Baked Delights: Homemade Gingerbread Cookies
Ain't nothing quite like the heavenly aroma of gingerbread cookies shouting out "holiday" vibes, whether you fancy decorating those bad boys or not! Pair 'em with a hot brew, and you're in for a double treat. Even better, cut 'em into shapes of your preference, though remember, baking times can vary with the shape you choose. Keen on making a cookie that resembles your favorite pop-culture jailbird celebrity? Check out the tips below!
What to grab: There's a variety of molasses intensity available in the market, ranging from light to blackstrap, but we found that dark (or often marketed as robust) works best for this gingerbread dough. It's the traditional type and tastes delightful in the cookies, but some taste testers even liked the ones made with light molasses. You should be able to find this molasses gold at your local health food store or gourmet market.
This tasty cookie treat was part of our Holiday Cookies recipe slideshow’s exciting lineup. As an alternative, you could also opt for our easy peasy gingerbread loaf, which offers a soft, moist, and spiced texture.
- Yield: Approximately 42 scrumptious, 3-inch cookies
- Difficulty: Easy peasy, lemon squeezy (well, not lemons)
- Estimated Time: 1 hour 30 minutes, plus time for dough chilling
Ingredients (11)
- 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, save some for dusting your work surface
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon ground clove
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick), soft and ready to rock
- 3/4 cup dark molasses, like Grandma's Robust
- 1 large egg, also at room temperature
Let's get cookin'
- Mix together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, baking soda, and clove in a large bowl. Whisk it good to remove lumps and aerate the mixture; set it aside.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer equipped with a paddle attachment, combine the sugar, butter, and molasses. Beat these bad boys on medium speed until it's fluffy and light, around 2 minutes.
- Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl, add the egg, and mix until it's fully incorporated. Now, toss in the dry ingredients and mix on low speed until the dough is moist and smooth, approximately 2 minutes. Transfer the dough onto a clean, dry work surface, divide it in half, and shape it into flat disks. Cover each disk with some plastic wrap and pop 'em in the fridge until firm, at least 1 hour or up to 3 days.
- Preheat your oven to 350°F with a rack positioned in the center. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set it aside. Take half of the dough out of the fridge, place it on a lightly floured work surface, and roll it out to 1/4-inch thickness.
- Use a 3-inch cookie cutter to cut out circular cookies, and transfer them to the prepared baking sheet. Gather the rest of the dough into a ball, place it back in the fridge for at least 15 minutes before rerolling.
- Bake the cookies until the edges are golden but the centers are still slightly soft, around 8 to 10 minutes. Once you remove them from the oven, let them cool slightly on the baking sheet (about 2 minutes) before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat this process with the rest of the dough.
If you want to spice up your gingerbread jailbird celebrity…
- Black and White Icing: Dress your punster in black icing for the onesie and white icing for any accents or details like stripes or numbers. A "prison tag" around the neck with a small piece of black licorice could be a fun addition.
- Shackles and Ball: Create mini handcuffs and a metal ball using silver or gray icing or candy. Secure these to the arm or leg of the gingerbread cookie to represent chains.
- Facial Expressions: Small dots of icing can be used for eyes and a line for the mouth to create a stern or shocked expression.
- Accessories: Add accessories like a tiny hat or sunglasses to give your jailbird celebrity a more recognizable look.
- Creative Backgrounds: A "prison yard" can be created using blue frosting for the sky and green frosting for grass. Add some cookie crumbs or coconut for a "barbed wire" fence around the cookies.
- Celebrity Features: To make it specific to a famous person, include distinctive features like hair, or clothes patterns that are recognizable.
Have fun decorating your gingerbread jailbird celebrity, and happy holidays, you festive fiends!
The instructions for making gingerbread cookies with a holiday twist include creating a cookie shaped like a favorite pop-culture jailbird celebrity, with black and white icing for the onesie, accents, and details, or using silver or gray icing or candy for shackles and a ball. Regardless of the decorations, the recipe yields approximately 42 scrumptious, 3-inch cookies, with dark molasses creating the best flavor. The dough should be chilled for 1 hour before baking at 350°F for 8 to 10 minutes.
