Best Best Gingerbread Cookies Recipes

BEST-EVER CHEWY GINGERBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• In large bowl, beat butter and brown sugar with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in egg and molasses. Stir in remaining ingredients except granulated sugar. Cover; refrigerate at least 2 hours.
• Heat oven to 350°F. Line cookie sheets with cooking parchment paper or silicone baking mat. In small bowl, place granulated sugar. Shape dough into 1-inch balls; roll in sugar. On cookie sheets, place balls 2 inches apart.
• Bake 8 to 10 minutes or just until set and soft in center. Cool 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks. Store tightly covered up to 1 week.

THE BEST GINGERBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• For the cookies: Whisk together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, allspice and cloves in a large bowl.
• Mix the butter, shortening, brown sugar and molasses in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat in the egg. Beat the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients in two additions. Divide the dough in half, wrap in plastic and pat to 1/2-inch thick. Refrigerate for 2 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out one piece of dough to 1/4-inch thick, dusting with flour if needed. Cut into 3- to 5-inch cookies with a gingerbread man cutter or desired shape. Brush off the excess flour and refrigerate for 15 minutes. Repeat with the second piece of dough.
• Bake the cookies in batches until they are golden around the edges, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.
• For the royal icing: Whisk the confectioners' sugar with the meringue powder in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat in 6 tablespoons of water until well combined and you have stiff glossy peaks, adding 1 tablespoon more water at a time to reach a smooth pipeable consistency. Mix in food coloring as desired. Fill pastry bags fitted with tips. Decorate the gingerbread cookies with the icing.

BEST GINGERBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• Combine first 3 ingredients in bowl.
• Cream margarine, add sugar then eggs one at a time.
• Now add the molasses and vinegar.
• Mix in the flour.
• Roll out and use cookie cutters.
• Bake 10-12 minutes at 350°F.
• After they are baked you can decorate the way you like.

BEST SOFT GINGERBREAD COOKIES (PLUS GB HOUSE TIPS)

Steps:

• 1. Place cloves in hot water; set aside. Cream shortening and sugar. Add egg and beat. Add molasses, beat. Remove cloves from water, discard cloves. Add clove water, beat. *Dough will look "curdled". Add rest of ingredients, except the last 4 cups flour, and beat. Gradually beat in last 4 cups flour. Chill dough. Roll out to 1/2" thick or slightly less. (1/4" if you like your cookies crispy.) Cut into shapes. Decorate with raisins if desired. Place carefully onto ungreased cookies sheet. Bake at 375° for 8-10 minutes. Do not over bake. *GB House directions: Make dough the same as above, but roll dough out thin, 1/4" at most. Bake in 325 oven for about 20 minutes. Remove to racks to cool, and let harden/dry out a bit overnight for sturdiness if making large pieces. *Doors and windows need to be cut out PRIOR to baking. Fill any with crushed hard candy before baking, too. And pieces filled with hard candy baked the best on foil. Non candy-filled pieces were baked on parchment paper. These directions are for houses that are not meant to be eaten. If making one to be eaten, just roll the dough the same as per the cookie directions. (My house above was a "look at" house! LOL!) We donated it to the children's wing at our local public library for the kids to play with and enjoy! They LOVED it! :D Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

BEST GINGERBREAD COOKIES.....EVER!!!!!

Steps:

• Beat butter, sugar, pudding and egg.
• Mix well.
• Add flour, baking soda, ginger and cinnamon.
• Roll out and cut with cookie cutter.
• Bake @ 350* for 10-12 minutes.
• Makes 4-5 doxen depending on the size of cookies.

BEST SOFT GINGERBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• 1. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Stir in the molasses and water.
• 2. In a medium bowl whisk together the remaining ingredients. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, stirring constantly.
• 3. Divide the dough in half and flatten to a round disk and wrap each disk in a plastic wrap and chill overnight. (You can freeze half or all of it if desired for later use.)
• 4. NEXT DAY:
• 5. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Lightly grease cookie sheets. On a lightly floured surface roll out one of the disk of dough, leaving the other chilled. Rolled to 1/4 inch thickness, adding more flour if needed. Cut the cookies into desired shapes and place about an inch apart on the cookie sheets. Bake for 6 to 10 minutes depending on the size of the cookies. The cookies should be firm but not browned. Re-roll the scraps and continue to cut and bake until the dough is gone.
• 6. Cool the cookies on the cookie sheet for a few minutes, then remove them to a wire rack to finish cooling.
• 7. ROYAL ICING:
• 8. In a large bowl, beat the powdered sugar, egg white, cream of tartar and orange extract on medium high speed for 5 minutes. Check to see if you can form peaks with a teaspoon. If you cannot, beat at a higher speed for a minute more and check again. Beat and check at thirty second intervals until the peaks form. Tint icing with food coloring as desired.

THE BEST VEGAN GINGERBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the 2⅓ cups rice flour, the all-purpose flour, sugar, arrowroot, ginger, cinnamon, xanthan gum, salt, baking soda, and nutmeg. Add the coconut oil, applesauce, and vanilla to the flour mixture and stir with a rubber spatula until a thick dough forms. Gradually add the cold water and stir until the dough is slightly tacky. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Dust a clean work surface with some rice flour, place the dough in the center, and roll the dough around until the surface is entirely coated in flour. Dust a rolling pin with more rice flour. Roll out the dough to ¼-inch thickness.
• Cut out cookies with your desired cookie cutters and transfer them from the floured surface to the parchment-lined baking sheets with a spatula, placing them about 1 inch apart. Bake for 7 minutes, rotate the baking sheets, and bake for 5 minutes more. Let stand on the baking sheets for 10 minutes then transfer to cooling rack.
• In a small bowl, combine the powdered sugar, hot water, and vanilla and whisk briefly. If the glaze is too thick, add warm water one tablespoon at a time until the icing reaches a thick yet slightly runny consistency. If it becomes too runny, add more powdered sugar ¼ cup at a time. DO AHEAD: The glaze can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.

THE BEST GINGERBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• Bring molasses, brown sugar, and spices to a boil in a 4- to 5-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, and remove from heat. Stir in baking soda (mixture will foam up), then stir in butter 3 pieces at a time, letting each addition melt before adding next, until all butter is melted. Add egg and stir until combined, then stir in 3¾ cups flour and salt.
• Preheat oven to 325°F.
• Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and knead, dusting with as much of remaining ¼ cup flour as needed to prevent sticking, until soft and easy to handle, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Divide dough in half, then wrap one half in plastic wrap and keep at room temperature.
• Roll out remaining dough into a 14-inch round (⅛ inch thick) on a lightly floured surface. Cut out as many cookies as possible with cutters and carefully transfer with offset spatula to 2 buttered large baking sheets, arranging them about 1 inch apart.
• Bake cookies in upper and lower thirds of oven, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until edges are slightly darker, 10 to 12 minutes total (watch carefully toward end of baking; cookies can burn easily). Transfer cookies to wire racks to cool completely. Make more cookies with remaining dough and scraps (reroll once).
• Put icing in pastry bag (if using) and pipe or spread decoratively onto cookies.