(Iced) Gingerbread Cookies

Jeff the Chef

A holiday recipe for making delicious gingerbread cookies studded with crystalized ginger. Icing and orange flavor optional.

(Iced) Gingerbread Cookies
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(Iced) Gingerbread Cookies

Recipe by Make It Like a Man!Course: DessertCuisine: German
Makes

36

3-inch diameter cookies
Oven Temp

350°F

Baking Time

14

minutes
Cool on Sheet

10

minutes

Ingredients

  • 11.5 oz. (2¼ cups) AP flour

  • 1.4 oz. (1/4 cup) whole wheat flour

  • 2½ tsp baking soda

  • 1/2 tsp salt

  • 2½ tsp ginger

  • 2 tsp cinnamon

  • 1/2 tsp pepper

  • 1/2 tsp clove

  • 1/2 tsp allspice

  • 4 oz. (8 Tbs, or 1 stick) salted butter, room temperature

  • 3.5 oz. (1/2 cup) granulated sugar, plus more for rolling

  • 4 oz. (1/2 cup) brown sugar

  • 1 large egg, room temperature

  • 5 oz. (1/2 cup) unsulfered molasses

  • 2 tsp vanilla

  • 1.75 oz. (1/2 cup) chopped crystalized ginger

  • 0.75 oz. (1/4 cup) minced orange peel (optional)

  • 3.5 oz. (¾ cups) powdered sugar (optional)

  • 1.75 oz. (3½ Tbs) heavy cream (optional)

  • Zest of 1/2 orange (optional)

Directions

  • Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with Silpats. Set aside.
  • Whisk flours, baking soda, salt, and spices until well combined. Set aside.
  • In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and both sugars until light and fluffy, 4 minutes on med-high speed (setting 6 out of 9). Scrape down the side of the bowl. Stir in the egg just until well blended, 30 seconds on lowest speed. Stir in the molasses and vanilla just until well blended, 15 seconds on lowest speed. In a small bowl, add 1 heaping Tbs of the flour mixture to the crystalized ginger (and orange peel), and rub it in with your fingers so that none of the ginger pieces are sticking together. Stir half of the remaining flour mixture into the butter mixture just until incorporated, 15 seconds on lowest speed. Stir in the crystalized ginger mixture just until incorporated, 10 seconds on lowest speed. Finally, add the remaining flour mixture until everything is well mixed, 30 seconds on lowest speed.
  • Pour some granualted sugar (perhaps 1/3 cup) into a shallow bowl. Use a small (0.75-1 oz.) disher scoop to measure out portions of dough. Eject each scoop directly into the sugar. Roll the dough in the sugar as you shape it into a ball. Place on prepared sheet, 12 dough balls per 12″x16″ sheet. After every (other) sheet, clean the disher with warm water and dry it.
  • Bake for 14 minutes. The cookies will be puffed up when you remove them from the oven, but they’ll flatten and become much more attractive as they cool. Cool for 10 minutes on the sheet, then transfer to cool fully on a rack.
  • (Beat the powdered sugar, cream, (and zest) on med-high speed (setting 6) until well blended, 30 seconds or more. Scrape down the side of the bowl. Turn each cookie face down and gently lay it into the icing. Wait five seconds. Give a slight twist as you gently pull the cookie straight up out of the icing. Place the cookies on a rack to let the icing set, 15 minutes. If you intend to stack them (for instance, to store them), let the icing set up for at least 4 hours, or freeze the cookies in single layers, in gallon-sized Ziplocs.)

Notes

  • Substitutions: 6.2 oz. (1¼ cups) cake + 5.3 oz. (1 cup) bread flour for the AP, 3 eggs whites for the whole egg
"(Iced) Gingerbread Cookies," from Make It Like a Man!

Store fully cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. Or freeze and defrost later: the crunch is slightly diminished, but the overall effect is still bakery-quality.

Intro

Finally, gingerbread cookies that I’m happy about. Gingery and delicious, with a coy, aromatic spice. A subtly crunchy exterior gives way to a dense and chewy interior. They don’t need icing. The icing makes them seem luscious and indulgent, though. The optional orange peel in the cookie, plus the optional zest in the icing, will seem like it has had no effect when the cookies are fresh. The next day, though, the orange flavor comes through beautifully. I like the cookies with and without the icing, with and without the orange, equally.

Social Learning: tips and tricks

I measure my ingredients with a scale. For this recipe’s dry ingredients, I measure them into a lightweight plastic container, taring the weight in between ingredients. When I’m done, I place a lid on the container and shake the ingredients until blended, which takes only a few seconds.

When you use an electric mixer, it’s wise to always turn it on to its lowest setting and then work your way into the desired setting. Otherwise, you’re liable to spew ingredients all over the kitchen. I wouldn’t recommend a hand-held for this job because the finished dough is pretty stiff.

Let me just tell you that I do not like molasses. That may come as a big surprise when you put it side by side with the amount that I’ve recommended for this recipe, but you have to trust me – it’s perfect for these cookies.

Decrease baking time by one minute, and the crunchy layer becomes micro-thin. Increase baking time by one minute, and the crunch becomes much more pronounced.

If you don’t have any crystalized ginger … then we can’t be friends. Wait, that’s not where I was planning to go with that sentence. If you don’t have crystalized ginger, I’d say it’s a bit of a tossup: should you go out to fetch some? Or should you make the cookies without it? The crystalized ginger isn’t as noticeable in the cookie as a raisin would be in an oatmeal cookie, but it does amp up the ginger flavor, and it definitely contributes to chewiness. I’d lean in the direction of putting on my pants and going to the store to get some. Crystalized ginger can be hard to find. I often find it at Whole Foods if it’s hard to find in my usual haunts. It’s pretty fun to make, though, if you feel like giving it a whirl.

Outro

If you want something sweet that goes nicely with a latte – or even better, dunked into a latte – look no further. These cookies are easy to make, even easier to eat, and they look marvelous. There’s something about those gingerbread spices that partner up with coffee in the best way!

"(Iced) Gingerbread Cookies," from Make It Like a Man!
(Iced) Gingerbread Cookies

Credit for images on this page: Make It Like a Man! unless otherwise credited. This content was not solicited by anyone, nor was it written in exchange for anything. References: David Lebovitz, Martha, Sweet Obsession. Thank you, Kesor. Make It Like a Man! is ranked by Feedspot as #15 in the Top 30 Men’s Cooking Blogs.

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48 thoughts on “(Iced) Gingerbread Cookies”

    • Thanks, Ben! I always look forward to gingerbread season, too! It almost makes the cold weather worth it.

      Reply

  5. Your seasoning blend is so perfect for these cookies… and I absolutely love the icing and orange zest. These add the perfect finishing touch. That was also a genius hack for combining the dry ingredients!!

    Reply

    • Oh, thank you, Heidi! I really want to say that I prefer the cookies with the orange, because they’re really good that way … but they’re also really good without.

      Reply

  6. I immediately looked for the molasses! These look good, I’m a fool for any soft molasses cookie or gingersnap!

    Reply

    • Thanks! I made them for Christmas last year, and they were a big hit. I’m making them again this year.

      Reply

  10. I’m not sure we’d be friends without crystallized ginger either! It’s the best! I love this type of cookie and while the recipe is somewhat similar to one I do, the orange zest is a wonderful touch. And the icing is a treat too.

    I must follow your blog! Already I’m seeing so many good things! Thanks so much for coming by Marmelade Gypsy today and leaving such a nice comment

    Reply

  12. This recipe has everything I’d want in a gingerbread cookie! The balance of gingery warmth, chewy texture, and the option to enhance with orange zest sounds heavenly.

    Reply

  13. I have never thought of putting the dry ingredients in a container and shaking it to mix. Brilliant!
    Do you finely chop the crystalized ginger or have it a coarser chop?

    Reply

    • Esthetically, I don’t want these these cookies to look like they have chunks in them. I guess that’s just a preference that I never really questioned. So, I start by trying to dice the ginger into quite small pieces. You get only one shot at it, because once you’ve cut into them, they’re so sticky that they’ve very hard to work with. But nonetheless, the dice is never quite small enough, so I run the knife over the pieces until I just can’t stand it anymore.

      Reply

  14. Jeff, I love the warm spices of gingerbread. I love the style of your gingerbread cookies. These are definitely cookies I can get on board with too! Saving the recipe.

    Reply

  16. Who could resist these beautiful cookies? We are both fans of ginger cookies, though mine tend to be more of a ginger snap and I enjoy a chewy cookie. I definitely want to try these during the holidays!

    Reply

  21. Oh I’m gonna have to make a batch of these! I absolutely love gingerbread cookies, and Robbie has followed in those footsteps. Laura isn’t a huge fan, but I suspect the two of us can polish off this batch without too much trouble!!

    Reply

  22. It’s definitely gingerbread season and I would have to have the crystalized ginger icing on top . All the flavors sound really good. I’ll have to give these a try! Thanks.

    Reply

  23. I just did a taste test of four ‘famous’ commercial gingersnap cookies and not one met my standards. So, I’m going to try these. It sounds as though they’ll have more of the flavor that I enjoy, particularly with the crystallized ginger. Question: can I use parchment rather than the Silpats, which I don’t have?

    Reply

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