This is our second time baking gingerbread cookies this month. The first batch were shared with family, friends and co-workers. This second batch are to share with my husband’s family for Christmas Eve dinner. I’ll be bringing a few other goodies along as well.
I wanted to share this recipe because if you like a soft but firm gingerbread cookie, this is a great one to try. It would also be great for making gingerbread houses because it holds it shape pretty well. I would just bake it for a few a few additional minutes if you were going to build a house with it.
Ingredients:
- 3/4 margarine or butter, softened
- 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup molasses
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2, 3/4 cups flour plus 2 tbsp.
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
Directions:
- Beat the sugar and butter together. Add the molasses, egg and vanilla extract.
- In a small bowl combine the flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda and salt.
- Then add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix until combined.
- Turn the dough out onto the counter and press it into a flat disc. Place inside seran wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. I wait overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a few baking trays with parchment paper.
*Flat baking sheets with no edges work best because you can slide the whole piece of parchment off of the sheet onto the cool counter as soon as you remove the cookies from the oven. This stops the cookies from continuing to bake on the hot sheet…which in turn keeps them soft. - Roll out the dough no thinner than 1/4″ and use cookie cutters to cut out shapes.
- Bake on parchment lined baking sheet for 8-10 minutes. Exactly 8 minutes works great for me every time.
*But keep in mind different altitudes result in various baking times. - Let cool completely before decorating.
- I used Royal Icing. View my recipe here.
Alternatively, you could sprinkle icing sugar on top, or even leave them plain. - Keep sealed in an air tight container.
They hold their shape pretty well.These ones have edible glitter / disco dust sprinkled on them while the icing was still wet.
My Little Helper. Below are the cookies we decorated together on a previous day.
Enjoy,
~ Crystal