CHRISTMAS IS THIS WEEK! i am super excited / sad it is going to be over in literally the blink of an eye. then boom! we have to pretend we are all about eating healthy & working out & living off salads.. pft! don't worry, i'm already working on a rich chocolate cake for the new year. now back to christmas! if there is one important person we can't forget about this year, that person is SANTA! so today i'm leaving you with the perfect frosted gingerbread cookie recipe to put out for old st. nick, complete with a tall, cold glass of milk! i have made several gingerbread cookie recipes in my baking days & found a lot of them to be too molasses tasting / too spicy. i know some people are into that, so i made two separate doughs here, one with a rich molasses flavour & one with a more subtle taste. while i prefer the lighter version, i will leave it up to you & santa to decide! xo
ingredients
for the light cookies
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 1/3 cup molasses
- 1 egg
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3 cups all purpose flour
for the dark cookies
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup molasses
- 1 egg
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3 cups all purpose flour
for the frosting
- 2 cups icing sugar
- 1 tablespoon melted butter
- 1 teaspoon whole milk, plus more
directions
- in the bowl of a standmixer with the paddle attachment, cream butter & sugar.
- add molasses & egg until light and fluffy.
- in a separate mixing bowl sift baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, salt & flour. add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. mix until the dough comes together.
- turn out onto a floured surface & shape into a disk. wrap in plastic wrap & refrigerate for a minimum of two hours.
- roll out dough to approximately a 1/4 inch thick. cut into desired shapes.
- bake at 350 degrees until the gingerbread begin to puff & the edges very slightly brown. let cool before frosting.
- while the gingerbread cool, make the frosting. add all ingredients into a bowl & mix until the desired consistency is formed. the final result should resemble melted white chocolate. if frosting looks runny, add more icing sugar, if frosting looks too thick, add more milk. pipe as desired using a ziplock bag or frosting tip!
