Oh, the smell of gingerbread cookies baking in the oven at Christmas time! If you love it as much as I do you are going to love this recipe for Gingerbread cutout cookies. This recipe for the classic Christmas cookies is perfect for baking gingerbread men to leave out for Santa Christmas Eve. Also great with a cup homemade hot chocolate or perhaps this simple to make peppermint mocha — both topped with whipped cream of course!
My gingerbread cutout cookies are my husband’s favorite cookie, and because of that, I make them as reindeer at Christmas time, hearts at Valentines, and bunnies at Easter time.
Why reindeer? Well the first Christmas we were married I tried making them as gingerbread men, but the gingerbread man cookie cutter I owned had such narrow arms I couldn’t seem to make them without the arms falling off. I had this reindeer cookie cutter and it seemed to stay in one piece so they sort of became a tradition.
Sometimes if I am making them for guests I will stick a red M&M on the nose with a bit of icing, making them Rudolph the red nose reindeer cookies, but my husband doesn’t like them as much that way so I don’t do that often.
The recipe for these cookies is one my family has used since I was little. We never rolled it out though instead, we made it into giant teddy bears with raisin eyes. Very yummy but not practical to feed a man who eats half a dozen of these in one sitting.
This recipe is a molasses based gingerbread recipe which I think gives them a rich flavor. I love using Wholesome Sweeteners Organic Molasses which is unsulphured to give it a bolder flavor, but I can’t always find it in the grocery stores near me so I often use Grandma’s Robust unsulphured instead.
A Few Tips For Making Gingerbread Cut Out Cookies
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- Let the butter, molasses and butter and sugar mixture completely cool before mixing it with the dry ingredients
- Thickly rolled cookies are chewier. Thinly rolled cookies are crisper.
- Always chill the dough at least one hour before rolling it out.
- Only roll out a few cookies worth of dough at one time. Cookie dough rolled out too many times can lead to hard cookies.
- Always use unbleached flour, real butter and real vanilla for best results.
- Rub flour on your rolling pin before you roll out your dough. This will prevent it from sticking.
- Cover your baking cooling rack with wax paper first so that your cookies don’t end up with wire marks on the back of them.
A Few More Christmas Recipes You Are Going To Want To Check Out …
- No-Bake Christmas: 5 Super Simple Recipes That Don’t Require You To Turn On Your Oven
- Peppermint Candy Ice-Cream: No Machine Needed
- Secrets For Baking Fabulous Sugar Cookies
Gingerbread Cutout Cookies: A Classic Christmas Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter
- 2/3 cups brown sugar
- 2/3 cup molasses
- 4 cups flour
- 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp ginger
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp ground cloves
Instructions
- In a saucepan place butter, brown sugar and molasses. Place on stovetop over medium heat. Stir until melted and blended well. (stir frequently this isn't the kind of thing you can leave simmering on the stove it goes fairly fast)
- Take off heat and let the mixture cool. This takes at least an hour.
- Mix together dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
- Combine dry and wet ingredients and then add in 1 beaten egg and 1 1/2 tsp vanilla. Mix well. If it seems dry add an additional egg.
- Gather the dough into a big ball and then cover in saran wrap and place in the fridge for 2 hours.
- Preheat oven to 350 F
- While oven is heating roll out to 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch thick and cut out shapes with cookie cutters. Place lightly greased cookie sheets.
- Place in oven and bake for 8 to 12 minutes (depends on how thick you rolled them out. The thicker the cookie the longer it takes to bake)
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Have you ever froze these? Would you freeze the raw dough or cooked cookies? I need to make a large quantity for our homeschool co–op
I have never tried to freeze them. I would think though that the dough might change in consistency when thawed so I would try freezing them already cooked.