These gingerbread cookies are super easy and delicious!
This gingerbread recipe is my favorite, partly because I have made it every year since I first started baking. And partly because it’s a great gingerbread recipe. It is easy to put together, it comes out beautifully, and the flavor is just right with the right amount of ginger and sweetness. You don’t have to make it super crunchy or complex; ensure that you take it out of your oven at the correct time.
There are many gingerbread recipes, but this one is my favorite. The original recipe I used is not mine. I found it in a photocopy from a book that contained a gingerbread recipe. Since then, I have modified it – adding more ginger to give it a more ginger snap taste and specifying fancy molasses instead of blackstrap. Both will work, and there will not be any difference in flavor. However, fancy molasses will make the cookies lighter, making it easier to determine when the gingerbread is ready to bake.
These cookies are delicious right out of the oven, warm and soft with lots of spice. They are firm enough to be decorated but soft enough to enjoy as is. If you don’t like crunchy gingerbread, the most important thing is to take it out when it’s puffy and lightly browned at the edges. This gingerbread is edible, so I hope you try it. Making gingerbread is a beautiful Christmas tradition.
Here are some tips:
There is a difference between fancy and blackstrap molasses. The fancy stuff will give you a lighter and sweeter cookie. Blackstrap is also possible but has a darker flavor, and a more pungent molasses taste.
If you make cutout cookies and want them to keep their shape, chill them thoroughly and then bake them on cool baking sheets. If you don’t relax with the recipe, it can get puffy. You might lose some of the crisp edges. Sometimes I even place the cut cookies on a baking sheet and put them in the freezer. Works like a charm.
Frosting will run if you decorate cookies that aren’t entirely cool. If you are concerned about frosting having no dents, let it dry overnight. This doesn’t matter if you eat the cookies right away.
That’s it! I wish everyone a happy holiday season filled with family and friends. All the best!
Milk and cookies
PS – Pro tip! If you want to make a cookie tray, such as the ones you see on Instagram, but only have time to bake some of them, you can buy one and bake the rest. Then, arrange all the goodies in a pretty tin.
PPS – What a beautiful blue baking sheet Great Jones made! It is so beautiful!!
Super Simple Cut-Out Gingerbread Cookies
These gingerbread cookies are soft and sturdy, perfect for decorating gingerbread houses or baking gingerbread cakes
Five votes from 1
Prep Time30 minsCook Time15 minsTotal Time45 mins
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1.5 tsp ground ginger
- One teaspoon of ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter at Room Temperature
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup fancy Molasses
- One large egg yolk
- Instructions
- Mix the first eight ingredients in a bowl. Set aside. Mix the butter and sugar in a bowl until light and fluffy. Add the egg yolk. Mix in the dry ingredients. Divide the dough into two pieces, wrap it in plastic wrap, and chill for at least 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 350°F when ready to bake. Cut out desired shapes from the cookies and roll them out. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. The cookies should cool in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes. Bake the cookies for between 8-12 minutes, depending on their size. Allow cooling completely before frosting.
