Easy Kid-Approved Gingerbread Cookies

Christmas time is here and so is all those holiday cookies! We love cookies in this house…especially when you can use cookie cutters. I normally go with our sugar cookie recipe, but wanted to go another route this past weekend: gingerbread.

Gingerbread cookies can be difficult for some kids to love on taste alone. Their ‘spicy’ taste is off setting for most. This recipe was perfect for my kids, giving both a soft and not-so-spicy cookie. I would say this gingerbread cookie is like taking a shortbread cookie and mixing it with a gingerbread cookie. Of course my daughter further approved our buttercream frosting on top ?

Another great thing about these cookies is the fact you can freeze them! I made a big batch and froze half of them for closer to Christmas. These cookies freeze well: cook, cool and freeze for up to 6 weeks. Make sure to freeze the cookies prior to frosting them. The cookie dough can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

I hope you all enjoy this recipe as much as we did! Merry Christmas too all!

Easy Kid-Approved Gingerbread Cookies

These kid approved gingerbread cookies are both soft and mild as well as perfect for cookie cutter. This recipe is a great addition to those holiday cookies.

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 9 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 19 minutes mins

Cuisine Dessert

Servings 2 Dozen

Ingredients

  

Baking and Spices

• 3 cups All-Purpose Flour
• 1 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
• 1 tsp Clovers, ground
• 2 tsp Cinnamon, ground
• 2 tsp Ginger, ground
• 3/4 cup White sugar
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1/4 cup Light Brown Sugar
• 1 tsp Vanilla extract

Condiments

• 1/4 cup Dark Molasses
• 2 tsp White Vinegar

Dairy/Refridgerated

• 1 Egg
• 1 cup Butter, unsalted Room Temperature

Instructions

 

• Cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes
  
• While butter and sugars are being creamed, sift all the dry ingredients in a large bowl; I have found that a whisk does this just nicely if a sifter is not within reach
  
• Add egg, vanilla, white vinegar, and molasses to creamed butter/sugars
• Slowly mix in dry ingredients, pouring in a small amount at a time.
  
• Once the dough is formed, half it and place each half in plastic wrap or inside a ziploc bag. Place in refrigerator and allow to chill for at least 1 hour. At this point, you could leave the dough in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
  
• While dough is chilling, preheat oven to 350.
• After chilling time, roll out the dough, 1/2" thick, onto a lightly floured surface. Do this in small batches. We used a small gingerbread cookie cutter perfect for small hands to cut all our gingerbread men out. Place the cut out cookies on to a parchment paper lined cookie sheet.
  
• Bake at 350 for 9-11 minutes. As soon as I notice the edges of the cookie looking a tad bit darker (I know, harder to tell with darker colored cookies), I know they are done!
• Continue do this, small batches at a time-leaving the remainder dough in the refrigerator. This is a key step in getting those perfect cookie cutter cookies!
  
• Allow the cookies to cool for at least 10 minutes before icing/decorating. At this step, once cookies have completely cooled, you can freeze any extra cookies that you are not wanting to decorate just yet. Place these non-decorated cookies in a freezer ziploc bag and freeze for up to 6 weeks!
  

Notes

Make sure to keep dough chilled in between cookie cutting...this gives to more perfect cookie cutter cookies. I have even placed my cookie sheet into the fridge with cut-out cookie dough to allow for some extra chilling if I feel they have gotten to soft while waiting for all the other cookies to be cut: prevents the spreading of those cookies!

If freezing the cooked cookies, make sure they are not decorated!

If you want a more 'spicy' cookie, use cooking dark molasses rather than basic dark molasses.