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A delicious Christmas must! The aroma of gingerbread is unmistakable and really says, “Hey man! It’s frickn’ Yuletide.”
Not everyone is a fan of the spicy cookies, but I am! You can do the original gingerbread man, or try a different cookie cutter. You can decorate them with royal icing, white or colored. Depending on how fancy you wanna get.
The included icing recipe is egg free. I’m not one to mess with raw eggs. I believe you can find pasteurized eggs, but that isn’t something you usually have in the kitchen. I’d rather keep it simple.
Gingerbread Cookies
Ingredients
COOKIES
- 3 ¼ cups flour plus extra for dusting counter
- ¾ tsp baking soda
- ¾ cup butter softened
- ½ cup unsulfured molasses give or take a tbsp
- ½ cup dark or light brown sugar packed
- 1 tbsp ground ginger
- 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground cloves
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
- 1 egg
ROYAL ICING
- 2 cups Confectioners sugar
- 1 tbsp Water
- 1 tsp Lemon juice
- 1 tbsp Corn syrup
Instructions
COOKIES
- Prepare mixer with paddle attachment.
- In a separate large bowl prepare the dry ingredients: whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and spices.
- In the mixer cream butter and add brown sugar. Mix until light and creamy.
- Turn the mixer speed to low and slowly add in the dry ingredients.
- After dough is almost all together, you will need to use your hands to smush together into a mass.
- Separate into 2 or 3 balls of dough and flatten the dough balls into thick discs. Wrap in plastic and store in the fridge 2 hours to overnight.
- When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Roll out a disc of dough on a lightly floured surface. Dough should be just under ¼” thick.
- Cut shapes out with a floured cookie cutter. Place on a parchment lined cookie sheet.
- Chill sheet in fridge for 15 minutes to help prevent spreading.
- Bake for 7-10 minutes. Make sure they don’t burn. Rotate pan in oven halfway through.
- Let the cookies sit on the pan to set for 5-10 minutes. Carefully remove parchment paper by sliding it on to the counter. Or gently remove with a spatula.
ROYAL ICING
- Whisk together all icing ingredients until smooth and glossy.
- Add more sugar or water to get desired consistency.
