I LOVE gingerbread cookies.
But not traditional gingerbread cookies.
(it’s a bit confusing…)
As I have said before on the blog, I had an interesting experience with gingerbread when I was young. At a holiday party, I got so excited when I saw a platter of decorated cookies. Being a small kid with no self-restraint, I grabbed a cookie and bit into it… and immediately spit it out. My mom explained that these were traditional cookies – loaded with ground ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. They were super spicy and heavy… definitely not something my young palate appreciated.
So my family has been making an adapted recipe that resembles a molasses cookie (soft, chewy, and cinnamon-y). It is definitely more kid-friendly than the original, but just as festive!
While I love a good gingerbread man, sometimes I do not have the time (or the will power) to roll out the dough. So, I decided not too! I grabbed pinches of dough, rolled them into balls, and then rolled them in some coarse sugar.
And Lazy Girl Gingerbread Cookies were born.
All the flavor of the traditional cookie but without the fuss!
It starts with the dry ingredients.
In a large bowl, add in flour, baking soda, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon. Stir thoroughly to combine. Set the bowl aside.
Then gather up all the wet ingredients.
They include butter (or you can do one stick of butter and one stick of margarine if you prefer), granulated sugar, an egg, dark corn syrup, molasses, and white vinegar. Simple pantry staples!
In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Then, with the mixer on low, add in the egg, the corn syrup, the molasses, and the white vinegar. Beat the wet ingredients together until combined – if the mixture looks slightly curdled, don’t worry (it’s supposed to look like that!). Return the mixer to low speed and slowly add in the dry ingredients, mixing until a soft dough forms.
When the dough comes together, pop the dough into the fridge for 30 minutes to firm up a bit before rolling.
After the dough has chilled, portion out heaping tablespoons of dough.
And roll it into a ball.
Then roll the ball in some coarse sugar.
Pop the dough balls onto parchment paper-lined baking sheets and then pop them into a preheated 350 degree oven. Bake for 8-12 minutes until golden brown.
Yum.
My favorite holiday cookie in an easy-to-make form! Perfect for lazy days watching the snow fall!
So, what’s your favorite holiday cookie?
Your holiday baking friend,
Catherine
- 2 sticks of butter, softened – you can substitute out one stick for margarine if you prefer
- 1 cup of granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- ½ cup of molasses
- ½ cup of dark corn syrup
- 2 tablespoons of white vinegar
- 5 cups of all-purpose flour
- 1½ teaspoons of baking soda
- ½ teaspoon of salt
- 1 teaspoon of ground nutmeg
- 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon
- Coarse sugar, for rolling the cookies
- In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Mix thoroughly and set aside.
- In the work bowl of your stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
- Add the egg and mix until combined.
- Add the molasses, dark corn syrup, and vinegar. Mix until combined.
- With the mixer on low, slowly add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Mix until a soft dough forms.
- Pop the dough into the fridge for 30 minutes to chill.
- When ready to bake the cookies, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. While the oven is preheating, portion out heaping tablespoons of dough and roll them into balls. Then roll the dough balls in the coarse sugar to coat. Place the dough balls onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
- Bake the cookies for about 8-12 minutes until golden.
- Cool cookies for an hour on a cooling rack before devouring. Enjoy!
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