‘Tis the season to be jolly! The Christmas season is finally here and I could hardly wait to take over the kitchen with some holiday baking. Baking gingerbread cookies and sugar cookies for Christmas every year has been a tradition in my family for as long as I can remember. As a kid, I absolutely loved cutting out all of the different shapes but decorating was definitely my favourite part. Our pantry was stocked full with everything from sprinkles to colourful sparkling sugars and candies galore!
For my first batch this year, I decided to start off with gingerbread cookies! Not only do they taste amazing, but they’re easy to make and fun to decorate!
I’ll have the recipe for these scrumptious cookies posted down below. The most important step in this process is to thoroughly chill the dough before attempting to cut out the shapes. Chilling the dough prevents the cookies from spreading out too much when baking.
I kept things simple and decided to only use the traditional gingerbread man cookie cutter this time around. Feel free to use any shapes or tools that you have on hand.
Once the cookies have finished baking and you’ve allowed them to cool completely, the real fun begins! You can decorate using icing, sprinkles, candies or any other toppings you’d like!
Check out my recipe for quick and easy gingerbread cookies down below! Happy Baking!
Christmas Gingerbread Cookies Recipe
Yield: 40 Cookies
Ingredients:
For The COOKIES:
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground ginger
3/4 baking soda
1/2 ground cloves
3/4 salt
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup molasses
optional toppings: icing, sprinkles, candies, etc.
For The ICING:
2 cups powdered sugar
2-3 tablespoons milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions:
For The COOKIES:
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, ginger, baking soda, cloves, salt and nutmeg. Set aside.
- In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar together for 2 minutes on medium-high speed until combined. Reduce mixer speed to low, and gradually add the flour mixture until just combined.
- Divide the dough into two equal portions and form them each into a ball. Gently use your hands to flatten each ball into a 1-inch thick disk, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
- Once the dough is thoroughly chilled and you’re ready to bake the cookies, heat the oven to 350F. Unwrap the dough and place it on a large, lightly floured hard surface. Use a floured rolling pin to roll the dough evenly until it is approximately 1/8 inch thick. Use your favourite cookie cutters to cut out your desired shapes, re-rolling the dough as needed to cut out more. Transfer to parchment-covered baking sheets.
- Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the cookies are crisp around the edges and on top. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.
- Once the cookies are room temperature, feel free to decorate them as desired and serve. Store remaining cookies in a sealed container.
For The ICING:
- Whisk together all ingredients in a bowl until smooth. If the icing is too thin, add in a little more powdered sugar. If the icing is too thick, add in a tiny bit of milk.
- Use a piping bag or a plastic squeeze bottle to pipe the icing onto the cookies.
What is your favourite holiday tradition? Let me know in the comments! If you decide to try out this recipe, be sure to snap a photo and tag it with #theangiearchive! I’d love to see how they turn out! If you liked this post, you may also enjoy: Peppermint White Hot Chocolate Recipe
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