Gingerbread Cookies

Gingerbread Cookies with Royal Icing

photography Amy Albertson

Gingerbread Cookies

Gingerbread Cookies are on of my most favorite things ever about the holidays. I eat them non-stop from November through January. We've tested countless recipes to come up with the most gingery recipe of them all. This is the home version of the professional recipe we make at my mother's bakery, The Solvang Bakery. The bakery uses a different, sturdier recipe, that has less butter for the gingerbread houses. This is a softer version of a gingerbread cookie. You can also add minced crystalized ginger to this recipe for an extra ginger punch if you just want to make rounds. But if you roll these out for gingerbread men, stars, trees, hearts, etc. then I recommend leaving the crystalized ginger out.

Use Royal Icing to decorate them. You can buy powdered egg whites if you are concerned with using raw egg whites. Be aware that royal icing will harden when exposed to air so be sure to keep it in piping bags in plastic or in some kind of airtight container until you use it.

Unbleached Flour, 5 cups

Baking Soda, 1/2 teaspoon

Ground Ginger, 6 teaspoons

Ground Cinnamon, 4 teaspoons

Ground Cloves, 3/4 teaspoon, optional

Freshly Grated Nutmeg, 1 teaspoon, optional

Ground Allspice, 1 teaspoon

Salt, 1 1/2 teaspoons

Unsalted Butter, 2 sticks (1 cup)

Dark Brown Sugar, 1/2 cup firmly packed (light brown sugar can be substituted)

Granulated Sugar, 1/2 cup

Unsulfured Molasses, 1 cup

Egg, 1

1. Have butter softened and at room temperature. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. In a bowl combine the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, allspice and salt. Set aside.

3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter until fluffy and pale yellow. (About five minutes at medium-high speed.) Add the dark brown and granulated sugar and beat for 1 minute. Reduce the speed to low and add the molasses, beating until well combined. Add the egg and beat until well combined.

4. Add the flour and spice mixture about 1 cup at a time. Beat in each addition before you add more. Scrape down sides of bowl with spatula if necessary.

5. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide dough into four sections and mold them into thick disks (flatted ball of dough.) Wrap each disk of dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour or up to 3 days.

6. Roll cookies out with a rolling pin to desired thickness. Dip cookie cutter in flour and cut out the cookies. Use a spatula to transfer cookies to the baking sheet lined with parchment. Bake in a 350 oven for 8-10 minutes. (Check your oven. You may want to bake for 12 minutes but they truly taste better when not overbaked.) Transfer to cooling racks. Decorate after cookies have cooled.

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