Rolled Gingerbread Cookies
- Refrigeration time: 2 hours
- Baking time: 20 to 30 minutes
- Cooling time: 30 minutes
- Frosting/Decorating: 30 minutes
Ingredients
For Single Recipe
(Makes Approximately 2 Dozen Cookies)
Moist Ingredients:
- 3 tablespoons butter, softened
- ½ cup dark brown sugar
- ¾ cup molasses (see Comments section below)
- ⅓ cups cold water
Dry Ingredients:
- 3½ cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Rolling:
Topping:
Ingredients
For Double Recipe
(Makes Approximately 4 Dozen Cookies)
Moist Ingredients:
- ⅓ cup butter (5⅓ tablespoons), softened
- 1 cup dark brown sugar
- 1½ cups molasses (see Comments section below)
- ⅔ cups cold water
Dry Ingredients:
- 7 cups flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground allspice
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Rolling:
Frosting and Decorations:
Instructions
-
Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Mix in molasses and water.
- Add dry ingredients and mix until incorporated.
- Cover dough and refrigerate for at least 2 hours; preferably overnight.
- Preheat oven:
Standard Oven: 350° | Convection Oven: 325°
- Lightly grease cookie sheets. Click here to learn more about how to grease cookie sheets.
- Lightly dust countertop with flour.
- Roll dough ¼-inch thick.
- Cut with cookie cutter that has been dipped in flour (this will help to keep dough from sticking to the cookie cutter).
- Place cookie shapes on cookie sheet.
- Bake for 6 to 8 minutes until no indentation remains when top of cookie is lightly pressed with tip of finger.
- Remove from sheets immediately and let cool.
- Frost with Confectioners Sugar Icing For Baked Goods or Buttercream Frosting. Frosting should be made on the thinner side for easy spreading consistency.
- Decorate and serve.
Recipe adapted from Betty Crocker's Cookbook. New York: Golden Press (1980).
Comments
Let's talk about molasses. There are three basic types of molasses sold in stores: light, dark and blackstrap. Light molasses is delicate and sweet. Dark molasses is full and robust in flavor. Blackstrap is ultra-dark, thick and has a slight bitterness to it's flavor.What type of molasses do I like to use for my recipes? Blackstrap! It has a unique rich flavor that is less sweet than mild or dark molasses. If I can't find blackstrap molasses I will reach for dark molasses.
Note: I make the icing and then split it into 3 or 4 small bowls. I then add food coloring so I can use various colors to decorate my cookies. If you are piping on details like buttons or eyes, you may need to add a bit of confectioners sugar to the frosting so it will set up on the cookies once it has been piped on.
I often use raisins for the eyes and buttons. You can also buy colorful candy sprinkles that come in a variety of shapes and can be used for eyes, buttons, etc. They can be found in the baking section of the supermarket.