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Gingerbread Cookies
Use this classic gingerbread cookie recipe to make flavorful spiced and decorated snowflake cookies, gingerbread men cookies, and more shapes for Christmas.
👥 4 Servings⏱️ Prep & Cook: 2h 15m🔥 Cook: 50 min👤 The Gourmet Test Kitchen📖 epicurious
🥘 Ingredients
Check off ingredients as you prepare them:
🍳 Cookware
- ●saucepan
- ●oven
- ●baking sheet
- ●spatula
- ●bowl
📝 Preparation Steps
1
Gingerbread cookies:
2
Bring molasses, brown sugar, and spices to a boil in a 4- to 5-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, and remove from heat. Stir in baking soda (mixture will foam up), then stir in butter 3 to 4 pieces at a time, letting each addition melt before adding next, until all butter is melted. Add egg and stir until combined, then stir in 3¾ cups flour and salt.
large egg, lightly beaten1. powdered egg whites (not reconstituted)4 tsp
3
Preheat oven to 325°F.
4
Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and knead, dusting with as much of remaining ¼ cup flour as needed to prevent sticking, until soft and easy to handle, ⏱️ 30 seconds to ⏱️ 1 minute. Divide dough in half, then wrap one half in plastic wrap and keep at room temperature.
5
Roll out remaining dough into a 14-inch round (⅛-inch thick) on a lightly floured surface. Cut out as many cookies as possible with cutters and carefully transfer with offset spatula to 2 buttered large baking sheets, arranging them about 1 inch apart.
6
Bake cookies in upper and lower thirds of oven, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until edges are slightly darker, 10 to ⏱️ 12 minutes total (watch carefully toward end of baking; cookies can burn easily). Transfer cookies to wire racks to cool completely. Make more cookies with remaining dough and scraps (reroll once).
7
Decorating icing and assembly:
8
Beat together the powdered sugar, powdered egg whites, lemon juice, vanilla extract, and ⅓ cup water in a large bowl with an electric mixer at moderate speed until just combined, about ⏱️ 1 minute. Increase speed to high and beat icing, scraping down side of bowl occasionally, until it holds stiff peaks, about ⏱️ 3 minutes in a standing mixer or 4 to ⏱️ 5 minutes with a handheld. Note: If you plan to spread (rather than pipe) icing on cookies, stir in more water, 1 teaspoon at a time, to thin to desired consistency.
large egg, lightly beaten1. powdered egg whites (not reconstituted)4 tsp
9
If using food coloring, transfer ¼ cup icing to a small bowl for each color and tint to desired shade. Spoon icing into a pastry bag (if using), pressing out excess air, and snip a ⅛-inch opening in corner of bag. Twisting bag firmly just above icing, decoratively pipe icing onto cookies. Decorate with sprinkles, sanding sugar, and dragées, if using. Let icing dry completely (about ⏱️ 1 hour) before storing cookies. Do ahead: Gingerbread cookies keep in an airtight container at room temperature 3 weeks. Editor's note: This recipe was originally printed in the December 2002 issue of ‘Gourmet’ as Gingerbread Snowflakes and first appeared online in August 2004. Head this way for more of our best Christmas cookies →
Sprinkles, dragées, and sanding sugar, for decorating
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