I have had this gingerbread cookie recipe for over 30 years now – I think it may have been shared with me during my life as a Coast Guard wife. Getting together with other wives over food, recipes, and children was commonplace. It makes a great dough for cut-out cookies. It’s smooth, easy to work with, and is full of the spices that smell and taste like the holidays! They are tender on the inside, and will last in the freezer for several weeks.
Any cookie cutter will work with this dough. I have used a plain gingerbread boy/girl cutter with amazing results. For this post, I found an adorable 4″ gingerbread house cutter that had the details of the front of the house formed into the cutter. I love how it resembles a lovely Victorian house! It gave amazing detail to the baked cookie, and allowed for easier decoration with royal icing.
Recipe: This will make #15 – 4″ cookies
2/3 c unsalted butter, room temp
1/2 c granulated sugar
1/2 c molasses
1 egg
3 c all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare cookie sheets lined with parchment paper.
Cream together in a mixing bowl with a paddle attachment: butter, sugar and molasses. Add egg and mix well.
Sift together dry ingredients in another bowl. Gradually add to creamed mixture, blending between additions. Blend til smooth and well- incorporated. Cover and chill for about 1 hour.
Flour your baking surface, and roll out 1/2 of the dough to about 3/8″ thick – for the type of cutter I described above, you will need enough dough for the impression to form. Trial and error will get this just right for you! Cut out cookies, and re-roll dough incorporating remaining dough as needed – to cut out more cookies.
The KEY to using this type of cutter – is to flour it well between each cookie, otherwise the dough will stick to it. I also had to gently coax the dough out of the cutter and onto my hand, using a small blunt edged tool such as the end of a spoon. This worked perfectly!
Place the cookie shapes onto the prepared pan, about 1″ apart. Bake for about 12 – 15 min – depending on the size of your cookie. Watch them carefully – they should not “brown” on the top, but will be light brown on the bottom. Cool completely.
Decorate with Royal Icing
Recipe:
2 Tbsp meringue powder
1/4 c water
2 c sifted powdered sugar
1/2 tsp light corn syrup
few drops clear extract (vanilla, or almond)
Combine meringue powder and water. Blend in a mixing bowl with a whisk attachment, til “foamy”. Add sifted powdered sugar, and beat on low to combine. Add corn syrup and extract. Increase speed to med/high and whip for about 3-4 minutes til very smooth, and glossy, with stiff peaks. If it’s too thick for piping, add additional water a tsp at a time. The texture should be between thick and thin. Keep the bowl of icing covered with plastic wrap, to prevent it from drying.
Add royal icing to a small piping bag, with the SMALLEST round tip possible. This will allow for the most precise outlining and decoration of the gingerbread house. Sprinkle with edible glitter dust. Shake off excess. Allow to dry for at least 6 hrs. or overnight. You want them completely dry before storing them.
Sprinkle with edible glitter dust. Shake off excess. Allow to dry for at least 6 hrs. or overnight. You want them completely dry before storing them.
