I’ve made this gingerbread cookie recipe before and it’s now a firm favourite because the cookies are soft, yet chewy. Traditional gingerbread tends to be doughy and goes stale quickly, while other recipes for ginger cookies yield rock solid biscuits. So, if you like chewy cookies, then this is a holiday recipe to try! This recipe for dipped cookies from Cooking Classy is popular on Pinterest , but since I used white chocolate last week in the Cranberry and White Chocolate Pound Cake, I thought I’d try something new and decorate the cookies in a snowfall theme – appropriate since Vancouver just got an unusually large dumping.
Yields 36 cookies
Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. ground ginger
*I also added 1/4 tsp. grated ginger for extra zing – see note below
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar plus extra for coating
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1/4 cup molasses
2 tsp. vanilla
Instructions:
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg, set aside.
* If desired, grate in with a micro-grater some fresh ginger (or frozen if you have it) as per Grandma’s recommendation. This will give the cookies flecks of heat.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar with an electric mixer until well combined. Mix in the egg, then blend in the molasses and vanilla.
With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet until well combined. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 350F (176C).
Scoop dough out about 1 – 1 1/2 tbsp. at a time, shape into balls, and roll in granulated sugar. Transfer to the baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing the cookies 2 inches apart. Flatten the tops slightly for even cooking (I used my fingers). Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until the cookies just start to crack. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
For decorating, I went to Michael’s and purchased a tube of glittery white decorating gel and blue sprinkles. I was aiming for edible white glitter, but they didn’t have any. The gel sets to a tacky silicone-like consistency, so if you need to be able to stack the cookies I suggest using traditional icing.
Yuummmmm!!!