixing bowl using a hand or stand mixer with the paddle attachment, add the butter, brown sugar, and sugar. Mix on medium-high speed for 1-2 minutes or until light and fluffy.
Step 3
Add the vanilla, milk, and molasses and mix to combine. Scrape down the bowl and mix again.
Step 4
Mix in the flour mixture on medium-low speed and then test the dough with your fingers. It should feel soft, tacky, and slightly sticky. This is not what we want.
Step 5
Measure out the final 1 cup of flour and gradually add it to the dough while the mixer is running. Note that you may not need the entire cup as the dough should turn clumpy but NOT crumbly. Pinch the dough again. It should still feel soft, but thicker and smoother than before without any stick. Almost like play-doh.
Step 6
Place a sheet of parchment paper on a cutting board or any flat but moveable surface that can fit in your fridge. Dust the entire sheet with flour.
Step 7
Form the dough into one large ball in your hands. Pat it down on the floured parchment paper, then lift up the dough, flour the surface underneath it, and flip the dough over so that both sides are now well floured.
Step 8
Roll the dough to about 1/4 inch thickness. Then place the dough (cutting board and all) in the refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes.
Step 9
Preheat the oven to 350F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
Step 10
When the dough has chilled, remove it from the fridge and cut out the cookies using a cookie cutter. Transfer to the baking pan, each spaced only 1/2 inch apart as they don’t spread very much.
Step 11
Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until the have an even color, lightly puffed, and the centers look dull and no longer wet. While these cookies bake, use the dough scraps to roll out more cookies.
Step 12
Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack and cool completely before icing.
Step 13
Whisk together all of the ingredients, starting with 4 tsp of water. The consistency should be slightly thicker than glue.
Step 14
If it’s too thin, add 1 tbsp of powdered sugar at a time until it’s just right. If it’s too thick, do the same but with 1 tsp of water at a time.
Step 15
Separate the icing accordingly and color with 1 drop of gel food coloring if desired. Pipe designs onto the cooled gingerbread cookies and enjoy!
Step 16
Save recipe for the next time?
Chef's notes
SIZE – The gingerbread man cookie cutter used was about 4×2.5″ and 8 minutes was the perfect bake time. Smaller cookies may only need 6-8 minutes, larger cookies may need 10-12 minutes.
GLUTEN FREE – Tested with gluten free flour, but it did not work well. The cookies looked the same, but the texture was off due to a grittiness.
STORAGE – Store the cookies in an air-tight container at room temperature for about a week. They will continue to get softer over time. To keep for a few extra days, store in the fridge.
