Gingerbread cookies are basically a Christmas must have, there’s no way around it! To have a bit of fun this year my friend Sarah from Insecurehousewife.com and I decided to swap recipes! The below guest recipe isn’t Keto friendly (but your family will love it!) Fear not, however, as you can find my Keto Gingerbread Cookies on her blog.

Gingerbread Cookies from Insecure Housewife

When it comes to Christmas baking, my favorite thing to make is gingerbread cookies. These cookies were what I looked forward to the most when it was time to bake in the weeks before Christmas. Even before I could cook, I still made sure we had gingerbread cookies in the house this time of year – even if they were store-bought. Now that I have fully embraced the art of baking, I look forward to creating these Christmas treats every year. From the smell of them baking to finding just the right way to decorate them, they really do make the holiday season better. This recipe is one that my mom made when I was a kid, although I have tweaked it a bit to up the flavor.

Start by gathering all of your ingredients. I find it is best to measure out everything, that way there is no chance of accidentally skipping an ingredient. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, sugar and brown sugar. This can be done using a fork or in a stand mixer. Add in one egg and mix until smooth. Stir in the molasses and then set aside.

 

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. Whisk this together so that the spices are fully incorporated. Doing this will ensure that there won’t be any clumps of spices anywhere.

 

Add the flour mixture into the butter mixture and stir. At this point, as the dough forms, it can be fairly difficult to stir with a spoon. Using your hands for the last little bit will help to get everything fully incorporated and form a nice dough ball.

 

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least an hour. The dough needs to be thoroughly chilled.

 

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough. Don’t press too hard, as it can tear somewhat easily. You want to do this fairly quickly, as the dough will become sticky and rip more readily as it warms up. Roll to about 1/8″ thick. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

 

Using cookie cutters, cut into desired shapes and place them on a baking sheet, lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Leave about an inch of space between the cookies, as they do spread a bit while baking. We went with some usual Christmas shapes as well as throwing in a few fun things, like T-rex and rhinos.

 

Bake at 375 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes. Watch the cookies closely, as they can burn quite quickly. Once done, place the cookies on a wiring cooling rake and allow to cool completely.

 

Once the cookies are fully cooled, it’s time to ice them. I prefer to go with a basic icing for these. In a small bowl add 2-3 cups of icing sugar. Add vanilla extract and a couple of Tablespoons of milk and stir. How much milk you end up adding will depend on how thick you want the icing. You can add food coloring if you want to use different colored icing. Once it reaches the desired consistency, spread onto your cookies or using a piping bag to decorate them. Feel free to add sprinkles or other toppings before the icing sets.

 

Ingredients

Cookies

• 1/3 cup butter, softened
• 1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 egg
• 2/3 cup molasses
• 2 3/4 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 Tablespoon cinnamon
• 1 Tablespoon ginger
• 2 teaspoon ground cloves

Icing

• 2-3 cups of icing sugar
• milk or cream
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• food coloring (optional)

Directions

1. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugars. Add in one egg and mix until smooth. Then stir in the molasses.
2. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. Whisk this together so that the spices are fully incorporated.
3. Add the flour to the butter mixture and stir. The dough will become fairly thick at the end, so you may need to use your hands to get it fully combined.
4. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour.
5. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
6. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough. Don’t press too hard, as it can tear somewhat easily. You want to do this fairly quickly, as the dough will become sticky and rip more readily as it warms up. Roll to about 1/8″ thick.
7. Cut into desired shapes and place on a baking sheet, lined with parchment paper or silicone baking mat. Leave some space between the cookies as they do spread a bit while baking.
8. Bake at 375 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes. Place on a wire cooling rake to cool.
9. Mix together the icing sugar, vanilla, and milk until your icing comes together. How much of each ingredient you use will depend on how thick or runny you want your icing. Spread or pipe the icing onto the cookies and add any sprinkles or other toppings that you desire.

 

This dough can also be placed in the freezer and baked at a later date. Simply wrap well in plastic wrap and freeze. When you want to make cookies, allow the dough to thaw overnight in the fridge and then follow the steps as if you were working with fresh dough.

What’s your Favorite type of Christmas baking?