Gingerbread cookies are a holiday staple, standing at attention in the center of every holiday cookie platter. They’re cute, delicious, and fun to make, too. Nothing tastes quite as sweet as homemade gingerbread cookies!
This is a sponsored conversation, written by me on behalf of Georgia Pacific. The opinions and text are all mine.
Before I share my gingerbread cookies recipe, I want to share my version of Twas the Month Before Christmas!
Twas the month before Christmas when all through the house,
To-do lists were stirring and freaking mom out!
No shopping was done, and there was lots left to do, cause Santa was coming, and that means you know who!
The children were nestled all snug on electronics while visions of errands danced in Mom’s head,
With mom in her sweatsuit and dad all about, she just realized the TP ran out!
She sprang to attention to fix it fast, and away to the garage, she flew like a flash.
The sun had arisen and time was short.
When what to her wondering eyes should appear a sale at Target® for all she held dear.
Now Napkins! Now paper towels! Now plates she did need!
Now dash away, dash away to Target® she ran, to get great deals with her cartwheel app in hand.
She sprung to her SUV with her kids, gave a whistle, and away they flew like the down of a thistle.
I heard her exclaim as she drove out of sight. Quilted Northern®’s on sale, so stock up tonight!
OK, I may be freaking out a little that it’s one month till Christmas, and I’m nowhere near ready. I’ve not ordered any gifts yet, and there is a ton of decorating to do! I know that it’s just going to get busier and busier, so I’m trying to get some of the little things done now, like stocking up on basic necessities.
Just like toilet paper, Christmas traditions are necessities, and we love them.
We have a tradition every year of making cookies for Santa, and one of our favorites is this gingerbread cookies recipe. It’s small traditions that keep the holidays fun and special, and this gingerbread recipe is pure holiday delight.
We have lots of little fun holiday traditions in our home, like the elf on the shelf who is always getting into mischief, especially in the bathroom! Our elves almost always toilet paper our Christmas tree at least once!
We also have these big Santa bags the kids put out on Christmas Eve for their elves to deliver to Santa. Santa puts all their gifts from him (aka anything too big or awkward to wrap) in the bags, dropping them under the tree for Christmas morning.
To make sure we get all this holiday fun in, I head to Target® to stock up on basics so I don’t run out of anything during December! This momma doesn’t have time to make 10 trips for everything she forgets the first time. This means paper towels, paper plates, napkins and toilet paper.
As I’ve mentioned before, we are total devotees of Quilted Northern® Toilet Tissue – only the best for our holiday guests. It’s the style leader in making sure your bathroom is designed to be forgotten. As my hubby says, the “pooper” is important, so it has to feel good, and for me it has to look good. Perception is everything you know 😉
Now that your bathroom is all ready, you can get to baking these yummy little gingerbread men with the slight spice of ginger, cloves, and cinnamon.
Depending on the thickness of the dough, this gingerbread cookies recipe can make crispy cookies or chewy and soft.
Don’t worry because the exact instructions are below. This gingerbread cookies recipe will make 2-3 dozen, depending on the size of your cookie cutter.
The boys love cutting them out and then decorating them with the royal icing recipe you’ll also find below. On Christmas Eve night, before they go to bed, we pull out our special Santa plate and put it on the hearth with a glass of milk. They love coming down the next morning to see how much Santa has eaten.
To get the best results from this recipe, make sure your dough is cold. When you cut them out and press your scraps together for a second run, put the combined scraps back in the fridge again for about 3-5 minutes before rolling it out a second time. You will also want to turn the baking pan 180 degrees 1/2 way through cooking to ensure an evenly baked cookie.
Here’s the gingerbread cookies recipe.
Gingerbread Cookies Recipe Royal Icing Recipe
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp ground allspice
- 1/2 tsp ground cloves
- 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 3/4 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1 stick softened unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup vegetable shortening
- 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2/3 cup unsulfured molasses
- 3 large egg whites (3 oz)
- 1 tsp. vanilla flavoring
- 4 cups confectioners sugar
Sift together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, cloves, salt and pepper and set aside.
In an electric mixer, at high speed, beat the butter and vegetable shortening until well-combined, Add brown sugar and beat until the mixture is light, about 2 minutes.
Add egg and molasses and beat until well mixed, scraping down sides.
With the mixer on low add in flour mixture 1/2 cup at a time until well mixed.
Get 2 pieces of plastic wrap and divide mixture between them. Form into a disk and wrap.
- Refrigerate for at least 3 hours or up to 2 days.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Remove one disk and let sit on the counter for 10-12 minutes.
- Place the gingerbread dough on a floured surface and sprinkle with flour. If you are using a wooden rolling pin also dust it with flour.
- Roll dough to 1/8″ for crispy gingerbread 1/4″ for chewier cookies.
- If the dough starts to stick to the rolling pin or floured add a little more flour to prevent sticking.
Dip your cookie cutter in flour and cut out your cookies.
Place them on a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat mat.
If the dough gets too warm when you roll your scraps back out, put it in the fridge for 3-5 minutes before rolling it back out.
Bake in the oven on the middle rack for 10-12 minutes until the edges are crispy. For even results turn the pan 180 degrees halfway through baking.
Remove from the oven and let cool for 2 minutes before removing to a cooling rack to cool completely. Do not decorate until they are completely cooled.
In a mixing bowl combine egg whites and vanilla and beat at high speed until frothy (bubbly)
On low speed add in confectioners sugar 1/2 cup at a time until fully incorporated.
Turn mixer on high and beat for 5-7 minutes until its glossy and stiff peaks form.
Transfer to a piping bag or zip-top bag for piping. Clip the corner of the zip-top bag to pipe on your icing.
The easy way to test for stiff peaks after 5 minutes of beating is to take a whisk or your beater and dip it into the frosting. Pull straight up on the beater if a stiff peak forms in the icing it’s done. It may curl over a little at the top and that is fine. Don’t over beat it because will become grainy. I recommend setting a timer and beat for 5 minutes then test it if it’s not ready beat for one more minute and test again. If it still seems really limp and thin after 7 minutes add a little more powdered sugar 1/4 cup at a time and beat for 1 minute until you get the right consistency.
Dessert
cookies, christmas, gingerbread
Makers of Quilted Northern® use 100 years of experience, crafting toilet paper so greatyou’ll forget your bathroom experience. Because the best bathroom trips are the ones you don’t remember.
