Gingerbread Cookies
Ingredients
Gingerbread Cookie Dough
1/2 cup 1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature 113g
3/4 cup granulated sugar 150g
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar 50g
1 large egg, room temperature 56g
1/4 cup dark molasses 70g
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour: fluffed and spooned into the measuring cup 290g
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp fine salt
Instructions
Gingerbread Cookies
This recipe requires some chill time for the dough, so wait to turn your oven on until after the dough is made.
Cream 1/2 cup butter, 3/4 cup granulated sugar, and 1/4 packed light brown sugar together in a large bowl with an electric hand mixer or stand mixer fit with a paddle attachment. Mix on a medium-high speed with an electric mixer until the mixture becomes lighter in color (about 2 minutes).
Mix in 1 large egg and 1/4 cup molasses on a medium speed until combined. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed with a rubber spatula.
Add 2 1/4 cups flour, 2 tsp ginger, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, 1/4 tsp cloves, and 1/4 tsp salt into the wet ingredients. Mix on low until just combined. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula to make sure everything is properly mixed together.
At this point, the dough should still be pretty thick. Divide the dough in half and wrap each portion of dough in a piece of plastic wrap. I like to flatten the dough into a rectangle that's about 1/2 inch tall to make it easier to roll out once it's chilled.
Chill the dough in the fridge for 1 hour or in the freezer for 15 minutes. You can also make the dough ahead of time and keep it in the fridge for a few days. If you chill the dough overnight, let it sit out at room temperature for 5-10 minutes before trying to roll it out. This will make it easier to roll out!
Preheat the oven to 350°F about 30 minutes before you plan to roll out the dough, and line two large baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper. Set aside.
Take one piece of dough out of the fridge, leaving the other in there to continue to chill. Unwrap the cookie dough and lay the plastic wrap out flat on your counter. We will be rolling out the cookie dough on the plastic wrap to make cleanup a breeze and to make it easier to cut out the cookies. Dust the top of the cookie dough and your rolling pin with flour.
Roll the chilled dough to be 1/4 inch thick and cut out shapes with a flour-dusted cookie cutter. I used a 2-inch circle cutter and a 2-inch snowflake cutter, but any shape should work! The cookies will spread a bit as they bake, so place them about 2 inches apart. If you want to minimize spreading, you can chill the cut-out cookies one more time in the fridge for 15 minutes or the freezer for 5 minutes to help them keep their shape as they bake.
Bake one sheet of cookies at a time for 10-11 minutes on the middle rack of your oven. Err on the side of under-baking the cookies, as we want them to be soft and chewy! The edges should be set, but it's ok if the centers are still a little bit soft – remember that they will continue to bake on the hot pan once they're out of the oven. Let the baked cookies cool on the pan for about 15 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.
While the first batch bakes and cools, knead together the cookie dough scraps, rewrap them in plastic wrap, and pop them back in the fridge to chill.
Pull out the 2nd chilled portion of dough and repeat steps 7-10. Then repeat with the chilled dough scraps.
