Awesome Gingerbread Cookies

Christmas is just around the coorner and it occurs to me that I've never shared my favorite gingerbread cookie recipe with you so here it is.  These cookies are soft and flavorful, but not too spicy and not too sweet.  They pair well with royal icing if you choose to add it, but they're perfectly tasty without.  The cookie dough is a dream to work with and it holds its shape beautifully when baked.  It's flexible too - good for small or large cookies.... and the dough can be made well in advance.  Love this recipe!  I hope you give it a try.

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This cookie recipe starts in a very uncommon way - on the stove top. 

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Sugar, molasses, water, and spices are brought to a rolling boil in a nonstick saucepan. The mixture is removed from the heat and butter is stirred in until completely melted.

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While the molasses mixture cools a bit, flour, baking soda, and salt are whisked to combine.

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Then the molasses and flour mixtures are combined just until combined.

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My BeaterBlade makes quick work of the job and I don't have to stop to scrape down the sides of my mixing bowl. 

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The mixture is soft and sticky - too soft and sticky to work with.  It needs to chill out in the fridge overnight before rolling and baking.  Place the mixture into a gallon-size zipper bag and pop it in the fridge.  The cookie dough will darken in color and firm considerably.

The next day (or week), roll the cookie dough between 2 layers of wax paper to 1/4-inch thickness (I love using these rolling guides very helpful).  Using wax paper eliminates the need to dust the cookie dough with excess flour, which makes subsequent cookies tough.  

Cut desired shapes.  Here I'm using an adorable mini gingerbread house cutter.

I can't wait to see it assembled. 

Here are other mostly Christmas shapes.  I have a young nephew so I had to include a dinosaur or two. 

And my favorite snowflake and frosty/gingerbread plunge cutter shapes.  Can't let a year go by without these little cuties. 

Items used to make this recipe:

(affiliate links)

• winter themed plunger cutters https://amzn.to/3Gdplie

• mini gingerbread house cookie cutter https://amzn.to/3INC4tx

• nonstick sauce pan https://amzn.to/3udFwtd

• beaterblade https://amzn.to/3KWNWez

• rolling guides https://amzn.to/3GrklGV

• dinosaur cookie cutters https://amzn.to/3obihfU

• christmas cookie cutters https://amzn.to/3GlejHO

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Awesome Gingerbread Cookies

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 cup sugar

• 1/2 cup molasses

• 1/2 cup water

• 1 tablespoon ground ginger

• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

• 1 teaspoon ground cloves

• 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

• 4 cups all purpose flour

• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

• 1/4 teaspoon fine salt

Directions

1. In a large heavy-bottom saucepan, heat sugar, molasses, water, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves.

2. Bring to a boil and stir until the sugar dissolves.

3. Remove from heat and stir in butter until melted.

4. Cool for 15 minutes

5. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.

6. Pour flour mixture into cooled molasses mixture; stir until combined.

7. Place dough in a gallon-size zipper storage bag; refrigerate overnight (or up to a week).

8. Preheat oven to 350F.

9. Roll dough between two layers of wax paper or parchment until dough is 1/4-inch thick.

10. Cut desired shapes using cutters that have been dipped in flour.

11. Place shapes on parchment or silpat lined sheet pans; bake 8-10 minutes for small to medium cookies (12 minutes or more for very large cookies).

12. When cookies are cool enough to handle without distorting, transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Notes

• Cookie dough can be stored in the fridge for up to a week before baking.  

• To make cookie dough even further in advance, freeze well wrapped in plastic.  

• Thaw frozen cookie dough in plastic wrap, overnight in the fridge, before rolling and baking.  

recipe adapted from The Pastry Queen 

Vanilla Shortbread

Today I have a very special cookie to share with you.  A few weeks ago, my dear friend Kim from The Finer Cookie asked if I would consider doing a guest post to celebrate her blog's 1st anniversary.  Kim is an incredibly talented blogger, author, baker, and photographer and I was extremely flattered she asked.  

Kim's blog already has many wonderful cookie recipes so it took me a while to decide which recipe I wanted to add.  Since Kim lives in Canada, my first thought was to make something maple, then I thought maybe something French, but in the end I chose to make these simple yet elegant little shortbread cookies.  Not because shortbread is particularly Canadian, but because the cookie press I used to make them is from Canada.  

Let me show you how I made them, then head over to check out Kim's blog.

To begin, you'll need a stand mixer fitted with the flat paddle or BeaterBlade attachment.  If you use the paddle attachment, you'll have to occasionally scrape the the sides of the bowl.  Not necessary if you use a BeaterBlade.

The first thing we're going to do is cream room temperature unsalted butter, granulated sugar, fine salt, and pure vanilla extract.

Note how yellow the butter is before mixing.

Here we are after about 1 minute.  The color of the butter has lightened a bit.

Here we are after creaming the butter mixture for 2 minutes.  You can see how much lighter the color is now.  

Now it's time to add the flour.

To prevent a cloud of flour dust from flying out of the bowl, I drape a kitchen towel over the mixer.  Plastic wrap works well too.

When all the flour is incorporated and the cookie dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl, it's time to move to the next step.

That step is portioning out the cookie dough.  I use a level #50 scoop so each cookie ends up being exactly the same size. 

Using the warmth of your hands, roll each portion of dough into a smooth ball.

Dip a cookie press in granulated sugar.  This press makes the most beautiful design ( not sure if they're still available, but I got mine here - call or send an email).

Place the ball of cookie dough on a unlined half sheet pan and press.  

If you don't have a cookie press, you can use a glass like this one that has a decorative design on the bottom.  

Dip the glass in sugar between presses.

Different, but still very pretty.  If the mood strikes, feel free to sprinkle extra sugar on the cookies after their pressed.  

Now it's time to chill the pressed cookie dough for at least 15 minutes before baking.  This step is the key to maintaining that lovely shape during baking. 

Bake cookies in preheated oven for 20 minutes.  Cool for several minutes before transferring to a rack to cool completely.  Store leftovers in an airtight container.

Items used to make this recipe:

(affiliate links)

• pro stand mixer https://amzn.to/3odbUIJ

• beaterblade attachment https://amzn.to/3Hghj9y

• half sheet pan https://amzn.to/3ANI0jA

• #50 scoop https://amzn.to/34fp8h3

• cookie stamps https://amzn.to/3HhfTvg

• pure vanilla extract https://amzn.to/3r9wNGK

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Vanilla Shortbread

makes 30 cookies

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 16 tablespoons (8 ounces) unsalted butter, room temperature

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar

• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

• 1/4 teaspoon fine salt

• 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300F.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or a BeaterBlade, cream butter, sugar, vanilla, and salt on medium speed until light and fluffy.

3. On low speed, add flour and mix just until no dry flour remains.

4. Use a #50 scoop to portion dough evenly; roll into balls.

5. Place dough balls on an unlined half sheet pan.

6. Press balls with cookie stamp or the bottom of a glass.

7. Bake in center of preheated oven for 20-30 minutes until they just begin to turn golden around the edges.

8. Cool completely on rack before storing in an airtight container.