The holiday season calls for gingerbread cookies! I’m always looking out for the batch of gingerbread cookies at the end of Christmas lunch (and often I’m the one baking them)!
These gingerbread cookies are soft and chewy but hold their shape well. This deliciously spiced dough is perfect for making gingerbread people or other decorated Christmas cookies!
These cookies also stay fresh for at least two weeks in an airtight container so they make the perfect bake-ahead Christmas gifts!
Soft and Chewy Gingerbread Cookies (with a Royal Icing recipe!)
Yield:
24
Prep Time:
20 minutes
Cook Time:
10 minutes
Refrigeration Time:
1 hour
Total Time:
1 hour 30 minutes
The holiday season calls for gingerbread cookies! These cookies are big, soft and chewy with a perfectly spiced dough.
Ingredients
For the Gingerbread Cookies
- 125 g (4.5 oz / ½ cup) unsalted butter, roughly chopped
- ½ cup brown sugar, packed
- ½ cup golden syrup OR light molasses
- 1 tsp vanilla essence OR ½ tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp baking soda / bicarbonate of soda
- 1 egg yolk (keep the egg white for the icing)
- 2 ½ cups plain flour / all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground mixed spice
For the Royal Icing
- 1 ½ cups icing sugar / powdered sugar
- 1 egg white
- 1 tsp lemon juice
Instructions
For the Gingerbread Cookies
- Preheat the oven to 160°C / 320°F (fan/convection) or 180°C / 355°F (standard). Grease and line two large baking trays with baking paper.
- In a medium saucepan, combine chopped butter, golden syrup, brown sugar and vanilla essence. Cook over medium heat, whisking continuously, until the butter has completely melted and the ingredients are well combined.
- Continue to cook the mixture, whisking occasionally, until bubbles begin to form at the very edges of the saucepan. Immediately turn off heat. Add the baking soda and whisk until the mixture is pale and frothy.
- Scrape the mixture into a large mixing bowl. Allow to cool for 15 minutes.
- Whisk in the egg yolk until well combined. Sift over flour, ginger, cinnamon and mixed spice and stir together until a soft dough forms.
- Lay out a large sheet of baking paper (parchment paper) and sprinkle with flour. Turn dough out onto the floured sheet (if dough is too soft to work with, cover and refrigerate for 30-60 minutes). Sprinkle the top of the dough lightly with flour and roll out with a heavy rolling pin to 6 mm (1/4 inch) thick.
- Cut out cookies in desired shapes (making sure they are a similar size so they will bake evenly) and place evenly spaced on the prepared baking trays. Gently push remaining dough back together and repeat rolling and cutting until all the dough is used up.
- Bake for 10 minutes or until very lightly browned around the edges and the centres of the cookies have puffed up. Do not overbake. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
For the Royal Icing
- Sift the icing sugar into a medium bowl.
- In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg white and lemon juice until frothy. Add half of the sifted icing sugar and whisk in until well combined. Continue to whisk in 1 tbsp of icing sugar at a time until the royal icing is very thick (you may not need all of the sugar). If you lift up your whisk, the icing should hold stiff peaks on the end of your whisk and not immediately stream back down into the bowl.
- Fill a piping bag (or zip-loc bag with the corner snipped off) with the royal icing and pipe decorations as desired. The royal icing will set completely firm in 30 minutes.
Notes
Storage
- You can keep the decorated gingerbread cookies in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.
Substitutions & Tips
- Golden syrup: golden syrup is similar to molasses but has a distinct acidic tang and very thick texture. You can substitute golden syrup with the same amount of light molasses or black treacle if necessary. You can also use the same amount of honey, however this will give the cookies a 'lighter' flavour compared to golden syrup.
- What does the egg white do in the Royal Icing? Is it safe? The egg white is an important binding agent which gives the icing it's thickness and allows the icing to set very hard. Make sure to use pasteurised eggs. Keep in mind that the ratio of sugar will preserve the egg white and stabilise it at room temperature. So you can enjoy your gingerbread cookies with peace of mind!
- Why are my cookies hard and tough? If your cookies are tough and crumbly, it most likely means you have overbaked them in the oven. Try reducing cooking time by a couple of minutes. If your cookies are tough, you may have over-worked the dough. Repeatedly re-rolling and stirring the dough will cause the cookies to come out tough. Don't over-stir the dough. When re-rolling, just gently push the dough back together before rolling it out again.
Nutrition Information:
Serving Size: 1 Cookie (No Icing)Amount Per Serving: Calories: 115Total Fat: 4.6gSaturated Fat: 2.7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1.5gCholesterol: 18.9mgSodium: 25.4mgCarbohydrates: 17gFiber: 0.5gSugar: 9.4gProtein: 1.3g
Kristy Joyce says
Love the recipe!
Can I use honey instead of molasses?!
Chloe says
Hi Kristy! You absolute can. I will add that to the notes now 🙂 Also keep in mind the flavour might be a little bit lighter as honey is fairly mild in flavour compared to golden syrup or molasses. Hope you enjoy!