Gingerbread Cookies
These golden, spiced cookies are so easy to make and taste absolutely delicious. Cut out cute Christmas shapes and decorate your gingerbread cookies however you like with this simple recipe.
Gingerbread cookies are always a fun thing to bake at Christmas time.
Whether you go all out with gingerbread men decorated in clothing, gumdrop buttons and silly faces. Or simple with fuss free plain round, biscuits, ready to dunk into a nice cup of tea.
I like my gingerbread cookies somewhere in the middle. Simple cookie cutouts with a plain white royal icing detail piped on top for the hit of crisp sweetness to combat the flaky, spiced goodness of the cookie.
Why you will love this gingerbread cookie recipe
- They a fun family activity. Let the kids mix the dough and pick out the cookie cutters. Then hand them the icing and a bunch sprinkles when they are baked. Memories and delicious cookies, win/win.
- It uses simple ingredients. I don’t use molasses or a bunch of different spices in these cookies. Just simple pantry staples so you can make these any time at all.
- Easy to make. Mix the dough, roll them out, cut and bake … done.
- If you make these, then your house will smell like Christmas in no time at all.
- You can make this recipe ahead and freeze the dough. Place your uncooked cookie cutouts into the freezer on lined baking trays. Once they have frozen, transfer into a snap lock bag and leave in the freezer for up to 3 months. Bake for 10 minutes from frozen.
For these tasty Christmas cookies you will need:
Butter – I use salted butter for these cookies. If you prefer unsalted then you will need to add about 1/2 teaspoons of salt.
Brown sugar – For sweetness and depth of flavor.
Ground ginger – The most important ingredient in gingerbread cookies. Use dry, ground ginger, not fresh or candied.
Mixed spice – To round out the ginger spice and give extra warmth in flavor.
Baking soda – To give the cookies a little bit of rise and softness without letting them spread too much.
Egg – 1 large egg
Flour – Plain white all purpose flour
Icing sugar – For rolling out your cookie dough and to stop the dough from drying out.
Choosing shapes and icings for your gingerbread cookies.
I have cut out stars and decorated them with very simple royal icing snowflake designs and basic outlines. You can make yours any way you like.
Gingerbread men are always a classic but why not try gingerbread dinosaurs, trucks or trees. Circle cutouts can become tree ornaments and snow globes. This recipe will also work if you roll the dough into balls and press down the centers with a fork if you do not want the mess and fuss of rolling them out and using cookie cutters.
I have added the ingredients and instructions for royal icing to the notes of the recipe card for this recipe. You can also use whatever cookie icing recipe you like best to decorate these cookies. A simple mix of icing sugar and milk will do the job or you can load it up with a layer of white chocolate or even a light cinnamon glaze.
Gingerbread Cookies
Ingredients
Method
- Using an electric whisk, beat together your butter and sugar until it is thick and smooth.
- Add in your spices, baking soda and egg and beat together until well combined.
- Use a spatula to mix through the flour, 1/2 cup at a time until all of your flour is fully incorporated and your dough.
- Place your dough on your bench top. Use your hands to bring the mixture together to form a smooth dough ball.
- Cover with a little cling film and place the dough in the fridge for 20 minutes.
- Preheat your oven to 160 degrees, fan bake.
- Dust your bench top and dough with a little icing sugar. Roll out your dough to approx 1cm thick. Cut out cookies using your chosen cookie cutters and place them onto a lined baking sheet. Regathering up the scrap dough and rolling out again as needed
- Bake cookies in batches for approx 8 minutes or until the edges are golden.
- Let your gingerbread cookies cool fully before icing.
- Cookies will last up to 7 days in a sealed container.
Notes
1 egg white
1 tbs apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 cup icing sugar
1/4 tsp almond essence Using an electric whisk, whisk your egg and vinegar together until fluffy.
Add in the icing sugar a little at a time, whisking constantly. When it is fully incorporated add essence to taste
Your icing should be thick and hold an indent for 10 -15 seconds before collapsing
Put icing into a piping bag and snip a small hole at the end
Ice cookies as desired
Thank you so much for taking the time to read through my gingerbread cookies recipe. I hope you enjoy trying this out for yourself. Please feel free to add any questions or comments below. I am happy to help out wherever possible and I would love to hear how this recipe worked out for you.
