Who doesn’t love a good gingerbread cookie during the holidays? From intricate gingerbread houses to adorable gingerbread men, the decorating possibilities are endless.
They’re delectably sweet and jam packed with fragrant notes of spicy cinnamon and warm ginger. It’s like a party for your senses!
Hearty molasses gets added to the dough for three reasons:
- It adds moisture to keep your cookies from becoming dry and crumbly
- It combines with the cinnamon and ginger to create a deeply sweet & smoky flavor
- It gives the dough that unmistakably rich, dark color that we associate with gingerbread
While it may seem like a daunting task, you don’t have to be afraid of making gingerbread cookies from scratch!
HOW TO MAKE GINGERBREAD COOKIES STEP BY STEP
Full printable directions below
- Cream the butter until light and fluffy.
- Add the molasses and water and beat until well combined.
- In another bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.
- Add the dry ingredients to wet ingredients – divide the dough in half and wrap in plastic.
- Place in refrigerator at least 2 hours up to overnight.
- When ready to bake, roll out dough to ¼ inch thickness on a lightly floured surface.
- Cut with cookie cutter and place on prepared baking sheet 2 inches apart.
- Bake for 12-14 minutes or until set around the edges.
When your cookies are done baking, remove them from the baking sheet and allow them to cool on a cooling rack. All that’s left to do is whip up some simple icing, add your favorite edible decorations, then dig in!
You won’t believe just how easy it is to make these simple homemade gingerbread cookies.
Print
SIMPLE Homemade Gingerbread Cookies
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Total Time: 27 minutes
- Yield: 36–40 cookies 1x
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Unsalted butter, softened
- 1 Cup Sugar
- 1 Cup Molasses
- ¼ Cup Water
- 5 Cups All-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons Ground ginger
- 2 teaspoons Ground cinnamon
- 1 ½ teaspoons Baking soda
- ½ teaspoon Allspice
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
FOR THE ICING:
- 3 Cups Powdered sugar, sifted
- 2–3 Tablespoons Milk
- 1 teaspoon Clear Vanilla extract
- 2 Tablespoons Light corn syrup
- Decorations – candies, sprinkles
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter until light and fluffy.
- Add molasses and water and beat until well combined.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour and additional dry ingredients.
- Gradually add dry ingredients to wet ingredients until well combined and scraping down the bowl after each addition.
- Divide the dough in half and wrap in plastic. Place in refrigerator at least 2 hours up to overnight.
- When ready to bake, remove the dough from the refrigerator and let warm up about 10 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350° F.
- Line baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone mat.
- Roll out dough to ¼ inch thickness on a lightly floured surface.
- Cut with cookie cutter and place on prepared baking sheet 2 inches apart.
- Bake for 12-14 minutes or until set around the edges.
- Remove and let cool slightly on baking sheet, then remove to wire rack to cool completely.
FOR THE ICING:
- In a medium bowl, combine the powdered sugar, corn syrup, clear vanilla extract (regular is fine, clear makes the icing really white) and 2 tablespoons milk.
- Whisk together, adding more milk a little at a time if needed.
- Fit a decorator icing bag with a small round tip and fill with icing.
- Decorate as desired.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
MORE FAVORITE CHRISTMAS COOKIE RECIPES:
-
Cranberry, White Chocolate and Pistachio Cookies
-
Chocolate Crinkle Christmas Cookies
-
Peppermint Cookies
If you tried this recipe, leave us a comment. We’d love to hear from you. Don’t forget to subscribe to SIMPLE PARTY FOOD to get a weekly email with our latest recipes. You can also FOLLOW us on Facebook and Pinterest so you don’t miss a thing!
No Comments