Gingerbread Cookies
When you think Christmas cookie…you think Gingerbread. Or is that just me? As much as I love all Christmas cookies nothing quite gets me in the mood for the festive season like these delicious little friends.
I’ve made many gingerbread cookie recipes where the dough is very hard to work with and you certainly won’t find that with this recipe.
A stand mixer is recommended for these (though you can get buy with a powerful hand mixer) because the dough becomes pretty thick towards the end.
Gingerbread cookies do freeze pretty well but you’ll need to freeze and thaw them before icing. Icing almost never freezes well and will either be permanently wet afterwards or gets discolored and crystallized. So don’t be freezing iced cookies this Christmas. 🙂
I like the icing to be pretty thick so that it easily pipes and stays on your cookies and this recipe reflects that.
These are a great cookie to make with kids and let them have a blast with the icing. Why is this particular icing the best for kids? No food dye = no ruined clothes for this activity! The only struggle will be them trying to eat all the cookies.
Gingerbread Cookies
Ingredients
Cookies
- 2 sticks butter softened
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
- 1 tbsp ginger
- 1/2 tsp ground cloves
- 1/2 cup molasses
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1 large egg
- 5 cups all-purpose flour (600 g)
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
Icing
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup whole milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
Cookies
- Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger and cloves on medium speed until combined and no streaks of butter remain.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula. Add the molasses and honey and beat until incorporated. Beat in the egg. The dough should be creamy.
- Combine the flour, baking soda and salt in a bowl and whisk to combine. Slowly beat in the flour on low until just incorporated – be careful not to over mix. The dough should be soft and pliable.
- Divide into 3 pieces and pat into a disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to overnight.
- Line baking sheets with parchment paper and pre-heat the oven to 350 F.
- Roll out the dough to 1/4 inch thick on a lightly floured surface. You will need to lightly flour your rolling pin and the top of the dough. Cut out your cookies.
- Bake for 10 minutes, rotating halfway through for an even bake. Let cool on the pan for 5 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack. Cookies will be delicate so transfer carefully with a spatula to avoid headless gingerbread men.
- Cool completely before icing.
Icing
- Mix all three ingredients together in a small bowl. Use a squirt bottle or piping bag to create fun designs on your cookies!
Video
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