Description
These Best Gingerbread Cookies are soft, chewy, and bursting with warm spices like ginger, cinnamon, and cloves. Perfectly balanced with sweet molasses and a tender dough, these classic holiday treats are easy to make and ideal for decorating with homemade icing for festive fun.
Ingredients
Scale
Gingerbread Cookies
- 1/2 cup (112g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 6 tbsp vegetable shortening
- 3/4 cup (150g) dark brown sugar, packed
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 3/4 cup (250g) unsulphured molasses (Grandma’s recommended)
- 1 tbsp ground ginger
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
- 1/4 tsp ground clove
- 3 1/2 cups (450g) all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
Icing
- 1 1/2 cups (165g) powdered sugar
- 6-8 tsp water
- 1 tsp corn syrup
- Gel food coloring (optional)
Instructions
- Mix fats and sugar: In a large bowl, use a hand or stand mixer with paddle attachment on medium-high speed to cream the butter, shortening, and dark brown sugar for about 1 minute until light and creamy.
- Add vanilla, egg, and molasses: Scrape down the bowl, then mix in the vanilla extract and egg until smooth. Scrape again and mix in molasses until the mixture looks rich and glossy.
- Add spices and leavening agents: Incorporate ground ginger, cinnamon, salt, baking soda, and cream of tartar until evenly combined.
- Mix in flour: Add the flour and mix thoroughly until a very thick, sticky dough forms. Use a strong silicone spatula to fold the dough well ensuring even combination.
- Chill the dough: Transfer dough onto a floured plastic wrap sheet, pat into a 1-inch thick rectangle, wrap tightly, and chill for at least 1 hour or overnight. One to two hours gives the best chewy texture; overnight chilling makes it easier to handle but slightly less chewy.
- Prepare for baking: Preheat oven to 350°F. Cut dough in half, refrigerate one half. Flour and roll the other half on a floured surface to 1/4 inch thickness, cut into shapes using cookie cutters.
- Arrange and bake: Place cookies 2 inches apart on parchment-lined baking sheets, fitting 6-8 per sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes until cookies appear puffed with cracked surface but centers look slightly underdone.
- Cool: Let cookies rest on baking sheet 1-2 minutes, then transfer to cooling rack where they will flatten slightly as they cool.
- Repeat baking: Bake remaining dough halves following the same process, rerolling scraps as needed and refrigerating cutouts until baking.
- Make icing: Once cookies are cooled, whisk powdered sugar, starting with 6 tsp water, and corn syrup until thick glue-like consistency. Add water 1 tsp at a time if too thick. Optionally mix in gel food coloring.
- Decorate: Pipe icing designs onto cooled gingerbread cookies and allow icing to set before serving.
Notes
- Cookie size and baking time: The gingerbread man cutter used measured about 4×2.5 inches; 8 minutes yielded perfect bake. Smaller cookies may need only 6-8 minutes, while larger ones require closer to 10 minutes.
- Storage: Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for about 5 days, noting they will soften over time. For extended freshness, refrigerate to keep longer.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 150
- Sugar: 10g
- Sodium: 120mg
- Fat: 7g
- Saturated Fat: 3g
- Unsaturated Fat: 3g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 21g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 1.5g
- Cholesterol: 20mg
