Not-Your-Ordinary Gingerbread Cookies

I am obsessed with gingerbread cookies.

But not just any gingerbread cookies.

Ginger-less gingerbread cookies!

Yes, I have confessed my love of these cookies on the blog before (it was one of the first blog posts I wrote for Confessions) but I made a huge batch last week and knew I had to share the recipe again!

So, without further ado, the best recipe for ginger-less gingerbread cookies.

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.

Place the cookie dough onto a piece of plastic wrap.

And form into an even disc with your hands – this help with the rolling process later! Wrap tightly with the plastic wrap and pop the cookie dough disc into the fridge for about an hour to chill completely. If you don’t want to use the dough immediately, pop the chilled disc into a freezer zip-top bag, label, and place it in the freezer for 2-3 months!

When you’re ready to make cookies, dust a flat surface with flour and roll out the chilled dough disc with a rolling pin until it is about ¼-inch thin. Then cut out your favorite shapes!

I love these bears – they are super cute when decorated! But you can use whatever cookie cutters you have!

Place the cookie shapes onto parchment-lined cookie sheets and bake for about 10-12 minutes – baking time depends on the size and thickness of the cookies.

When they are just golden on the bottom, they’re done! Let them cool completely on cooling racks before decorating.

Then go wild! I like using royal icing (which dries completely hard) to add all the decorations on my cookies. You can use M&Ms, sprinkles, Neco wafers, or whatever else you have on hand. Use your imagination!

All that’s left is to enjoy!

I hope you include this cookie recipe during your holiday season – maybe it will become a tradition for your family!

What’s your favorite holiday cookie? Gingerbread? Sugar? Molasses crackle? Let me know!

Your cookie bakin’ friend,

C

Not-Your-Ordinary Gingerbread Cookies

 

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Prep time

2 hours

Cook time

45 mins

Total time

2 hours 45 mins

 

Simply A (RD) Fact: Cinnamon help give these cookies their delicious flavor - did you know that cinnamon is rich in antioxidants and polyphenols?

Serves: 20-40 cookies

Ingredients

• For the cookies:
• 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
• For the royal icing:
• 1 pound of powdered sugar
• 3 tablespoons of meringue powder
• 6 tablespoons of warm water

Instructions

1. To make the gingerbread cookies:
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Mix thoroughly and set aside.
3. In the work bowl of your stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
4. Add the egg and mix until combined.
5. Add the molasses, dark corn syrup, and vinegar. Mix until combined.
6. With the mixer on low, slowly add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Mix until a soft dough forms.
7. Place the dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap, shape into a flat disc, wrap up and refrigerate dough for at least one hour.
8. When ready to bake the cookies, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. While the oven is preheating, dust a flat surface with flour and roll out the cookie dough until it is about ¼-inch thin. Using cookie cutters, cut out your favorite shapes and place the cookies onto parchment paper-lined cookie sheet.
9. Bake the cookies for about 10-12 minutes, but bake time depends on the size and thickness of the cookies.
10. Cool cookies for an hour on a cooling rack before frosting with royal icing and/or devouring. Enjoy!
11. To make royal icing:
12. Combine all ingredients in a stand mixer with the whisk attachment. Wisk on medium speed for 10-15 minutes until the frosting is smooth and shiny. Place into zip-top baggies, sip off a corner of the baggie, and frost away!

Nutrition Information

Serving size: 1 cookie from a 30-cookie batch Calories: 192 calories Fat: 6.5gm Saturated fat: 4gm Carbohydrates: 31gm Sodium: 111mg Fiber: 0.75gm Protein: 2gm Cholesterol: 22.5mg

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