Gingerbread Cookies

Ring in the holiday season with a batch of my classic gingerbread cookies, with patterns that fit your holiday mood.  Snowflakes, trees, and a scattering of stars filled my baking racks over the weekend while I made the season’s first batch of homemade Christmas cookies.  Since my family always made gingerbread without icing, I decorate the centers of each cookie with cut-out patterns so each one is unique.  Save plenty of the little shapes and bake them to serve alongside the larger cookies.

With warm spices and rich flavor, these cookies lend festivity to the table with their cheerful designs.  Once you get into a merry rhythm of rolling and cutting, you will want to make another batch to keep the process going!  The cookies have the delicious taste of gingerbread with their own pure elegance.

Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground cardamom
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ cup unsalted butter
¾ cup dark brown sugar
⅓ cup unsulphured molasses
1 egg

These cookies turn out beautifully using any of your favorite holiday cookie cutters.  While I turned to snowflakes, trees, and stars, they will look equally adorable in your preferred shapes. In general, gingerbread is a sticker dough that I like to roll on parchment. This makes it easy to transfer to the freezer for just a minute or so if it starts to soften.  All my rolling and pattern tips can be found after the steps for making the dough.

How to Make Gingerbread Cookie Dough

For the cookie dough, begin by combining the flour, ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, baking soda, and salt.  In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy.  Add the molasses and egg, and beat well.  Slowly add the flour mixture and beat until combined.

Shape the dough into 2 flattened discs, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 2 hours (or up to 2 days).

Once the dough is chilled, remove one of the discs.  Roll the dough between two lightly dusted pieces of parchment paper to between ⅛-inch and ¼-inch thickness.  This prevents it from sticking to the rolling pin.  Lift the top piece occasionally and reposition as necessary.

How to Make Patterned Gingerbread Cookies

Stainless steel or other metal cookie cutters work best for gingerbread dough.  For the cookies pictured, I used larger shapes for the main cookie and tiny shapes to make cutouts. Keep a small plate of flour nearby and lightly dust the sharp edge of the cookie cutter. 

If the dough has softened too much during rolling, transfer it on the bottom piece of parchment to the refrigerator or freezer on a baking sheet just until it becomes firm again.  Cut desired shapes, using small cookie cutters to make a variety of patterns.  Return dough to the refrigerator or freezer anytime it becomes too soft.  I prefer to work with a small batch of dough at a time so the rest remains chilled.

Before baking but while the cookies are still firm, use a thin spatula to transfer cookies to a parchment-lined room temperature baking sheet.  Alternately, if your bottom piece of parchment has not become too messy, you can leave the cookies on the piece on which they were rolled.  Leave about 1 inch between cookies.  Gather the remaining dough, flatten into a disk, and return to the refrigerator until you are ready to roll and cut the next batch.

Bake cookies on center rack at 350 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes until lightly browned on bottom.  Baking time will vary based on the size of the cookies.  Transfer parchment to cooling racks or use a spatula to remove cookies from baking sheet once they are stiff enough to do so. Cool completely.

If you enjoy the warm spices of gingerbread, try them in this loaf cake.