At Christmas one of my most beloved traditions growing up was to decorate gingerbread houses. I know it is not exactly original, but it was fun. My mother baked, cut out, and assembled about 14 houses a year and we each decorated 1 or 2. Then my mom would deliver the houses to all of our friends. (We continue this tradition with our family, too.)
What could be more exciting for a munchkin? Cookie houses, covered in frosting and bowls upon bowls of brightly colored candy.Uh, yeah, for me that was paradise.
However up until I was married and Justin and I started making them did I realize you could actually eat one of these… we just always decorated them for the fun of it and gave them away.
Only recently did my mom tell me about how good the dough was as cookies.The houses get a bit more flour and cooking time to help them hold their form (see the recipe and baking tips here), but the cookies are soft and delicious.
So, when you’re baking up your other Christmas cookies like peanut butter blossoms, snowball cookies, or your other favorites, try adding these delicious gingerbread cookies to your list.
Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl, mix with a whisk and set aside.
In another bowl cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and molasses, combine thoroughly. Add the flour mixture into the wet mixture, till combined.
Scoop out the cookies and roll in brown sugar. Freeze or bake at this point. If baking, place on a cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes. (I used a small scoop and it made 4-5 dozen) If frozen simply pull them out and place on cookie sheet and bake.
Food memories are a big part of our family. We love having a big family party and making great food, or heading to Disneyland and trying all the things. Why not allow food to be a happy part of your life. That is what this blog is about. I hope you enjoy our recipes.
Should gingerbread cookies be hard or soft? Soft gingerbread biscuits are ideal. They ought to be flexible. However, they should still be somewhat elastic, and if you hold them too firmly because you're so excited to eat them, you might even be able to leave your fingerprints on the cookie!
Too much butter made for sticky dough, but delicious cookies. I had to use a spatula to lift these people-shaped cutouts from my flour-dusted countertop and onto a baking sheet. The dough was sticky, which resulted in slightly swollen cookies, but the finished product was nearly perfect.
Keep in mind that the longer the cookies bake, the harder and crunchier they'll be. For soft gingerbread cookies, follow my suggested bake times. Allow cookies to cool for 5 minutes on the cookie sheet.
Q: Why are my cookies so puffy and cakey? Whipping too much air into the dough. That fluffy texture you want in a cake results from beating a lot of air into the room temperature butter and sugar, and it does the same for cookies. So don't overdo it when you're creaming together the butter and sugar.
Make sure you rest it overnight in the fridge then bring it out to come to room temp before you start rolling it out. You will be cursing at it if you try to roll it out straight after making it. This Gingerbread will last for months in cello bags or in airtight containers.
Bake 6-8 minutes. This will vary depending on the size of the cookie and your oven. The cookies are done when they puff slightly and start to crack, and when you touch them lightly with your finger the cookie springs back.
Wrap in plastic and refrigerate until firm. Or, if you plan to bake cookies immediately after making the dough, roll the dough between two pieces of parchment paper until 1/4 inch thick. Refrigerate about 15 minutes until firm.
There are a few things you can do to add liquid to your cookie dough if it is too dry and crumbly. One option is to add milk, water, or another liquid until the dough is the right consistency. You can also try adding melted butter or shortening. If your dough is still too dry, you may need to add more flour.
Baking cookies quickly in a hot oven – at 375 degrees F as opposed to a lower temperature – will make for soft results. They'll bake fast instead of sitting and drying out in the oven's hot air. Ever so slightly underbaking your cookies will give you softer results than cooking them the full amount the recipe says.
Golden syrup, or light treacle, is a thick sugar syrup. With its golden, amber color, it is lighter than molasses, though the two are similar in their thickness. Golden syrup also a liquid sweetener, so 1 cup of golden syrup can replace 1 cup of molasses.
Dough with not enough flour was sticky and hard to transfer. Dough that had too many eggs was runny and spread out on the pan. Dough with too much flour was like glue—we were able to roll into a ball and it stayed in exactly the same shape throughout its time in the oven.
Use a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Coating your baking sheet with nonstick spray or butter creates an overly greasy foundation, causing the cookies to spread. I always recommend a silicone baking mat because they grip onto the bottom of your cookie dough, preventing the cookies from spreading too much.
A heavy amount of baking soda interacts with the molasses in this recipe to encourage spread. This allows cracks in the dough to develop where moisture escapes, creating that beautiful crackled appearance and crunchy texture. Ensure your baking soda is fresh and active – learn more about that here.
You can take a bite or break off a piece. Either way, when you taste it, you'll know for certain if it's done. A cookie that's fully done shouldn't be doughy, nor should it be overly crunchy (unless you're making a really crunchy type of cookie). It should be soft, crumbly, and perfect when freshly baked.
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