Description
These classic Gingerbread Cookies are perfectly spiced and buttery with a chewy texture, ideal for holiday traditions. The dough is easy to prepare, chilled for firmness, rolled out, cut into festive shapes, and baked to golden perfection. Decorate with your favorite icing for a fun and delicious festive treat.
Ingredients
Scale
Dry Ingredients
- 2 1/3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
Wet Ingredients
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup unsulphured molasses (or dark molasses)
- 1 large egg (room temperature)
Instructions
- Combine Dry Ingredients: Sift the flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, cloves, and fine sea salt into a medium bowl to ensure an even mixture and remove any lumps.
- Cream Butter and Sugars: In a separate bowl, using an electric mixer, beat together the unsalted butter, light brown sugar, and molasses on medium/high speed for 2-3 minutes until the mixture becomes light and fluffy.
- Add Egg: Add the large egg to the creamed mixture and beat for another minute until well incorporated and smooth.
- Mix Dough: Gradually add the sifted flour mixture to the wet ingredients and beat on medium/low speed until just combined. The dough will be soft and moist.
- Chill Dough: Turn the dough onto a well-floured surface. If sticky, dust it with flour to pat into a disk. Divide the dough into three equal pieces, flatten each into a disk, wrap individually in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour or up to 24 hours.
- Preheat Oven and Prepare Baking Sheet: Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C) with the rack positioned in the center. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone liner to prevent sticking.
- Roll and Cut Dough: On a floured surface, roll out one disk of the chilled dough to 1/4-inch thickness, turning occasionally to prevent sticking. Use 4 to 5-inch gingerbread cookie cutters to cut out shapes. Gather scraps and refrigerate again before re-rolling.
- Bake Cookies: Place the cut cookies at least 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 9 to 10 minutes or until the edges just start to turn brown for a chewy texture. Avoid overbaking to keep cookies soft.
- Cool: Transfer cookies to cooling racks immediately after baking. Repeat rolling, cutting, and baking with remaining dough.
- Storage and Decoration: Once cool, decorate cookies with your choice of icing. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week.
Notes
- Gingerbread Cookies are a perfect holiday tradition and fun to decorate with icing, which can be store-bought or homemade.
- The dough benefits from chilling to make rolling and cutting easier and to develop flavors.
- For softer cookies, bake just until edges begin to brown and avoid overbaking.
- These cookies pipe beautifully with homemade icing that hardens well for easy storage and transport.
- Use unsulphured molasses for best flavor, but dark molasses works as a substitute.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 106 kcal
- Sugar: 12 g
- Sodium: 33 mg
- Fat: 4 g
- Saturated Fat: 2 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 1.2 g
- Trans Fat: 0.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 18 g
- Fiber: 0.3 g
- Protein: 1 g
- Cholesterol: 13 mg
