Description

I have always loved gingerbread cookies and over the past twenty years have tried several different recipes for my Christmas cookie bags. This is a lovingly adapted recipe from the now defunct Gourmet Magazine. It is the best that I have stumbled upon in terms of the balance of the spices and the degree of fluffiness. It is also a very forgiving dough…so you can mess up and re-roll it several times which is great for toddlers.

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Ingredients

Units Scale

2/3 cup molasses
2/3 cup dark brown sugar
1 Tbs ground ginger
1 Tbs ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp ground cloves
2 tsp baking soda
2 sticks butter, cut into 1 Tbs pieces
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg, lightly beaten
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp salt

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Instructions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
In a large pot, combine the sugar, molasses, and spices. Bring to boil. Add the baking soda, stirring vigorously, and remove from the heat. Be prepared for the mixture to at least triple in size (hence the suggestion to start with a large pot). Once the baking soda is fully incorporated, add the butter pieces one at a time. Stir to incorporate each piece. Then add the vanilla followed by the egg and stir to incorporate. Finally, add the flour and salt. It is easiest to add the flour in ½ cup increments.
The dough will be kind of sticky but don’t worry you will use plenty of flour to roll it out later and that will get incorporated into the dough. Divide dough in half and wrap each dough ball in plastic wrap. Place in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or overnight.
When ready to roll out the cookies, make sure to flour the surface that you choose to roll the cookies out on as well as your rolling pin. Roll cookies out to desired thickness. Cut out cookies. If you run into difficulty cutting the cookies or transferring them to the baking sheet here are a few tricks to try. Dip the sharp end of the cookie cutter into flour each time before use. This will help the dough not to stick to the cutter. If you still run into trouble, try pressing the cookie cutter into the dough and then transferring the dough into the freezer. Allow to dough to partially freeze for at least 5 minutes. Remove the dough and position your cookies on a parchment lined cookie sheet or silpat.
Bake for about 10 minutes. Allow to cool completely before transferring off the cookie sheet. Decorate and/or eat.

Prep Time: 60 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Category: Cookies
Cuisine: American

Keywords: Cookies