It’s time for Christmas cookies guys! Every year I make a metric f*ck ton of gingerbread cookies for various cookie exchanges, friends and general snacking.
I always make gingerbread cookies using this recipe from Williams and Sonoma, because they are honest to god – my favourite cookie ever. They are soft, spicy just enough, and smell like the holidays when they’re in the oven. If I could live in a smell or experience it would be that of baking cookies for Christmas.
Gif from www.thegloss.com
Ingredients
- 16 Tbs. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup light molasses
- 1 egg
- 5 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1 Tbs. ground ginger
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. ground cloves
- 1/2 tsp. salt
All the dry ingredients laid-out in their beautiful little bowls! The mini spatulas are Nordic Ware Bakeware, and are a must for holiday baking.
All the wet ingredients and some very seasonal tea towels from Queen West – available at Homesense.
Instructions
In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the butter on high speed until fluffy and pale yellow. Add the brown sugar and granulated sugar and beat until the mixture is no longer gritty when rubbed between your finger and thumb.
Reduce the speed to low and gradually beat in the molasses. Add the egg and beat until the mixture is blended.
Sift the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves and salt together onto a sheet of waxed paper. Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, beating on low speed or stirring with a wooden spoon until well blended.
Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and, with floured hands, form into a large, smooth mound. Divide the dough into 4 equal portions, shape into disks and wrap each disk in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 2 days.
Preheat an oven to 400°F. Lightly grease 2 baking sheets or line them with parchment paper.
Working with 1 disk at a time, roll out the dough between 2 sheets of waxed paper to a thickness of about 1/4 inch. Before rolling, I lightly dust the area with a mix of flour and sugar to ensure the dough doesn’t stick, but also to prevent the dough from drying-out with too much flour. Using gingerbread cookie cutters 3 to 5 inches tall, cut out figures. Transfer the cookies to a prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough portions, then gather up the scraps and reroll them. If the scraps of dough have become sticky, refrigerate them for 10 minutes before rerolling. For best results, do not roll the same piece of dough more than twice.
Bake the gingerbread figures until lightly browned on the bottom, about 6 minutes. Let cool on the sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer the cookies to wire racks and let cool completely.
To finish the cookies I made some royal icing and went to town! But that’s for another post coming at you next week, in which I will detail my recipe for royal icing (which is notoriously hard to get right) and show you all the pretty cookies!
If you are lucky enough to receive some gingerbread cookies from me this year, please tell all your friends how amazing they are and where they can find the recipe!
What are your favourite holiday cookie recipes? I’m looking to expand my baking arsenal this season.
Live boldly and eat delicious cookies.
Gingerbread cookies
These gingerbread cookies are soft with just enough spice. It smells like the holidays when they’re in the oven.
Ingredients
- 16 Tbs. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup light molasses
- 1 egg
- 5 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1 Tbs. ground ginger
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. ground cloves
- 1/2 tsp. salt
Instructions
- In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the butter on high speed until fluffy and pale yellow.
- Add the brown sugar and granulated sugar and beat until the mixture is no longer gritty.
- Reduce the speed to low and gradually beat in the molasses.
- Add the egg and beat until the mixture is blended.
- Sift the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves and salt together onto a sheet of waxed paper.
- Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture.
- Beat on low speed until well blended.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface.
- With floured hands, form into a large, smooth mound.
- Divide the dough into 4 equal portions.
- Shape into disks and wrap each disk in plastic wrap.
- Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 2 days.
- Preheat an oven to 400°F.
- Lightly grease 2 baking sheets or line them with parchment paper.
- Roll out the dough between 2 sheets of waxed paper to a thickness of about 1/4 inch.
- Use gingerbread cookie cutters 3 to 5 inches tall to cut out figures.
- Transfer the cookies to a prepared baking sheet.
- Repeat with the remaining dough portions.
- Gather up the scraps and reroll them.
- Bake the gingerbread figures until lightly browned on the bottom, about 6 minutes.
- Let cool on the sheets for 5 minutes.
- Transfer the cookies to wire racks and let cool completely.
