Do you want sugar cookies with a wonderful gingerbread flavor? Then these gingerbread sugar cookies are for you. While they are delicious on their own they are also the perfect canvas to decorate with royal icing or fondant.
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When I think of Christmas cookies, my gingerbread cookies are on that list. As a cake decorator, often, I'd have orders for decorated Christmas cookies. But, traditional gingerbread cookies are way too delicate for flooding or fondant.
So, I had to tweak my classic gingerbread recipe to make sure it could handle a little fondant or royal icing. And, it was always appreciated.
I cut this batch with my kids' favorite Christmas cookie cutters like the stockings, boots, gloves, hats, and Hanukkah cookies to decorate with fondant. Not long ago, I shared my knit inspired Christmas cookie tutorials decorated with fondant.
About this recipe
The recipe is fairly simple and easy to make. A butter-based cookie dough using brown sugar and molasses along with wonderful warm gingerbread spices. The cookie dough has a soft consistency, and you will be very tempted to add more flour, but please do not add more flour.
The dough takes only 5 minutes to mix but it is very important that you chill these cookies well before you roll them. Roll them on a lightly floured surface and place them on a cookie tray. Dust off any excess flour before you chill and bake them.
Do take note, that, because these are already dark in color, it is easier to over-bake them. So, keep an eye on them and look for a slight color on the edges. As a guide, small size cookies like these will take about 8 to 10 minutes to bake, while larger ones take about 10 to 12 minutes.
Ingredients and substitutes
- Unsalted butter - I always use unsalted butter so I can control the amount of salt. And yet, you can use salted butter. If you do use salted butter omit the salt in the recipe.
- Molasses - I highly recommend you use molasses. It's what gives gingerbread cookies that unique flavor. Light corn syrup, golden syrup, or treacle are not the same.
- Brown sugar - Brown sugar has molasses, which adds to the flavor. And yet, if you must, go ahead and use white sugar. Also note, the texture of the cookies will be crisper than with white sugar.
- Eggs - I highly recommend you use one large egg, about 50 to 60 grams in weight. You want the dough to be firm but delicate with a little crisp on the edges.
- Spices - I am using ground ginger, cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg. And yet, you can also use store-bought gingerbread spice.
Step by step instructions
- In the bowl, combine the flour and spices - cloves, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt.
- in the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the molasses and egg
- Followed by the flour. Divide the dough into two, wrap in plastic wrap, and let chill until firm enough to roll - about 2 hours or overnight.
Tip - the dough is soft and needs to refrigerated, so avoid adding more flour. - Once chilled, roll the dough to about ⅛ inch thick. Use a gingerbread cookie cutter. Re-roll the leftover dough and make more cookies.
Tip - I use a rolling pin with spacers so the dough is the same thickness all over - Place the cookies on a baking tray with parchment paper. Place the cookies in the fridge to chill for another 15 minutes.
- Preheat the oven at 350 F or 170 C
- Decorate the cookies before baking (or after baking). You can add sprinkles or dragees to the cookies just before baking.
- Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the edges are slightly golden.
- Cool - Once baked cool on the cookie sheet for 10 mins then transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely
- Decorating after baking - Combine the powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and milk until you have a smooth piping consistency.
- Add the icing to a piping bag with a small round piping tip like a number 2 or 3. Alternatively, you can also put the icing in a ziplock bag and cut a small snip at the end.
- Decorate as desired. Let the icing dry properly before you stack the cookies and store them in an airtight cookie jar.
- These cookies will stay good for a week
Frequently asked questions
These gingerbread sugar cookies will keep in an airtight container for up to a week. You can freeze the dough for up to a month or freeze the cookies for up to three months.
These cookies are not supposed to spread as they do not have any leavening.
However, too much butter or sugar in the recipe can lead to cookies spreading. Too much baking powder or baking soda can also make cookies spread too much.
Place cookies on a cold, not hot baking pan.
And make sure the oven is at the right temperature.
These cookies have a good shelf life as a dough as well as cookies.
The dough, if wrapped well, can usually stay in the fridge for 4 to 5 days before rolling and baking.
You can also place the unbaked cookies on a parchment-lined tray, wrapped well with cling wrap, for about 3 to 4 days.
In addition, this cookie dough can be frozen for a month.
This recipe has been tested and tried with gingerbread flavors. But, I do have a few other sugar cookies that might be perfect for your sugar cookie projects.
No chill no spread sugar cookies,
No chill sugar cookie dough
vanilla sugar cookies & chocolate sugar cookies.
Eggless vanilla sugar cookies & eggless chocolate sugar cookies
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Printable Recipe
Gingerbread Sugar Cookies
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Conversions Used
1 lb = 453 grams, 1 cup = 240 ml, 1 stick = 113g, 1 tbsp= 15 ml, 1 tsp= 5 ml,
Ingredients
- 3 ½ cups (440 g) All-purpose flour
- 4 oz (113 g) Unsalted butter ( room temperature)
- ¾ cup (165 g) Brown sugar (light)
- ½ cup (170 g) Molasses (unsulphured)
- 1 Eggs (large)
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon Ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon Ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon Allspice
Instructions
- In the bowl, combine the flour and spices - cloves, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt.
- in the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the molasses and egg
- Followed by the flour. Divide the dough into two, wrap in plastic wrap, and let chill until firm enough to roll - about 2 hours or overnight.Tip - the dough is soft and needs to refrigerated, so avoid adding more flour.
- Once chilled, roll the dough to about ⅛ inch thick. Use a gingerbread cookie cutter. Re-roll the leftover dough and make more cookies.Tip - I use a rolling pin with spacers so the dough is the same thickness all over
- Place the cookies on a baking tray with parchment paper. Place the cookies in the fridge to chill for another 15 minutes.
- Preheat the oven at 350 F or 170 C
- Decorate the cookies before baking (or after baking). You can add sprinkles or dragees to the cookies just before baking.
- Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the edges are slightly golden.
- Cool - Once baked cool on the cookie sheet for 10 mins then transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely
- Decorating after baking - Combine the powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and milk until you have a smooth piping consistency.
- Add the icing to a piping bag with a small round piping tip like a number 2 or 3. Alternatively, you can also put the icing in a ziplock bag and cut a small snip at the end.
- Decorate as desired. Let the icing dry properly before you stack the cookies and store them in an airtight cookie jar.
- These cookies will stay good for a week
Recipe Notes & Tips
- Always have all the ingredients at room temperature so the butter and sugar cream well.
- Use fine-grain brown sugar or pulse the sugar in a food processor so it dissolves easily when creaming into the butter
- Rest the dough before rolling the cookies. Resting helps the butter firm up again which makes it easier to work and prevents spreading
- If the rolled cookie dough is soft, place it in the fridge for 15 minutes before you cut the cookies. Chilled cookie dough will give well-defined shapes.
- Preheat the oven for a good 15 minutes making sure the oven is at the right temperature. A cold oven will spread the cookies.
- Place cut cookies in the fridge while the oven is preheating to prevent spreading.
- When baked leave the cookies on the tray for 5 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack.
Nutrition Information
The nutrition information and metric conversion are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee its accuracy. If this data is important to you please verify with your trusted nutrition calculator. Thank you
Olgica Gajević
This recipe looks great! Recepti su odlicni. Objasnjeno sa mnogo detalja.