Super Simple Cut-Out Gingerbread Cookies

This is my favorite gingerbread recipe, partially because it’s the same one I’ve been making since I started baking on my own and partially because it’s just a darn good gingerbread recipe. It comes together easily, rolls out like a dream and tastes good, with just the right amount of ginger and sweetness. It’s also not super hard or crunchy, as long as you take it out of the oven at the right time.

I’ve made a lot of gingerbread recipes but this is one I keep coming back to over and over again. I actually don’t know where the original recipe is from. It came to me by way of my sister-in-law who had a photocopy of a photocopy of a gingerbread recipe from a book. I’ve tweaked it since that original – adding a bit more ginger for even more of a ginger snap flavor as well as specifying fancy molasses instead of blackstrap. Both will work and there won’t be much of a difference in flavor, but the fancy molasses will give you a lighter color cookie, which makes it easier to tell when it’s the right time for the gingerbread to come out of the oven.

These cookies taste amazing right out of the oven by the way – warm and soft and full of spice. After they cool, they are sturdy enough to hold their shape for decorating but also have a delightful soft bite. The most important thing, if you’re not a fan of crunchy gingerbread is taking it out when it looks puffy and just brown at the edges, just slightly under baked. This gingerbread is definitely eating gingerbread so I hope you give it a go. Rolling out and baking gingerbread is such a cozy Christmas eve tradition!

Here are a couple of tips:

If you’re wondering if there’s a difference between fancy and blackstrap molasses, there is! In this case, you want the fancy stuff which gives you a lighter, slightly sweeter cookie. Blackstrap will work too but it is darker and has a more robust molasses flavor.

If you’re doing cutout cookies and you want the cookies to hold their shape, be sure to throughly chill them and bake them on cold baking sheets. This recipe has a tendency to get puffy and you might loose some of those crisp edges if you bake without chilling. I sometimes even put the cookies, cut out, on the baking sheet, in the freezer. Works like a charm.

If you want to decorate your cookies, make sure they’re completely cool otherwise the frosting will run. Also, if you’re particular about your frosting not having dents in it, it’s best to let it dry overnight. If you’re eating the cookies immediately, none of this matters of course.

That’s it! I hope everyone is having a warm and cozy holiday season full of food and family and friends. Wishing everyone the best!

milk and cookies,
xoxo steph

PS – Pro tip: if you are looking to make a cookie box, like all those awesome cookie boxes you’ve been seeing on instagram, but you don’t have the time to bake a million cookies, you can bake one, buy the rest, and arrange everything all pretty in a tin!

PPS – How beautiful is that gorgeous blue baking sheet from Great Jones? I love it so much!!