Description
Bake delicious, spiced gingerbread cutout cookies! This recipe shares my family’s favorite, slightly chewy gingerbread cookies, perfect for holiday decorating.
Ingredients
Scale
- Dough Base:
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
- ½ cup packed light brown sugar
- ½ cup unsulphured molasses
- 1 large egg
- Flavor Boosters:
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- 1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground cloves
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- Icing & Decorations:
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2–3 tbsp milk
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- Food coloring (optional)
- Sprinkles (optional)
Instructions
- Combine Dry Ingredients:: Grab a medium bowl and whisk together your flour, baking soda, salt, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. Give it a good whisk, making sure all those spices are evenly distributed. I always take a deep sniff here; the smell is just divine and signals that gingerbread cutout cookies are on their way! This step is where I sometimes get a little flour dust on my nose, oops.
- Cream Butter and Sugars:: In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, cream together the softened unsalted butter and brown sugar until it’s light and fluffy. This usually takes a good 2-3 minutes. Then, beat in the molasses until it’s fully combined and the mixture looks super rich and glossy. I remember one time I didn’t cream it enough, and the cookies were a bit dense, so don’t rush this part!
- Form Your Gingerbread Cutout Cookies Dough:: Add the egg to your butter-molasses mixture and beat until just combined. Gradually add the dry ingredient mixture to the wet, mixing on low speed until a soft dough forms. Don’t overmix! Just until everything comes together. It’ll look a little shaggy at first, but it will come together. This is where I start to feel the dough, making sure it’s not too dry or too sticky, just right for gingerbread cutout cookies.
- Chill the Gingerbread Cutout Cookies Dough:: Divide the dough in half, flatten each half into a disc, wrap them tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Honestly, longer is better, even overnight. This chilling time is crucial for preventing spread and getting those crisp, defined edges on your gingerbread cutout cookies. I’ve tried to skip this step, thinking ‘it’ll be fine,’ and it was not fine. The dough was too soft to work with, a total mess.
- Roll and Cut Gingerbread Cutout Cookies:: Once chilled, preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Lightly flour a clean surface and your rolling pin. Take one disc of dough and roll it out to about 1/4-inch thickness. Use your favorite cookie cutters to cut out shapes. Carefully transfer the cutouts to baking sheets lined with parchment paper. I always have a little bowl of flour nearby for dusting my cutters; it helps so much!
- Bake and Cool:: Bake the gingerbread cutout cookies for 8-10 minutes, or until the edges are firm and lightly browned. They’ll still feel a little soft in the middle, but they’ll firm up as they cool. Let them cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. The whole kitchen just smells incredible right now, that warm, spicy aroma is everything!
- Decorate Your Gingerbread Cutout Cookies:: While the cookies cool, whisk together the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla extract in a small bowl until smooth for a simple glaze. If you want, add a drop of food coloring. Once the gingerbread cutout cookies are completely cool, get creative! Pipe or spread the icing, add sprinkles, and let the icing set before storing. This is the fun part, where even my slightly wobbly lines look charming!