The Best Chewy Gingerbread Cookies

I love a good festive gingerbread during the Holidays, and nothing gets me more excited than spending a cold afternoon prepping cookie dough while I listen to Elf play in the background. This year instead of making 1000 traditional gingerbread cookies I opted for the low and slow approach to baking to create these chewy gingerbread cookies. 

Chewy Gingerbread CookiesChewy Gingerbread Cookies Chewy Gingerbread Cookies

Silpat Cookie Sheets || Cooling Rack || Marble Pastry Board || Copper Cookie Cutters || Piping Bag || Rolling Pin

I think we can all agree that gingerbread can go from delicious to disgusting really quickly. Too much ginger and it’s unpalatable. Too little and it tastes like an ordinary molasses cookie. If it’s overcooked it’ll turn to sawdust on the first bite. But these gingerbread cookies turned out to have the most subtle chew to them and almost a week later taste as fresh as the day they were baked. 

I love the simplicity of a white sugar frosted cookie and really love how the sweetness in the frosting played off the bitterness of the ginger in this recipe. The dough was simple to prep ahead and bake the next day and these cookies pair excellently with decadent hot chocolate

You may need these items to make this recipe: 

Chewy Gingerbread Cookies
Prep Time
20 mins
Cook Time
10 mins
Total Time
30 mins
 
Ingredients
For the cookie
  • 3/4 cup of unsalted butter softened
  • 1 cup of white sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 cup of molasses
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 teaspoons lemon zest
  • 2 teaspoons lemon juice
  • 2 1/4 cups of all purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons of ground ginger
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1/2 teaspoon cardamom
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
For the frosting
  • 2 cups of powdered sugar
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light in fluffy. Beat in egg, molasses, lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla.
  3. In a medium bowl, combine flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, and salt. Gradually add the flour mixture into the butter mixture and mix well.
  4. Remove dough from bowl and wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
  5. When you're ready to make the cookies, working quickly on a floured marble pastry board, remove dough from fridge and section half off to roll out with a Rolling Pin. Roll to 1/4 inch thickness and then using desired shapes, cut out your shapes and place on a Silpat Cookie Sheet.
  6. Repeat process until dough is used up.
  7. Bake in the oven for 8-9 minutes on the top rack, removing promptly and setting the cookies while on their silpat on a Cooling Rack .
  8. When completely cooled (about 30 minutes-1 hour) you can begin frosting.
For the frosting
  1. In a metal bowl, combine all ingredients and stir together until your frosting has a runny consistency.
  2. Place in a Piping Bag and pipe desired designs onto your cookies.
  3. Let dry for 30 minutes before packaging.

Photos by Dasha Crawford Photography

Author: Cynthia

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