Gingerbread Cookies

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Author: Delphine Fortin
Prep Time: 30 mins
Chilling Time: 2 hours 30 mins
Cook Time: 10 mins
Total Time: 3 hours 10 minutes
Yield: 30 cookies 1x
Category: Cookies

These gingerbread cookies are the ultimate holiday cookies. Easy to make, they’re soft, sweet, warmly spiced, and very festive!

Ingredients

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1 stick (120g) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
⅔ cup (120g) dark brown sugar, packed
⅓ cup (80 ml) molasses or dark brown forest honey*
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 ¼ cups (270g) all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 ½ teaspoons ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon brewed coffee

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Instructions

In the bowl of a stand mixer, or using an electric mixer, cream the butter and brown sugar. Add the molasses or dark-brown color honey, egg yolk, and vanilla and mix again.
Sift the flour in a medium bowl, and mix with cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, baking soda, and salt. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing after each addition. Mix in the coffee.
Form the dough into a ball, and flatten into a thick disk. Wrap in plastic film and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) and line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface until about ¼-inch (0,5mm) thick. Use cookie cutters to cut out desired shapes, then transfer the cut-outs to the prepared baking sheets, re-rolling the dough scraps as necessary. If at any step, the dough warms up and becomes too fragile to handle, place in the refrigerator again until set. When ready, refrigerate the gingerbread cookies for 30 minutes to ensure they will hold their shape while baking.
Bake, one sheet at a time, for 7 to 9 minutes**, or until the edges of the cookies are just set but the middles are still soft. The cookies might seem underdone, but taking them out at this point will ensure that they stay soft once they cool.
Let cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Decorate as desired***.

Notes

* You can also do a mix of honey and maple syrup, up to ⅓ cup (80 ml).

** The exact baking time will depend on your oven and the size of your cookie cutters. Keep an eye on your oven for the first batch, and bake until the edges of the gingerbread cookies are just set while the cookies may still look a little underdone.

*** For 2-ingredient cookie icing, whisk 1 ½ cup (200g) confectioners’ sugar with 3 Tablespoons of milk, using an electric hand mixer, until you get a smooth consistency. Add more milk or confectioners’ sugar if needed. Transfer to a piping bag equipped with a piping #2 tip and use immediately.