Gingerbread Cookies
I’m keeping things super festive this year and I knew gingerbread cookies were a must. These cookies have a chewy center and nice crisp on the outside; the perfect match is you ask me. Hope you have as much fun making these as I did with my little one :)
You can follow along on this IG reel for the whole process.
Gingerbread Dough
1 cup unsalted butter softened
1 cup brown sugar packed
½ teaspoon sea salt
1 large egg (room temperature)
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
½ cup molasses
1 tablespoon ginger ground
2 teaspoons cinnamon ground
¼ teaspoon nutmeg ground
½ teaspoon cloves ground
3 ¾ cup all purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
Icing
3 cups of powdered sugar
½ cup to 1 cup of milk
1 tablespoon of pure vanilla extract
The Process (Gingerbread Cookies)
In a large bowl combine butter, brown sugar, and salt. Beat until light and creamy, scraping down the sides.
Add egg, vanilla extract, and molasses. Beat until light and creamy. Scrape down the sides.
Add ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves into the same bowl. Beat until combined.
Sift flour and baking soda right into the same bowl. Fold the flour into the wet ingredients just until it forms a dough and no more dry bits of flour remain. Do not overmix.
Place half of the dough mixture on a lightly floured surface and begin folding and kneading the dough so it’s fully combined. Do the same thing with the 2nd half of the mixture.
Place both pieces of dough in a ziplock bag or wrap in plastic wrap, and let sit in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
Take out of the refrigerator and let sit on the counter for 30 minutes to soften a bit.
Preheat oven to 355°F (180°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Please the dough on a lightly floured surface and begin rolling out the dough until its about 1/4 of an inch thick. The dough will try to separate, so do your best to keep it close together.
Take your cookie cutters and press down into the dough.
Use a spatula to help lift up the individual gingerbread cookie shapes.
Place gingerbread cookie shapes on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Leave them 1 inch a part.
Remove the excess cookie dough around the cookie shapes, set them aside. You will use these again in a few to make more cookies.
Bake for 5-8 minutes or until the tops of the cookies stop being shiny and puff up a bit. Remove from the oven and transfer to cooling racks with a spatula to cool completely.
Repeat with the rest of the cookie dough and reroll the cookie scraps.
Go ahed and make the icing.
The Process (Icing)
Sift 3 cups of powdered sugar into a large bowl to remove any clumps.
Add in 1/4 cup of milk and then whisk. Keep pouring in the milk little by little to your desired thickness.
Separate into different bowls and add food coloring (about 4 drops each)
Place in a pastry bag or ziplock bag.
Cut the tip (very small snip) and begin decorating the cooking.
Enjoy!
XOXO
Tiff
