What could be a more appropriate way to start off Sugar Rush than to introduce a gingerbread recipe.
Gingerbread is a classic Christmas flavor. I love it. But I have to admit I’m not a huge fan of thin and crispy gingerbread cookies. I’ve always wanted a gingerbread cookie similar in texture to a really good sugar cookie.
This recipe fits the bill. These cookies are packed with gingerbread flavor but the texture has a delicious and surprising softness and chewiness that keeps me going back for just one more gingerbread man. The dough requires chilling and freezing in order for the cookies to keep their shape, but the time invested is well worth it. And as a sidenote, the cookies are egg-free in case that happens to be an allergy you are working around.
Of course my kids got the biggest kick out of biting off their gingerbread man’s arm or leg or head. They thought it was hilarious. I just concentrated on stuffing every bit into my mouth.
Thick and Chewy Gingerbread Cookies
Printable Version
Printable Version with Picture
*Makes about 2 dozen gingerbread men*
INGREDIENTS:
3 cups (15 ounces) flour
¾ cup packed (5 ¼ ounces) dark brown sugar
¾ teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons butter softened to room temperature (but not warm!), cut into 12 pieces
¾ cup light or dark molasses
2 tablespoons milk
DIRECTIONS:
With an electric mixer, stir together the flour, brown sugar, soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and salt at low speed until combined, about 30 seconds. Stop the mixer and add the butter pieces. Mix at medium-low speed until the mixture is sandy and resembles fine meal, 1 to 2 minutes. Reduce the speed to low and with the mixer running, gradually add the molasses and milk; mix until the dough is evenly moistened about 20 seconds. Increase the speed to medium and mix until thoroughly combined, about 10 seconds.
Scrape the dough onto a work surface and divide it in half. Working with one portion at a time, roll the dough ¼ inch thick between 2 large sheets of parchment or wax paper. Leaving the dough sandwiched between the parchment or wax paper, stack the dough on a baking sheet and freeze until firm, 15 to 20 minutes. (Alternatively, refrigerate the dough for 2 hours or overnight.)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silpat liners.
Remove one dough sheet from the freezer and place on the counter. Peel off the top parchment or wax paper sheet. Gently cut the dough into 5-inch gingerbread people or 3-inch gingerbread cookies, transferring the shapes to the prepared baking sheets with a wide metal spatula and spacing them ¾ inch apart. Set the scraps aside. Repeat with the remaining dough until the baking sheets are full. Because flour is not added during rolling, dough scraps can be rolled and cut as many times as necessary.
Bake the cookies until set in the centers and the dough barely retains and imprint when touched very gently with fingertip, 8 to 9 minutes. Do not overbake!! Cool the cookies on the sheets 2 minutes, then remove the cookies with a wide metal spatula to a wire rack; cool to room temperature. Gather the scraps; repeat the rolling, cutting and baking. Frost as desired (I used a ziploc bag filled with simple white icing).
Store soft gingerbread in a wide, shallow airtight container or tin with a sheet of parchment paper between the cookie layers. These cookies are best eaten within one week.
Recipe Source: adapted from The New Best Recipe
{ 39 comments… read them below or add one }
I also really enjoy soft cookies, so I´m sure this recipe would be perfect. Unfortunately, I can´t head straight to my pantry to bake these up, as I do not have molasses around (yet!), but this recipe is going directly to my files. Thanks for sharing.
Sounds like a winner to me!
These will be perfect for my kids to decorate and take to their friends. I was going to have them take sugar cookies, but these are much more fun. I agree, a soft and chewy gingerbread cookie is the only way to go. I can’t wait for the next eleven recipes. -Liz K.
Mmm, gingerbread cookies are one of my favorite Christmas cookies because that’s the only time I make them!
i always eat the limbs first, then the head, then the body, unless the head has the most glaze, and then i save it for last.
These sound divine! I have all the ingredients…sounds like a good afternoon kid activity!
I love gingerbread men and decorating them. Mine always turn out too hard. I’ll have to try these! They look sooo good!
Oh Sugar Rush! Bring it on, baby! These Sound wonderful. I’m with you on the hard crunchy cookies, not for me. I’m taking dinner to a friend tonight, this just might be the treat!
I had this bookmarked in my cookbook at home for when my nephew comes over to make gingerbread men. Looks delicious!
Wow–I needed this recipe!! The gingerbread I have tried in the past has been dissapointing! Fun–I love your sugar rush! Merry Christmas Mel!
would these be good in shapes to make gingerbread houses too.. or are they too soft for that?
I want to make gender-neutral gingerpeople cookies for the local ACLU holiday party. These will be great! I don’t suppose you have a recipe for feminist frosting?
I am so excited! I lost my old recipe that I loved and have been sad that other recipes were not so great. Am I reading it right that there are no eggs?
This looks delicious. I have discovered the joys of ginger in cookies and cakes.
Jenni and Christian – these cookies are definitely too soft for gingerbread houses. If you want a fantastic recipe for gingerbread houses (or sleds like we make in our house), email me at mykitchencafe at gmail dot com and I’ll send you my tried-and-true recipe.
Pat – haha, very funny!
Leslie, you are correct, there are no eggs.
Don’t you just love gingerbread cutouts. I think of all the Christmas cookies, this is one that defines the season. They are adorable!
I was excited to make these, and my kids were excited to eat them. So imagine my dissappointment when I pulled them out of the fridge and they were too soft to be cut! They fell apart as I slid my spatula underneath to lift them! We are bummed! Any ides on what happened? Thanks!
Kandi V – I’m sorry these didn’t work out for you. If you haven’t thrown away the dough yet, just freeze or refrigerate again. My guess is that the dough wasn’t cold enough to cut the dough. If you refrigerated the dough, try freezing it next time. The dough needs to be quite firm to cut out into shapes. Good luck!
Email from my Aunt Marilyn:…..loved the ginger bread cookies! of course I had to make them in the last 30 minutes I had left before I had to be out the door. They were delicious.
I think I’m going to try making these later, mine came out hard and crunchy. I like chewy cookies better so I can’t wait to give these a try.
Definitely coming back to look at more cookie recipes later.
thanks
Just wanted to let you know that I tried these and they were delicious. I am never happy with how my cookies turn out-it’s very sad. These were easy to work with and turn out perfect.
Karin – I’m so glad these cookies were a hit. Thank you so much for letting me know! I’m glad they turned out perfectly.
I made these and substituted 1/4 cup flour for oat flour and they turned out soooo chewey. Thanks for the recipe!
Ruby – oat flour? Wonderful idea. Thank you for letting me know you liked these!
Sara – I love this idea of sandwiching the cookies together! Thanks for letting me know that you liked this recipe.
I’ve made the dough and am going to bake these with my girlfriends tomorrow morning! Yay for Christmas and yay for delicious gingerbread men recipes posted by Melanie! Merry Christmas!!
Okay, so I made these and they were a hit! Wowzers, they blew my socks off. I love that they were so soft and not too spicy. Best recipe for gingerbread ever!!!! Thanks!
Andrea – high praise! I’m so glad you loved these!
I made a big batch of this dough a few days ago and froze it in the rolled out sheets like you suggested and then covered the whole tray in seran wrap so it would stay fresh through the week. Worked like a charm. The cookies were baked today and they are OH SO TASTY! I’d definitely err on the thicker side when rolling out the dough to make it easier to cut and transfer to the tray. I also would only bake mine for about 7 minutes.
Thanks for another great go-to recipe!
And yes, I’m making gingerbread men cookies in September… they are for my kids Candy Land birthday party this coming weekend and of course, we had to have gingerbread men to decorate!
Mel,
Do you have a recipe for gingerbread house-worthy cookie dough? My daughter needs to make one for school and I would much rather log some quality kitchen time then buy something pre-made! Thanks so much for any help- Tristan
Tristan – I do, actually! We make these gingerbread sleds every year and the dough is great for gingerbread houses:
http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2007/12/gingerbread-sleds.html
These cookies are fabulous!! I’m not a gingerbread fan…NORMALLY….but these, well, I ate three before they were even decorated!! My 11 yr old is decorating them as I write this…and I’m enjoying a cup of hot tea, eating ANOTHER cookie, and relaxing!! Thanks Mel!!!
Best eaten within one week – are you kidding me? These will certainly disappear the minutes they hit the serving plate! Can’t wait to make them….
Thanks Mel!!
Hmmm…made these cookies 2 days ago….they were gone by that night (hey, I didn’t eat them ALL…I have four growing boys in this house!)….so I’m making more today…except it will be a double batch!! My husband can’t stop talking about them, and he’s like me, could care less about gingerbread before!! They ARE that amazing!!
My family loves the hard crispy Peparkakor gingerbread men, I love a chewy cookie but don’t want to go the effort of making another cutout, could you just roll this dough into balls, maybe then in some sugar and bake? Would they turn out the same?
Stacy – I’ve never tried them that way but it’s worth an attempt. I don’t know how they’ll spread/flatten as they bake so I’d start with smaller-sized dough balls.
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