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Decorated gingerbread cookies.
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4.91 from 10 votes

Gingerbread Cookies

Perfect gingerbread cookies that are full of flavor and spices. Decorate them with royal icing for a perfectly, sweetened cookie.
Prep Time12 minutes
Cook Time6 minutes
2 hours
Total Time2 hours 18 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Servings: 24 Cookies
Calories: 94kcal
Author: Eden
Cost: $10

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup butter unsalted, room temp.
  • 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup molasses
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tbsp ground ginger
  • 1 1/2 tsp ground cloves
  • 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt

Instructions

  • In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter, brown sugar, molasses, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, ground cloves, salt, and baking soda together until the mixture is smooth.
    Ingredients to make gingerbread cookies
  • Add in the egg and vanilla extract and mix until incorporated. 
  • Turn the mixer to low and slowly add in the flour. Continue mixing until all of the ingredients are blended together. 
    Gingerbread cookie dough
  • Chill the dough for 1 to 2 hours or overnight. The dough will be sticky and soft, so chilling the dough is imperative when using cookie cutters.
    Gingerbread cookie dough wrapped in plastic
  • Once the dough is chilled, roll it on a floured surface, and add flour to the top of the dough so it won’t stick. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough to 1/8″ – 1/4″ thick. 
    Gingerbread cookie
  • Then, use cookie cutters to make shapes. Continue rolling the dough and making shapes until the dough is gone.
    gingerbread man before baked
  • Place the cookie on a lined baking sheet and bake in a 375-degree oven for 5-6 minutes.
  • Let the cookies cool for a few minutes before moving them to a cooling rack. 
    gingerbread men
  • While the cookies are cooling, make the Royal icing to decorate them.
    gingerbread cookies on a cooling rack
  • Decorate how you please! For these, we made pink and white royal icing, then used a small hole piping tip and created designs. 
    Decorating a gingerbread cookie with royal icing.

Notes

Make sure to chill the dough. 
Do not overbake the cookies. Oven temperatures will vary, so set a timer for less time and check the cookies.
Use any frosting you like to decorate. 
 

Nutrition

Serving: 24g | Calories: 94kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 17mg | Sodium: 139mg | Potassium: 23mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 128IU | Calcium: 8mg | Iron: 1mg