Holiday Gingerbread Cookies Recipe

By Andrea Watman

These cookies are delicious – and they will fill your house with the smell of the holidays as they bake. The dough is firm and you can control the texture of the cookies by the thickness of the dough – roll it out thin for crisp cookies, and thick for softer chewy cookies.

I mix the batter in my KitchenAid – but you can do it with a hand mixer.

View a print ready page. Makes 24 Tall Gingerbread Men (or Women) Ingredients: 3 Cups All Purpose Flour 1 ½ Teaspoon Baking Powder ¾ Teaspoon Baking Soda ¼ Teaspoon Salt 1 ¼ Tablespoon Ground Ginger 1 ½ Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon ½ Teaspoon Ground Cloves 6 Tablespoons Sweet Butter ¾ Cup Dark Brown Sugar 1 Large Egg ½ Cup Dark Molasses 2 Teaspoon Vanilla 1 Teaspoon Finely Grated Orange Zest Parchment Paper   Preparation: 1.  In a small bowl, whisk together, flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, ginger, cinnamon and cloves until well blended. 2.  Beat butter, brown sugar, and egg on medium speed until well blended. 3.  Add vanilla, orange zest and molasses – continue blending. 4. Slowly add dry ingredients – allowing them to be fully incorporated before adding more. Blend until smooth. 5. Cover dough and allow to rest for two – four hours. You can make this dough a few days ahead and refrigerate. Allow to come to room temperature before using. 6. Preheat oven to 375° 7. Grease cookie sheets and line with parchment paper. 8. Divide dough in half. Roll out on a floured surface. 9. Remember to flour your rolling pin. I roll them to approx ¼” because I like crispy cookies. 10. Add as needed flour to your surface to prevent sticking. 11. Cut cookies with the cookie cutter of your choice – gingerbread men, stars, trees, etc. Sometimes I just use a water glass and cut simple circles. 12. Place on cook sheet leaving 2” between the cookies. 13. Cook them for 7-10 minutes. Only cook one sheet at a time because the will cook more evenly. Remove cookie sheet form oven and allow cookies to cool until they are firm. They can then be placed on a wire rack to cool completely. 14. You can decorate with M & M’s, or raisins before cooking – or ice them once the have cooled.