Best Gingerbread Cookie Recipes

GINGERBREAD COOKIE MIX IN A JAR

Steps:

• Mix 2 cups of the flour with the baking soda and baking powder. Mix the remaining 1 1/2 cups flour with the ginger, cloves, cinnamon, and allspice. In a 1 quart, wide mouth canning jar, layer the ingredients starting with the flour and baking powder mixture, then the brown sugar, and finally the flour and spice mixture. Pack firmly between layers.
• Attach a card to the jar with the following directions: Gingerbread Cookies 1. Empty contents of jar into a large mixing bowl. Stir to blend together. Mix in 1/2 cup softened butter or margarine, 3/4 cup molasses, and 1 slightly beaten egg. Dough will be very stiff, so you may need to use your hands. Cover, and refrigerate for 1 hour. 2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). 3. Roll dough to 1/4 inch thick on a lightly floured surface. Cut into shapes with a cookie cutter. Place cookies on a lightly greased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. 4. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in preheated oven. Decorate as desired.

GINGERBREAD COOKIE BARS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Spray bottom and sides of 13x9-inch pan with cooking spray.
• In medium bowl, mix Gingerbread Bar ingredients until mixed well. Spread evenly in pan (mixture will be thick). Bake 20 to 23 minutes or until set and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely, about 45 minutes.
• In large bowl, beat cream cheese and 1/3 cup softened butter with electric mixer on medium speed 1 to 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally, until smooth and creamy. Beat in vanilla and powdered sugar until frosting is smooth and spreadable.
• Spread frosting on top of cooled bars; sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon. Refrigerate 1 hour before serving. To serve, cut into 6 rows by 4 rows.

GINGERBREAD PEOPLE HOLIDAY COOKIE PROJECTS: WHITE SNOWFLAKES, DREIDEL TRIOS AND ORNAMENTS

Steps:

• Make the Gingerbread: In a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar and mix. Add the eggs and mix. Add the molasses and vanilla and mix.
• Sift the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves together. Working in batches and mixing after each addition until just combined, add the dry ingredients to the butter-sugar mixture. Shape the dough into a thick disk, wrap in waxed paper, and refrigerate 1 to 2 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Grease 1 or 2 cookie sheets. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out 1/4-inch thick and cut out with desired cookie cutters.
• To make the Royal Icing: In a mixer, blend the confectioners' sugar, milk, and egg white together. Add more sugar to get a pipe-able consistency.
• To make Gingerbread Men and Women: Use gingerbread man and woman cookie cutters and cut out the cookies, re-rolling the scraps as needed. Decorate them with raisins and white chocolate chips for eyes, nose, mouth, and buttons down the front. Bake until firm, 8 to 10 minutes, and let cool on the pan.
• Meanwhile, add some festive colors to your icing with food coloring and lay out colored sugars in small glass bowls with spoons. Using a pastry bag fitted with the smallest plain tip, pipe a few colorful borders or white borders and coat with sanding sugar. When set, add more lines of icing in white.
• To make snowflakes: Use a snowflake-shaped cookie cutter to cut out the cookies, re-rolling the scraps as needed. If you plan to hang the cookies, use a toothpick to make holes in the cookies about 1/8-inch wide, keeping in mind that the holes will shrink as the cookies bake and puff up a bit. Bake until firm, 8 to 10 minutes, and let cool on the pan. Using only white icing and a pastry bag fitted with the smallest plain tip, pipe thin lines from the center of the cookie out to the points, like spokes of a wheel. Connect the spokes with thin lines between them, making a spiderweb effect to give it the look of a snowflake. Let the icing harden before threading the cookies onto wire, string, or yarn for hanging.
• To make ornaments: Use any holiday-themed cookie cutter to cut out the cookies, re-rolling the scraps as needed. If you plan to hang the cookies, use a toothpick to make holes in the cookies about 1/8-inch wide, keeping in mind that the holes will shrink as the cookies bake and puff up a bit. Bake until firm, 8 to 10 minutes, and let cool on the pan. Meanwhile, color some of your icing in festive colors with food coloring, or use colored sugars. Using a pastry bag fitted with the smallest plain tip, pipe a few colorful borders and decorations on the cookies. When set, add more lines of icing in white. Let the icing harden before threading the cookies onto wire, string, or yarn for hanging.
• To make dreidel trios: Use a dreidel cookie cutter and cut out 3 cookies. Lay 1 on a greased sheet pan. Fanning out at an angle, with the handles overlapping at the top, lay 2 more dreidels next to the first one (it will look like a paper-doll effect). The handle is now 3 layers thick; press on it gently to thin it slightly and make it larger. Repeat with the remaining dough, re-rolling the scraps as needed.
• If you plan to hang the cookies, use a toothpick to make a hole in the cookies about 1/8-inch wide, keeping in mind that the hole will shrink as the cookies bake and puff up a bit. Bake until firm, 8 to 10 minutes, and let cool on the pan. Color some of your icing blue with food coloring, or use blue colored sugar and white icing together. Using a pastry bag fitted with a small plain tip, pipe Hebrew letters or stars of David on the cookies' faces. Let the icing harden before threading the cookies onto wire, string, or yarn for hanging.

GINGERBREAD COOKIE CUTOUTS

Steps:

• Cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and molasses. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt and spices; gradually beat into creamed mixture. Divide dough in half; shape each into a disk. Wrap in plastic; refrigerate, covered, until firm enough to roll, 4 hours or overnight., Preheat oven to 350°. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to 1/8-in. thickness. Cut 60 gingerbread men using a floured 3-1/2-in. cookie cutter. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. If desired, cut sixty 1-1/4-in. triangles for hats; attach to gingerbread cutouts, pressing edges to seal. If desired, cut sixty 1/4-in. circles; attach to hats for pompoms. , Bake cookies until edges are firm, 8-10 minutes. Remove to wire racks; cool completely., Tint some of the frosting red; use red frosting for hats and buttons. Cut a small hole in the corner of a pastry bag or heavy-duty resealable plastic bag; insert #3 round pastry tip. Fill bag with white frosting; pipe faces and trim on hands and feet. Using a #16 star pastry tip, pipe decorations on hats.

BECEL ANYTHING GOES COOKIE DOUGH FESTIVE GINGERBREAD COOKIE BARS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line 13 x 9-inch (33 x 23 cm) baking pan with foil or parchment paper leaving 2-inch (5 cm) overhang; spray with cooking spray and set aside. Combine flour, baking soda and salt in medium bowl; set aside.
• Beat Becel Buttery Taste margarine with sugars in large bowl. Beat in eggs and vanilla until blended. Gradually add in flour mixture; beat just until blended. Stir in cinnamon and ginger. Spread into prepared baking pan. Combine chips, cranberries and pistachios in small bowl. Evenly sprinkle over dough; press gently.
• Bake 24 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack 10 minutes. Using foil overhang, lift out of pan and cool completely. Cut into 30 pieces.

WILTON GINGERBREAD COOKIE RECIPE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325.
• Thoroughly mix flour, baking soda, salt and spices.
• Melt shortening in a large saucepan, let it cool slightly.
• Add sugar, molasses, and eggs; mix well.
• Add 4 cups dry ingredients and mix well.
• Turn mixture onto lightly floured surface. Kneed in remaining dry ingredients by hand. Add a little more flour if necessary to make a firm dough.
• Divide dough into 2 equal parts (this recipe makes 2 giant cookies).
• Spray your pan with vegetable pan spray, press dough portion into prepared pan.
• Bake 23-25 minutes, let cool in pan 5 minutes.

GINGERBREAD CUTOUTS (COOKIE EXCHANGE QUANTITY)

Steps:

• In large bowl, stir together brown sugar, shortening, molasses and water. Stir in remaining cookie ingredients. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours.
• Heat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease cookie sheet. On floured surface, roll dough 1/8 inch thick. Cut with floured gingerbread cutter or other favorite shaped cutter. Place about 2 inches apart on cookie sheet.
• Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until no indentation remains when touched (for a softer, chewier cookie, bake 8 to 10 minutes). Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.
• In large bowl, stir together all frosting ingredients until smooth and spreadable. Decorate cookies with frosting.

GINGERBREAD-COOKIE TREES

Steps:

• Put butter and sugar into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy. Mix in egg, then molasses, spices, baking soda, and salt. Reduce speed to low. Gradually mix in flour. Divide dough into quarters; shape into disks. Wrap in plastic. Refrigerate until firm, about 3 hours (up to 2 days).
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Transfer one disk of dough at a time to a lightly floured work surface. Roll out to 1/4 inch thick. Cut out shapes using a set of 11 fluted round cookie cutters in graduated sizes (3/4 inch to 3 1/2 inches). You will use each cutter once for every tree. Using a 1 1/4-inch star cutter, cut out 10 stars. Arrange cookies by size on parchment-lined baking sheets. Refrigerate 20 minutes.
• Bake until firm, about 6 minutes for small cookies and 10 minutes for large. Let cool 5 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire racks, and let cool completely.
• Assemble trees: Put frosting into a pastry bag fitted with a small plain tip (such as Ateco #12). Pipe a dime-size dot of frosting in center of second-largest cookie; sandwich with largest cookie. Repeat in descending pairs with larger cookies on top to make 5 sandwiches. Pipe a scalloped 1/4-inch-thick border of frosting on top of larger cookie of largest sandwich. Top with the second-largest sandwich, larger cookie up, and repeat to make a tree of 5 sandwiches. Top with frosting, then smallest cookie, then more frosting and a star (standing upright). Cookie trees can be refrigerated up to 6 hours (they will soften). Dust with confectioners' sugar before serving.

DOUBLE CHOCOLATE AND GINGERBREAD COOKIE BARS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375°F (350°F for dark or nonstick pans).
• In medium bowl, stir together Chocolate Dough ingredients until soft dough forms. In second medium bowl, stir together Gingerbread Dough ingredients until soft dough forms.
• In bottom of ungreased 13x9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish, spoon heaping spoonfuls of Chocolate Dough 2 inches apart. Repeat with Gingerbread Dough, placing spoonfuls of dough between chocolate dough. Press dough into an even layer.
• Bake 10 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely, about 45 minutes. For bars, cut into 6 rows by 4 rows.

MOLASSES-GINGERBREAD COOKIE DOUGH

Steps:

• Combine brown sugar, molasses, butter, spices, and salt in a medium saucepan over low heat, stirring with a wooden spoon, until sugar is dissolved, about 10 minutes. Stir in milk. Remove from heat, and let cool.
• Pour milk mixture into a mixing bowl; add baking powder and flour. With an electric mixer, and beginning on low speed and increasing to medium, beat until well combined. Divide dough in half; shape into disks. Wrap in plastic, and refrigerate overnight. Dough can be frozen up to 1 month; thaw in the refrigerator before using.

GINGERBREAD COOKIE CUTOUTS

Steps:

• Melt the shortening and butter together in a medium saucepan. Let cool.
• Sift the flour, sugar, ginger, cinnamon, salt and clove into a large bowl. Mix the melted butter into the flour mixture with an electric mixer on medium-low until sandy. Add the corn syrup and vanilla, and mix until evenly incorporated, but still crumbly in texture. Press the dough together by hand and divide into 4 equal portions. Press into disks about 1/2-inch thick. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to overnight.
• Dust the dough and a work surface with flour. Roll 1 piece of the dough out about 1/4-inch thick. Cut into desired shapes. Transfer cut-outs to 2 parchment-lined baking sheets leaving about 2-inches in between each. Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes. Gather up the scraps, re-roll and cut out.
• Position oven racks to the top and bottom thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Bake the gingerbread until a rich tawny brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes and then transfer to a rack to cool completely. Decorate as desired with the Royal Icing. Store at room temperature in an air-tight container for up to 5 days. Repeat with the remaining dough.
• Combine the confectioners' sugar, meringue powder and 3/4 cup water in a large bowl. Mix slowly with an electric mixer on medium-low until stiff enough to form peaks. The icing should be pure white and thick, but not fluffy and bubbly. If the frosting is over beaten, it will get aerated which makes it harder to work with. If this happens, let the frosting sit to settle, and then use a rubber spatula to vigorously beat and smooth out the frosting.
• Add up to 1 tablespoon food coloring and mix with a rubber spatula until the color is uniform. (Adding too much color reduces the sheen of the frosting and can break down the consistency of the frosting over a couple of days.) Store the icing, covered, with plastic wrap on the surface.

GINGERBREAD CHEESECAKE COOKIE CUPS BY JASMINE RECIPE BY TASTY

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream together the butter and brown sugar with an electric hand mixer until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg, molasses, and vanilla, and beat until combined, 2 minutes.
• In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, salt, and baking soda.
• Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, one-third at a time, and mix until just combined. Chill the dough in the refrigerator for 45-60 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Grease a 12-cup muffin tin with nonstick spray.
• Divide the cookie dough into 12 equal portions and roll into balls. Press a dough ball into the bottom of each prepared muffin cup, pressing against the bottom and up the sides. Freeze for 10-15 minutes, until solid.
• Bake the cookie cups for 10-12 minutes, or until baked through. Remove from the oven and let cool completely.
• Meanwhile, make the cheesecake filling: In a medium bowl, whip together the cream cheese, heavy cream, vanilla, powdered sugar, brown sugar, ginger, and cinnamon with an electric hand mixer until smooth, about 5 minutes. Transfer the filling to a piping bag fitted with your tip of choice and refrigerate for about 10 minutes.
• Fill the cookie cups with the cheesecake filling. Garnish with holiday sprinkles and/or a sprinkle of cinnamon and/or white chocolate shavings. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
• Enjoy!

GINGERBREAD COOKIE MIX IN A JAR

Steps:

• 1. Mix 2 cups of the flour with the baking soda and baking powder. Mix the remaining 1 1/2 cups flour with the spices. In a one-quart, wide-mouth canning jar layer the ingredients starting with the flour baking powder mixture, then the brown sugar, and finally the flour and spice mixture.
• 2. Attach a card to the jar with the following instructions: Gingerbread Cookies: Empty contents of jar into a large mixing bowl. Blend together well. Add 1/2 cup softened butter or margarine, 3/4 cup molasses and 1 slightly beaten egg. Mix until completely blended. Dough will be very stiff so you may need to use your hands. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Roll dough to 1/4-inch thick on a lightly floured surface. Cut into shapes with a cookie cutter. Place cookies on a lightly greased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Decorate as desired.

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING FOR GINGERBREAD-COOKIE TREES

Steps:

• Put cream cheese into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium-high speed until smooth. Reduce speed to medium-low, and mix in sugar and vanilla. Raise speed to medium-high, and mix until fluffy, 5 to 7 minutes.

HONEY-GINGERBREAD COOKIE DOUGH

Steps:

• Whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and spices in a medium bowl.
• Beat butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment at medium-high speed until fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in honey and molasses. Reduce speed to low. Gradually add flour mixture, and beat until just combined. Divide dough into 3 portions, and wrap each in plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 1 hour before using.

GINGERBREAD COOKIE COCKTAIL

Steps:

• To make Gingerbread Simple Syrup, mix sugar, water, molasses, gingerroot, cinnamon sticks and cloves in 1-quart saucepan. Heat to boiling over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat; set aside 1 hour to cool. Strain syrup into glass jar; discard spices. Cover jar, and refrigerate until needed. Makes about 1 1/2 cups.
• To prepare cocktail, moisten rim of chilled martini glass with orange wedge. Sprinkle brown sugar onto small plate, and dip moistened rim into the sugar to coat lightly. Fill cocktail shaker with ice. Add 1 ounce of the gingerbread simple syrup, the vodka, half-and-half and coffee liqueur; cover and shake. Strain into martini glass.

HOLIDAY GINGERBREAD COOKIE CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pans). Grease or spray bottoms and sides of two 8-inch round cake pans.
• In large bowl, beat cake mix, water, oil, eggs, ginger and cinnamon with electric mixer on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Divide batter evenly between pans (2 cups each pan). Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to cooling racks. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.
• Heat oven to 375°F (350°F for dark or nonstick cookie sheet). In medium bowl, stir cookie mix, butter, water and egg until soft dough forms. (If dough is too sticky to roll out, cover and refrigerate 15 minutes.)
• Roll dough on lightly floured surface until 1/4-inch thick. Cut with 1-inch gingerbread man cookie cutter; place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 7 to 9 minutes or until edges are set. Cool 1 minute before removing from cookie sheet. Cut and bake remaining dough. Allow cookies to cool completely. Decorate 14 cookies with white and red cookie icing. Reserve remaining cookies for another use.
• Place one cake layer top side down on serving plate. Spread about 1/2 cup frosting on layer; top with second cake layer, top side up. Using metal spatula, frost side and top of cake with thin layer of frosting to make a crumb coat; refrigerate 30 minutes to help set. Remove from refrigerator; frost side and top of cake with second layer of frosting.
• Using photo as a guide, decorate top of cake with shaved almond bark and sides and top of cake with cookies.

GINGERBREAD COOKIE BITES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, beat cookie mix, butter, sugar, egg, flour, water and, if desired, ginger until blended. Refrigerate 30 minutes or until firm., Preheat oven to 350°. Shape dough into 1-in. balls; place in ungreased mini-muffin cups. Press evenly onto bottoms and up the sides of cups. Bake 10-12 minutes or until edges are lightly golden. Cool in pans 2 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool completely., For filling, in a large bowl, beat cream cheese, butter and vanilla until blended. Gradually beat in confectioners' sugar until smooth. Pipe into cookie cups; sprinkle with cinnamon, nutmeg and, if desired, crystallized ginger. Refrigerate in an airtight container.

GIANT GINGERBREAD COOKIE

Steps:

• Make the cookie: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk the flour, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, salt and baking soda in a medium bowl.
• Beat the butter and granulated sugar in a large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the egg until just combined. Mix in the molasses and vanilla. Reduce the speed to medium low and beat in the flour mixture until just combined.
• Turn out the dough onto the baking sheet. With lightly floured hands, press the dough into a 10-inch round, about 1/2 inch thick. Lightly cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Uncover the dough. Bake until the cookie is slightly puffed and golden around the edges, 18 to 20 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes on the pan, then slide the cookie (on the parchment) onto a rack to cool completely.
• Meanwhile, make the icing: Whisk the confectioners' sugar and meringue powder in a large bowl. Add 4 tablespoons water and whisk until the mixture is smooth and stiff peaks form. Add more water, 1 teaspoon at a time, until the icing is thin enough to pipe.
• Transfer the icing to a piping bag with a small star tip. Pipe a snowflake design on the cookie. Sprinkle with granulated sugar and let the icing set, about 30 minutes. Cut the cookie into wedges.

GINGERBREAD CUPCAKES WITH COOKIE CUTOUTS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Sift together flour and spices.
• With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add the molasses, and beat until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in vanilla. Reduce speed to low. Gradually add flour mixture, beating until just combined.
• Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool 10 minutes; turn out cupcakes onto racks and let cool completely. Cupcakes can be stored up to 2 days at room temperature, or frozen up to 3 months, in airtight containers.
• Tint 1/4 cup icing pale pink with gel-paste food color; tint remaining icing pale blue. Transfer tinted icings to pastry bags fitted with small plain tips (#2). Pipe three blue dots on the front of each gingerbread cookie boy; pipe two pink dots on gingerbread girls.
• To finish, use an offset spatula to spread each cupcake with a smooth layer of frosting. Place a gingerbread boy or girl upright on each cupcake before serving.