GINGERBREAD COOKIE

Gingerbread Cookie image

Provided by Erin Campbell

Categories dessert

Time 4h35m

Yield About 24 cookies

Number Of Ingredients 11

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3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling the dough
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Kosher salt
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 large egg

Steps:

Sift together the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and a pinch of salt into a medium bowl and set aside.
Put the butter and brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 4 to 6 minutes. Add the egg, molasses, vanilla extract and egg and beat until fully incorporated. Reduce the mixer speed to low and beat in the flour until completely combined. Turn the dough out onto a work surface, flatten into a disc, wrap well with plastic wrap and chill for at least 4 hours or overnight.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 1 or 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Lightly dust the work surface and the top of the chilled dough with flour and roll the dough 1/4 inch thick. Cut the dough into the desired shapes and transfer to the baking sheets, leaving 1 inch between each cookie. Gather any scraps together and repeat rolling and cutting; if the dough gets too soft to work with, chill it briefly before continuing.
Bake the cookies, in batches if necessary, until they are barely golden-brown around the edges and no longer glossy, 8 to 10 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes and then transfer them to cooling racks to cool completely. When cool, ice or decorate as desired.