Classic Soft Gingerbread Cookies
Holiday Cookie Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 cups all purpose flour sifted
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp ground ginger
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter at room temperature
- 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup molasses
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp lemon zest finely grated
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves until well combined.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter, brown sugar, and egg on medium speed until well blended.
- Next, add the molasses, vanilla, and lemon zest and continue to mix until well combined.
- Gradually add in the dry ingredients, 1/2 cup at a time, until totally combined.
- Divide the dough in half and wrap each half in plastic. Allow the dough to rest at room temperature for 2 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Prepare your baking sheets by lining with parchment or a silicone baking mat.
- Place one portion of dough on a lightly floured surface (I use my countertops). Lightly flour the dough ball, as well as your rolling pin. Roll the dough out evenly until 1/4-inch thick. Use additional flour as needed to avoid sticking. Cut out your cookies with your favorite cookie cutters- I prefer snowflakes because they're fun to decorate.
- Place the cookies onto your prepared cookie sheet, spaced with at least 1" in between. Bake the cookies for 7-9 minutes... the lower the bake time equals softer cookies. I like to take the cookies out BEFORE they begin to crack on top.
- Remove the cookies from the oven and allow them to rest on the sheet until they are firm enough to move to a wire cooling rack.
- Once the cookies are cool, decorate them however you'd like with your favorite royal icing recipe!