Gingerbread 101
There’s only one time in the year that I break out the royal icing, the piping bag, and decorative dragées: Christmas-time, when homemade gingerbread cookies are a requirement, preferably available by the dozens. Stars, snowflakes, trees, and the essential gingerbread boy – all are shapes I have been making since I was a girl, and now create with my children.
Every step of baking gingerbread is special, from the grinding and measuring of the spices for the dough, to the rolling and cutting of playful Christmas shapes, and perhaps the most fun of all, the detailed icing work. Sometimes we’ll throw a cookie decorating party, where we ice ten dozen cookies, and coat my floor in sugar in the process; other times I’ll put on some Christmas tunes after the kids are in bed and lose myself for an hour or so creating a drift of pretty white snowflakes.
Both ways to decorate are fun, and you should definitely break out the spices and a rolling pin sometime in the weeks leading up to the holidays. This post will give you enough information to get started. Be sure to stick around for a fun giveaway at the bottom to ensure you are well equipped for the task.
Many of the tips and the gingerbread dough recipe in today’s post are from my friend Bridget of Bake at 350 and her amazing new book, Decorating Cookies: 60+ Designs for Holidays, Celebrations & Everyday
. Thanks, Bridget, for helping us to make the best gingerbread possible this holiday season.
The All-Important Dough
I really love Bridget’s gingerbread dough because it is low on sugar and high on molasses. The result is a soft, dark dough, perfectly sweetened, with the flavor of molasses and spices shining through. I’m smitten and so are my children.
Want to switch things up? Shaina demonstrates that gingerbread is a most versatile dough, melding its way into different shapes, sizes and purposes, and capable of giving you a wide assortment of cookies.
Chilling & Freezing
Once the dough is made, it can chill in the refrigerator, well wrapped in plastic, for up to 5 days. Better yet, stash a few rounds of dough in a resealable bag in the freezer and freeze for 3-6 months. Gingerbread doesn’t have to be enjoyed just in December anymore!
When you are ready to roll you cookies, remove the dough from the freezer and thaw at room temperature, then proceed with the shaping.
Rolling & Cutting
Bridget bides us to not fear the flour when rolling out a cookie. Indeed, liberally flouring the counter, rolling pin, and cookie cutters makes this step much easier.
- My tip is to have the dough at room temperature, so it is quite soft. There will be less cracking of the cookies, and the dough will be easier to roll.
- When the dough is rolled thin, it will bake up crisp like a cracker. When it is rolled thick, the cookies are plump and soft. Both ways are nice; the end result is up to you.
- For cutting, start at the outer edge of the rolled dough and work your way inward. Place the cookie cutters as close to each other as possible. Use a flexible spatula to transfer the cookie dough. I love this Good Grips Good Cookie Spatula
from OXO.
from OXO.Don’t forget: If you’re making gingerbread ornaments, punch out a small hole with a wooden skewer before baking the cookies so you have somewhere to tie them to your tree.
Baking & Cooling Tips
- Always make sure the oven is up to temperature before baking. I like to stick with the middle rack only, as my bottom rack occasionally burns cookies. (Because gingerbread have a lot of molasses in them, they are susceptible to burning quickly.)
- Don’t mix thick and thin cookies on the same baking sheet, as they will cook for different lengths of time.
- Allow cookies to cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a cooling rack.
- If you are baking ornaments, now is a good time to double check your holes and puncture them again if needed while the cookie is still soft.
Decorating Gingerbread.
Bridget’s book, Decorating Cookies: 60+ Designs for Holidays, Celebrations & Everyday is the essential guide for perfect, pretty cookies and a good place to start for your gingerbread. She also offers tips to {stress-free} cookie decorating with kids that I’ve found very helpful!
Royal Icing is the standard frosting for decorating rolled gingerbread, so you’ll need a batch or two. Guess who has the recipe? Yep, Bridget: Royal Icing 102 and FAQ.
Plan to let the cookies dry overnight before transferring them to tins or stringing up as ornaments on the tree as the royal icing takes a good 12 hours to dry properly.
Happy baking and cookie-making!
Gingerbread Cookies
Ingredients
- 5 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons ground ginger
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 cup salted butter (2 sticks) cold and cut into chunks
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 cup molasses
- 1 egg
Instructions
- Line three cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, and cloves. Set this mixture aside.
- In the large bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together the butter and both sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in the molasses and egg. Mix until well combined.
- Add the flour mixture in three parts, mixing on low speed until just combined. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
- Divide the dough in half and form into disks. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
- Prepare a rolling surface and roll out one of the disks (see Rolling and Cutting Cookie Dough on page 23 of the book).
- Cut as many shapes from the dough as possible and place them onto a prepared cookie sheet, approximately 2 inches apart.
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Meanwhile, place the cookie sheet in the freezer for 5 to 10 minutes. Freezing the cookies helps them keep their shape while baking. Meanwhile, knead the scraps and remaining dough together and continue the rolling, cutting, and freezing process on a second prepared cookie sheet.
- After freezing, immediately bake the cookies on the center rack of your oven for 9 to 12 minutes, or until the cookies appear done in the center.
- Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool for 2 minutes on the cookie sheet. With a thin cookie spatula, transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Rotate the cookie sheets from the freezer to the oven to the cooling rack until all of the cookies are baked.
Notes
Nutrition
Giveaway!
When she introduced her book for the first time, Bridget said this:
“This book is for you. You, who have never decorated a cookie. You, who have attempted and want to try again. You, who love decorating cookies and are looking for some new ideas.”
Flipping through ‘Decorating Cookies’, it’s plain to see that Bridget means every word. Comprehensive equipment lists, an in-depth troubleshooting guide, a photo index of projects, and her tried and true recipes are just some of the amazing content that comes between the pretty covers of this unique cookbook.
Today you have a chance to win a copy of Decorating Cookies: 60+ Designs for Holidays, Celebrations & Everyday for yourself!
** This giveaway has ended. Congratulations to the winner, Nicole Reis! Thank you to all who participated.**
Good luck to all you future cookie decorators!
I’m so excited to be celebrating my first Christmas with my boyfriend 🙂 As a novice, these gingerbread cookies seem very approachable for a klunz like me, I think I may try it 🙂
I am a novice. I love to decorate cookies and I especially enjoy decorating gingerbread. The beautiful dark brown of the cookie and the bright white frosting is beautiful (and delicious).
I think I fall in the novice category. I know my way around a decorating bag but without much success. Thanks for sharing such a great resource!
This is my first holiday season with little ones who can help. There are two, a boy and a girl, eager to stand next to me at the counter and join in the holiday cookie fun. We made gingerbread cookies last year and gave them hot out of the oven to the UPS delivery man who couldn’t refuse. Those looked more like aliens then gingerbread men, but the taste was right. Now there is a giant collection of cookie cutters from my mother and I am excited to try cutting out cookies of all shapes from gingerbread dough. Certainly, many will make decoration status for the tree and many more will go into our happy bellies. I have never decorated with icing before, this will make the cookies pretty and irresistible.
I would say I’m a beginning decorator. I’m a pretty experienced cookie baker, but I’m not that great with creative details. In our family usually I bake the cookies and my husband decorates them.
I have been baking cookies for as long as I can remember but decorating them has always scared me 🙁
Definitely a intermediate decorator, although I typically let my kids take the lead on the decorating, so it isn’t quite as pretty 🙂 We do a lot of sugar cookie decorating, but haven’t done gingerbread before. I am always looking for a good gingerbread cookie recipe, one that doesn’t end up hard as a rock 🙂 Will have to try this one!
I am a novice cookie decorator. My expertise lies in frosting from the grocery store, spread thickly and then sprinkles!
Sarah M
I basically make and frost sugar cookies. Not pretty ones, edible ones!
I am a novice cookie decorator.
I would say that I am definitely a beginner, expert baker but beginning decorator. This cookbook would up my skills for sure. And gingerbread is a family favorite as well – in all forms: cookies, muffins, and cakes. Thanks for hosting the giveaway!
I’m a novice cookie baker! I can make cookies without recipes any day of the week! 🙂
I’m trying to make memories with my grandsons so we make cookies for every holiday that we can. We just make sugar cookies. I have cookie cutters for a few holidays. At this point we usually use sprinkles in them. Last year I took canned frosting,put in a bowl,added dash of vanilla,takes plastic taste away,added food coloring. They had fun,decorating cookies that way too., Then we go to neighbors to share. What fun!
Our first married Christmas, we had no ornaments so we made gingerbread cookies and hung them on the tree. I wish I had had this recipe as our turned out hard as rocks and weighed every branch down! They at least pulled off the ‘homemade’ look that’s for sure! Going to try these this year with my almost 3 year old daughter. I think she will love it-as will I! Here’s to making a little less weighty cookie at the very least! : )
novice cookie decorator
I am a novice cookie decorater. Have done more with cakes than cookies.
I am a super novice cookie decorator – need all the help I can get!!
I’ve been decorating cookies forever! I’m still not very good but I love the excitement of doing it with kids now.
I’m no professional, but I’ve made my share of decorated cookies
I am definitely a beginner when it comes to decorating cookies!
I think I still fall into the beginner category as I tend to shy away from any detailed decorating. But with 2 little ones now very eager to join me in my Christmas baking, I will be getting a lot of practice in!!
Been makin’ Christmas Cookies for about 55 years!
I am a beginner. Though I bake often, decorating details are often things I avoid. I’m more of a bar cookie person for now.
I’m definitely a beginner!
Total beginner!
I am a beginner cookie decorator. I have ogled this book since I first saw it! Thank you for the chance to win!
Such a beginner! I don’t think you could tell the cookies I decorate were done by an adult!
Beginner!
I am a beginner! But I’m looking forward to starting the tradition of decorating cookies with my little boy this year! 🙂
A novice!
I’ve been baking many things for many years, but have not perfected the cut-out cookie. Oftentimes I feel that I lack the patience for the process and any advice on making it less of a chore would be great!
I am such a beginner! 🙂
I guess i am at the intermediate level. I am quite familiar with a piping bag, but mostly with cakes and cupcakes and some cookies experience :). I would love some tips and new ideas!
I love gingerbread. One of my favorite flavors of the season.
I love doing it but I am certainly still a novice. This book looks great!
A complete beginner!
I suppose I’m a beginner with icing cookies. I mean I’ve done it since I was a kid, but I don’t do anything fancy.
I would say novice,
Totally novice but hope to become an expert one day!
I love decorating cookies. But I am definitely a novice decorator. My creations never come out the way I envisioned them.
I’d say I’m a novice. Although I’ve never worked with royal icing, yet, I’m awesome at tempering chocolate and making my own frosting and decorating them that way.
Novice here! Love to make gingerbread cookies and decorate them… would like them to turn out like the ones in my head!
Novice, sometimes it seems so daunting I avoid it, but I would like to learn some tricks to make it easier.
As a kid we only decorated sugar cookies, but boy, did we do a lot of them! I can’t remember when I had my first gingerbread cookie. Now they’re one of my favorites! I’m dying to make a gingerbread house with my kids. =)
I am a cookie cutter collector. I have loved them for years. Sadly, I am not very good at the decorating part and would love to win this book. My local bookstore is always out of this one and I hear it is terrific!
I remember making lots of edible gifts as a child but we never did gingerbread. I’d love to try this with my kids and create a new tradition! Thanks for the giveaway!
we try cookies every year and usually thr rolled out ones flop but this is a diffrent recipe than i have used b4 will have to try
I would say I am an intermediate, although in the past few years, I haven’t had much time to spend on my cookie decorating!
I’m definitely a novice. I really want my cookies to look like the pictures, but don’t have the patience! I usually try to find a short cut!
definitely a beginner!!