Gingerbread Cutout Cookies

Everyone has that one flavor that symbolizes the holidays for them... for some, it's eggnog, for others, it's peppermint. But for me, it's gingerbread! And what cookies could possibly look more festive and cute than gingerbread?! These gingerbread cutout cookies are soft, chewy, and packed with so much gingerbread flavor! The dough comes together in no time, and you can cut whatever shapes you want out of the chilled dough! They're perfect for holiday parties, giftable cookie boxes, and are suuuper good with your cup of coffee in the morning!

INGREDIENTS FOR GINGERBREAD CUTOUT COOKIES

Nothing crazy is needed for these cookies. They're made with a mix of granulated and brown sugar, and have a great flavor and chew from the molasses. Here is a list of everything you'll need to whip up a batch of these gingerbread cookies! 

• All-purpose flour

• Baking soda

• Salt

• Spices

• Cornstarch

• Brown sugar + granulated sugar

• Unsalted butter

• Egg

• Molasses

• Vanilla extract

DOES THIS COOKIE DOUGH NEED TO BE CHILLED?

Yes! I know that chilling cookie dough can be super annoying, especially when you want cookies immmmediately. But these cookies do require at least 2 hours of chill time in the fridge. If you skip the chill time, they will not hold their shape and will spreading more than you want. So be sure to chill the dough!

ICING FINISHED GINGERBREAD CUTOUT COOKIES

You definitely do not need to ice these cookies-- you can eat the freshly baked and warm out of the oven, and store leftovers as is. If you want to get creative, you can frost or ice the cooled gingerbread cutout cookies. 

I don't have an official recipe for cookie icing-- I used a simple mixture of milk, powdered sugar and vanilla until i got the consistency I liked for these ones here. You can find and use any icing recipe that you like, or even use a tube of colored frosting from the store if you want to add some color. 

TIPS FOR THE BEST GINGERBREAD CUTOUT COOKIES

Here are just a few simple tip and tricks to insure you get the best gingerbread cutout cookies every single time!

• Don't skimp on the spices. I've said it before, and I'll say it again... no one likes bland gingerbread! You can play around with measurements of different spices, but I do recommend using similar amounts called for in this recipe to get the full flavor of gingerbread. 

• Make sure your eggs and butter are room temperature. Although the dough for these cookies is chilled, you want to be sure that the butter is soft and that the eggs are room temp. This will help make sure they're both totally incorporated into your cookie dough. 

• Be sure you chill your dough long enough. For these cookies to work, you really need your dough to be nice and chilled. This will help the cookies maintain their shape when baking. Like listed in the recipe instructions, I recommend chilling the rolled out dough in the fridge for at least 2 hours before cutting out and baking the cookies. 

•Roll your dough a little too thick? Just bake longer! It can be a little tricky to roll out to dough to an exact thickness. If you start cutting out your cookies and notice they're slightly thicker than ¼ inch, just bake your cookies for an extra minute or two, and you should be good to go!

Gingerbread Cutout Cookies

Recipe by Chrissy

Servings

21-23

cookies

Prep time

2

hours 

20

minutes

Cooking time

9

minutes

Total time

2

hours 

29

minutes

Ingredients

• 3 ⅓ cup all-purpose flour + about 2 tablespoons for rolling the dough

• ¾ teaspoon baking soda

• ¾ teaspoon salt

• 1 tablespoon cornstarch

• 1 tablespoon cinnamon

• 1 tablespoon ginger

• 1 ¼ teaspoon nutmeg

• ½ teaspoon clove
  

• ¾ cup unsalted butter, softened

• ½ cup light brown sugar, packed

• ¼ cup granulated sugar

• ½ cup molasses

• 1 egg, room temperature

• 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions

• Using a hand or stand mixer, cream together the softened butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar. Cream until fluffy- about 1-2 minutes. Next, add in the molasses, egg, and vanilla extract. Mix until everything is combined.
• Add in the flour, baking soda, salt, spices, and cornstarch. Mix again until dough forms and there are no more floury streaks.
• Turn the cookie dough out onto a floured piece of parchment paper. Use your hands to gently bring the dough together into a ball. Dust the top of the dough ball with more flour.
• Use a rolling pin to roll dough to about ¼" thick. Put parchment paper with the rolled out dough onto a baking sheet and pop into the fridge to chill for at least 2 hours.
• Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper, and set aside. Once the oven is almost preheated, take chilled dough out of the refrigerator. Using cookie cutters of your choice, cut out shapes and place them a few inches apart on the prepared baking sheet.
• Bake cookies for 9-10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let them cool on the pan for about 5 minutes. They will be a little soft when they come out, but will firm up as they cool. Transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
• Once cool, you can eat the cookies as is, or decorate them with your favorite icing. Enjoy!