Frosted Gingerbread Cookie Recipe – Baker by Nature

Kick begin your vacation baking with this EASY gingerbread cookie recipe! Made with brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and molasses, these gentle and fluffy cookies are bursting with taste. Topped with cream cheese frosting and gingerbread sprinkles, they’re good for Christmas cookie season!

Nothing will get me within the vacation spirit fairly like baking a batch of my well-known gingerbread cookies! Their scent alone is completely intoxicating… and fills my dwelling with the candy odor of Christmas. And as a die-hard ginger lover, their style is to-die-for, they’re simply the proper mixture of candy and spicy! 

Not like gingerbread males which are crispy and lined in royal icing. These gingerbread cookies are gentle, chewy, and lined in cream cheese frosting. I additionally love that I don’t have to fret about having cutters to chop them or hoping they maintain their form when baking. And so they’re my most requested Christmas cookie from family and friends… they usually at all times will get RAVE opinions.

These cookies additionally freeze nice as soon as baked, so you’ll be able to bake an enormous batch and pop them within the freezer for as much as 2 months. Then thaw at room temperature and make the icing recipe. Then you’ll be able to simply frost them and viola, they’re able to serve. Future you’ll really feel so blissful to have these cookies in your freezer able to share… or devour.

Gingerbread Cookie Recipe: The Secret Components 

• Flour: This recipe has ONLY been examined with all-purpose flour. I don’t counsel subbing nut flours, spelt flour, or wheat flout. A gluten free 1-1 flour may go, in case you’re up for experimenting.
• Spices: Floor ginger, cinnamon, and cloves are our spices! You may improve them for a extra boldly spiced cookie or lower the quantity referred to as for a extra gentle taste! 
• Baking Soda: Our leavening agent that can assist the cookies each unfold and barely puff up within the oven. Be certain your baking soda is recent and never expired. And don’t substitute this ingredient with baking powder. 
• Salt: You’ll add a pinch of salt to the cookie dough to assist steadiness out the sweetness and improve the flavors. I like utilizing advantageous sea salt for my baking, however use what you will have available.
• Butter: I at all times favor baking with unsalted butter, however salted butter will work in a pinch. I’d counsel you scale back the salt referred to as for within the recipe by 1/2. Be certain to melt your butter to room temperature earlier than baking.
• Sugars: Granulated sugar and lightweight brown sugar add construction, sweetness, and moisture. You’ll use confectioners’ sugar within the cream cheese icing recipe.
• Vanilla Extract: Provides signature wealthy taste and enhances the opposite flavors within the recipe. All the time use actual vanilla extract and never imitation vanilla which tastes like chemical substances. 
• Eggs: Use giant eggs and convey them to room temperature earlier than baking. I don’t counsel baking this recipe with out eggs and don’t have an egg substitute to supply. 
• Molasses: For the most effective taste, you should definitely use quite a lot of gentle molasses, not blackstrap!
• Cream Cheese: Full-fat block-style cream cheese works finest. However a reduced-fat selection will work. I don’t counsel utilizing whipped cream cheese. Let it to come back to room temperature earlier than utilizing.
• Lemon: My “secret ingredient” is lemon. I take advantage of lemon juice and lemon zest. It provides a pop of vivid taste to the cream cheese icing recipe! However recent orange zest might additionally work, it might simply barely change the flavour profile.
• Gingerbread Man Sprinkles: BECAUSE THEY’RE SO DARN CUTE!!! These are elective, but when you will discover them, I extremely suggest utilizing them! They don’t add a ton of taste to the gingerbread cookie recipe. However they do add a ton of cuteness and are an important dialog starter.

You’ll additionally want an electrical mixer and parchment paper lined baking sheets. Plus, gingerbread sprinkles to make your gingerbread cookies look cute and similar to mine. 

Let’s Bake Gingerbread Cookies

1. Make the Cookie Dough: In a big bowl whisk collectively the flour, baking soda, spices, and salt. With an electrical mixer bear the butter, sugars, and vanilla till gentle and fluffy. Add the eggs and molasses and beat till the moist elements are mixed. Slowly add dry elements, beating simply till mixed.
2. Chill the Cookie Dough: Cowl the blending bowl with plastic wrap and pop it within the fridge for no less than 2 hours. Should you skip chilling the cookie dough, the cookies gained’t maintain their form when baked. Additionally they gained’t be as chewy and flavorsome so don’t skip this step. 
3. Baking Prep: half-hour earlier than baking, preheat your oven to 350 levels (F). Line two giant baking sheets with parchment paper.
4. Bake the Cookies: Roll the dough into 2″ balls and them organize on the parchment lined baking sheets. Area them about 2 inches aside for spreading! Bake for 9-10 minutes, or till puffed and flippantly golden. 
5. Cool the Cookies: It is a 2 half course of! Enable the gingerbread cookies to chill for a couple of minutes on the baking sheet. Then switch them to a wire rack to chill utterly. As soon as cooled utterly, prime every gingerbread cookie with a swirl of cream cheese frosting after which embellish with sprinkles

These gingerbread cookies are so tasty which you could depart them unfrosted. However why would you wish to? Fluffy cream cheese frosting and sprinkles make every thing higher!

How Can I Make These Gingerbread Cookies in Advance?

1. Make the cookie dough as directed. Chill the dough and roll the dough into balls. Then place the balls on a parchment lined baking sheet and freeze till stable. Switch the cookie dough balls into the freezer for as much as 2 months, and bake when wanted! 
2. Make the cookie dough, chill, then bake as directed. Enable the cookie to chill utterly, then switch them to a freezer-safe bag and freeze for as much as 2 months. Thaw when wanted, then eat plain or cowl with frosting.

Be aware: Should you bake the cookie dough from the freezer, you’ll wish to let it thaw at room temperature for 20 minutes. Or within the fridge for as much as 24 hours. You might also want so as to add a couple of further minutes onto the bake time because the cookie dough is beginning off so chilly. 

So go on and spoil your self with a batch of those frosted gingerbread cookies! We love to ask neighbors over and serve them with good espresso, tea, or sizzling chocolate. However they’re equally scrumptious with a tipple of amaretto or candy wine.