Recipe from Linda Merinoff
Adapted by Dena Kleiman
- Total Time
- 50 minutes, plus 8 hours chilling time.
- Rating
- 4(284)
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:24 cookies
- 2½teaspoons ground ginger
- 1¼teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½teaspoon ground cardamom
- ½teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼teaspoon ground cloves
- ½teaspoon baking soda
- ¼teaspoon salt
- 8tablespoons unsalted butter
- ¾cup molasses
- ½cup sugar
- 2tablespoons water
- 1large egg
- 3cups all-purpose flour, sifted
- Butter or margarine for greasing baking sheets
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (24 servings)
146 calories; 5 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 1 gram monounsaturated fat; 0 grams polyunsaturated fat; 24 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 12 grams sugars; 2 grams protein; 58 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
Mix together the ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, cloves, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
Step
2
Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Remove from heat and stir in the molasses and sugar. Beat in the spice mixture and blend completely. Blend in the water, then the egg.
Step
3
Place the flour in a large bowl and make a large well in the center. Pour the butter mixture into the well. Stir about one quarter of the flour, the part closest to the center, into the butter mixture. Gradually stir in the rest of the remaining flour. When all the flour has been incorporated, turn the dough out onto a board and knead just until smooth. Roll the dough into a ball, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate overnight, or up to two weeks.
Step
4
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease two baking sheets.
Step
5
Roll out some of the dough until it is ⅛-inch thick, keeping the rest well wrapped in plastic. Cut into men, candy canes, trees or other shapes with a 5-inch cookie cutter. Continue rolling and cutting the rest of the dough.
Step
6
Bake the cookies on the sheets for 12 minutes. Remove from the oven, gently lift off the cookies with a spatula and cool them on a rack.
Ratings
4
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Cooking Notes
A. Fuller
Wonderful recipe. I did not roll out and cut; I just rolled into balls and pressed them a bit on the tray, and sprinkled sugar on top. I also did not melt the butter but softened it so it stirred in easily.
Robb Montgomery
Metric conversions:113 grams of butter360 grams of flour (durum whole wheat flour is tasty!)100 grams of sugar255 grams of MolassesBake at 176 grad.
Heather
I found this dough to be very difficult to work with. The very loose batter that resulted from mixing was too liquid-y to knead. Covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated overnight. Tried rolling out a portion the next morning, but by the time I got it to ~1/8” thick, it had completely adhered to the parchment paper. Managed to get 3 reasonable-looking gingerbread men cut, 6 that were in various stages of being maimed, and gave up on cutting the rest, instead rolling into balls and baking.
T. Roland
They came out perfectly. Fun & Delicious recipe.
Amanda
This is a really nice recipe. I made the dough, and yes it was sticky, so I didn’t do a lot of kneading. Then wrapped it and let sit overnight in the fridge. I was baking with my 2 and 5 year olds, and it was easy enough even with their assistance. I needed to flour my counter and my rolling pin, and got one rollout, then two re-rolls before the dough got too warm and sticky to work with. I baked them for 10 minutes and they were tasty, a bit chewy and very popular with the kids!
branka
8 min of baking is just enoughi like cookies less sweet so used only 1/2 of the recommended sugar - not a good idea as cookies turned a bit bitter..consistency is good - like the chewiness ..would make them again
erin harrington
I only cooked for 8 minutes. Perfect.
Robb Montgomery
Metric conversions:113 grams of butter360 grams of flour (durum whole wheat flour is tasty!)100 grams of sugar255 grams of MolassesBake at 176 grad.
Sarah
This is such a delicious recipe - I did the addition of the butter mixture to the flour and subsequent kneading in the stand mixer, and I am glad, because it would have been wet to knead by hand. It set up beautifully in the fridge overnight. I baked on parchment paper and used a vanilla glaze to decorate.
C
Melting the butter resulted in a batter (not cookie dough texture) that was not kneadable by hand - I used a wooden spoon to 'knead' it. (I have kneaded extremely soft doughs by hand like stollen but that was more butter than sugar.) I put ginger batter in a closed container (imagining losing some to the plastic wrap) in the frig overnight. As the butter cooled the batter stiffened. Will bake tomorrow. Also, trying not to use plastic wrap anymore - may go the way of containers or beeswax covers.
C
Replying to myself. Wish I'd put them in the freezer as already suggested here-cutting with cookie cutters was impossible so spooned out dough, to prevent sticking to my hand I lightly rolled a ball and lightly but firmly pressed the cookies into a round shape. They are delicious. Would try again.
ry
A tasty soft gingerbread cookie recipe. I did not refrigerate over night and instead put in the freezer for 45 minutes then in the fridge for 45 and the cookies cut ok. I think letting them sit over night would have let the spice flavor develop more, though. As it was, the cookies were good but the spice was mild, more at the finish of a bite.
Alicia
A tasty soft gingerbread cookie recipe. I did not refrigerate over night and instead put in the freezer for 45 minutes then in the fridge for 45 and the cookies cut ok. I think letting them sit over night would have let the spice flavor develop more, though. As it was, the cookies were good but the spice was mild, more at the finish of a bite. Planning to try doing them properly over night for comparison!
A. Fuller
Wonderful recipe. I did not roll out and cut; I just rolled into balls and pressed them a bit on the tray, and sprinkled sugar on top. I also did not melt the butter but softened it so it stirred in easily.
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