Classic Soft Gingerbread cut-outs to decorate
Gingerbread cut-out cookies are a time honored tradition during the holidays for my family. Everyone loves cutting out and decorating all the little festive cookies and gingerbread people, especially all the kids!
This recipe makes beautifully soft gingerbread cut-out cookies that are also sturdy enough to decorate. The dough puffs up only slightly when baked, so any small details will remain intact. We use this classic gingerbread cookie recipe every year to make delicious, soft, and sturdy cookies that we decorate and turn into decorating kits for all the little kids in our extended family.
What is the flavour of gingerbread cut-out cookies?
The spices and molasses in this gingerbread cookie recipe give them a classic strong, warm, spicy taste and aroma we often associate with Christmas. The spices in gingerbread are:
Ginger (obviously) – A good amount of ginger is used, (it is in the name after all!). Ginger has a warm spicy flavour, with a slightly sweet citrus taste and aroma.
Cinnamon– A classic Christmas spice. Most people will be quite familiar with the taste and aroma of cinnamon, since it is a commonly used spice. It has a sweet, citrus, floral, and woodsy flavour and aroma.
Cloves– This is the strongest flavour and aroma of all and, in my opinion, gives gingerbread a very distinct flavour. The scent of clove always reminds me of Christmas. A little goes a long way when it comes to cloves! Clove has a sweet, bitter, and almost hot flavour. They are very pungent, but in small quantities are an amazing spice. If you bite a whole clove they will give you a topical numbing feeling. Clove oil is even used in dental product to calm and relieve tooth pain!
Molasses– Which type of molasses to use for gingerbread? There are two main types of molasses in the stores where I live. Fancy molasses and blackstrap molasses. For these sweet cookies use Fancy molasses (sometime called light molasses). Molasses is a byproduct of making sugar from sugarcane. Fancy molasses is from the second boiling, where as blackstrap molasses is from the third. Fancy molasses is much lighter tasting. Where as blackstrap is quite bitter.
How to freeze and store gingerbread cut-out cookies
I often make batches of cookies, when I have time, during the holiday season. I will leave out some to snack on and the rest I will freeze for later. That way I am ready to go when I need to make Christmas cookie tins, attend a holiday party, or have a friend stop by!
Can gingerbread cut-out cookie dough be frozen?
Yes!
- Split the dough into two equal portions.
- Shape the dough into flattened round disks.
- Wrap tightly in cling-film.
- Place them in a labeled freezer bag, or air-tight container.
- Keep them in the freezer for 3-4 months.
- When you want to make the gingerbread cookies, let the dough defrost enough to become pliable. Then roll out with a rolling pin, cut out, and bake!
Can gingerbread cut-out cookies be frozen?
Yes! This is what I typically do to get a head start on my holiday baking.
- After the cookies are baked, cool them to room temperature.
- Freeze in a single layer on a cookie sheet for 2-3 hours.
- Pop them into a freezer bag, or a sealed container.
- Keep them in the freezer 2-3 months.
The reason to freeze them separately first is so they do not stick together and freeze into a big clump.
Different types of gingerbread
Gingerbread comes in many different forms, ginger snaps, gingerbread men, gingerbread houses, ginger bread cake, and the list goes on. This gingerbread cookie recipe is a soft, but sturdy. This type of cookie is meant to be rolled out and used for gingerbread cut-out cookies.
For a much softer, delicate gingerbread cookie, check out this recipe! The best soft and chewy gingerbread cookies
Ingredients for Gingerbread cut-out cookies
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
¼ cup molasses
¼ cup water
2¾ cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ginger
1 ½ teaspoons ground cloves
2 teaspoons cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
Method
- In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar.
- Beat in the molasses and water. Make sure to scrape down the bowl as you go.
- Stir in the baking soda, ground ginger, cinnamon, ground cloves, and salt.
- Stir in the all-purpose flour, until just incorporated.
- Split the dough in half and form each into a disk shape, with your hands. Wrap each dough disk in cling-film.
- Chill 1-2 hours, in the refrigerator.
- Roll the dough out, onto a lightly floured surface, to ¼-inch thickness. Make sure to turn the dough every few rolls, to ensure it does not stick to the counter.
- Using cookie cutters, cut the dough into shapes.
- Collect the unused dough back together and knead a few times to form it into a ball. Reroll the dough and cut into shapes. Apply more flour to the counter, as needed. Continue this until all the dough is used up.
- Place the cut-outs onto a lined baking sheet and chill in the freezer for 20 minutes. (This will limit the amount the cookies spread and loose their shape.)
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).
- Spread the cut-outs on to a lined baking sheet, with about 1-inch of space between each cookie.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes or until edges start to colour.
- Remove from the oven. Cool completely before decorating.
Classic Soft Gingerbread Cut-Out Cookies
Equipment
- cookie cutters
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter softened
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup molasses
- ¼ cup water
- 2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 teaspoons ginger
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar.
- Beat in the molasses and water. Make sure to scrape down the bowl as you go.
- Stir in the baking soda, ground ginger, cinnamon, ground cloves, and salt.
- Stir in the all-purpose flour until just incorporated.
- Split the dough in half and form each into a disk shape with your hands. Wrap each dough disk in cling-film.
- Chill 1-2 hours, in the refrigerator.
- Roll the dough out, onto a lightly floured surface, to ¼-inch thickness. Make sure to turn the dough every few rolls to ensure it does not stick to the counter.
- Using cookie cutters, cut the dough into shapes.
- Collect the unused dough back together and knead a few times to form it into a ball. Reroll the dough and cut into shapes. Apply more flour to the counter top, as needed. Continue this until all the dough is used up.
- Place the cut-outs onto a lined baking sheet and chill in the freezer for 20 minutes. (This will limit the amount the cookies loose their shape and spread)
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 ℉ (180 ℃).
- Spread the cut-outs on a lined baking sheet, with about 1-inch of space between each cookie.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes or until edges start to colour.
- Remove from the oven. Cool completely before decorating.
Decorating
Now that the cookies are made, you may want to give them some fun and festive decorations. My favourite ways to decorate these cookies is to use royal icing. Royal icing is a nice smooth icing that dries hard on top of your cookie.
I also use tinted buttercream, for a fun decorating activity for children to get involved in!
Buttercream
These Holiday cookie tins are a fun gift for any little cookie decorators on your holiday list!
Make a batch of buttercream split it into the amount of colours needed and tint with food colouring. Package the icing in piping bags for easy decorating.
Simple Buttercream Icing
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter softened
- 4 cups icing sugar
- 3 Tablespoons cream
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, with the whisk attachment, cream butter.
- Add icing sugar. Mix on the lowest setting, until all of the sugar is incorporated. Then cream on medium-high until light and fluffy.
- Add vanilla and salt. Blend into the icing.
- Thin with cream, you may need more or less, until you have the desired consistency.
Royal icing
This is perfect to decorate cookies you might be sending as a gift in a Holiday cookie box or to go any holiday party. This icing starts of wet so you can decorate, but dries hard within 24 hours.
Royal Icing
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. of icing sugar
- 5 Tablespoons meringue powder
- ⅔ cup warm water. You may need more or less to reach the proper consistency
Instructions
- In the bowl of the stand mixer, with the paddle attachment, add the sugar and the meringue powder.
- Mix to combine and break up any lumps.
- Add the water and mix on low until the icing starts to come together.
- Turn the mixer up to medium and beat for 4-5 mins, or until light and fluffy and holds a stiff peak. (You may need to add more water to reach the desired consistency for the piping.)
- Keep your icing covered, either with cling-film or a damp cloth, when not in use, or it will start to dry and set.
- The stiff consistency is perfect for making things like royal icing flowers or piping 3 dimensional designs.
- For the consistency for writing or piping borders, the consistency should be similar to mayonnaise. (You gradually add water to the icing until this is reached.)
- For flood consistency, (this is the main inside icing you will be filling the cookie with), add water gradually, until you have a runny honey consistency.
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