Gingerbread Cookies with Vanilla Frosting and Festive Decorations Recipe
These classic Gingerbread Cookies feature a soft and spicy dough flavored with ginger, cinnamon, and cloves, sweetened with molasses and brown sugar. Perfectly rolled, cut, and baked to golden edges, then decorated with festive vanilla frosting tinted in red and green for a delightful holiday treat.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 8-10 minutes per batch
- Total Time: 4 hours 25 minutes to overnight (including chilling)
- Yield: Approximately 36 cookies 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
Scale
Dough Ingredients
- 3/4 cup butter, softened
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 3/4 cup molasses
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1–1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1–1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Frosting Ingredients
- Vanilla frosting of your choice
- Red paste food coloring
- Green paste food coloring
Instructions
- Cream Butter and Sugar: In a large bowl, cream the softened butter and packed brown sugar together using an electric mixer on medium speed until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 5 to 7 minutes.
- Add Egg and Molasses: Beat in the large room temperature egg, then add the molasses. Mix until well combined and the mixture is smooth.
- Combine Dry Ingredients: In a separate bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, ground ginger, baking soda, ground cinnamon, ground cloves, and salt to evenly distribute the spices and leavening.
- Incorporate Dry Ingredients: Gradually add the dry ingredients into the creamed butter mixture. Mix well until a dough forms. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight, until it is firm and easy to handle.
- Preheat Oven and Prepare Dough: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). On a lightly floured surface, roll the chilled dough out to about 1/8-inch thickness.
- Cut Cookies: Use floured 2-1/2-inch cookie cutters to cut out shapes from the dough. Place the cut cookies about 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheets to allow space for spreading.
- Bake Cookies: Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for 8 to 10 minutes or until the edges are firm but not darkened.
- Cool Cookies: Remove the baking sheets from the oven and transfer the cookies to wire racks. Allow them to cool completely before decorating.
- Tint Frosting and Decorate: Divide your vanilla frosting into three portions. Tint one portion red and another green using paste food coloring, leaving the remaining portion plain. Use the colored frostings to decorate the cooled gingerbread cookies as desired.
Notes
- Chilling the dough is essential to prevent spreading and to develop flavor; do not skip this step.
- Use room temperature eggs to achieve better mixing and smooth batter.
- For best results, use fresh spices to maximize the gingerbread flavor.
- Store baked cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week.
- Leftover frosting can be refrigerated and used within a week; bring to room temperature before frosting again.
Keywords: gingerbread cookies, holiday cookies, Christmas cookies, spiced cookies, molasses cookies
