Gingerbread Cookies

Despite the house renovations and chaos this year has brought, Lo and I have spent a lot of time in the kitchen making several batches of gingerbread cookies this year. After my Kitchenaid bit the dust, my new Ankarsrum mixer has made it significantly more enjoyable to bake all the things!

It’s taking some time and experimenting with modifying my old recipes a bit to work better with the Ankarsrum mixer, but I think I’ve adapted my gingerbread recipe to my liking. Sugar cookies are next in my queue to sort out. In the meantime, I wanted to share my gingerbread recipe with you!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup + 2 tbs salted butter (room temperature)
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup molasses
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 1/4 tbs ground ginger
1/2 tbs ground cinnamon
1/2 tbs nutmeg
1/2 tbs ground cardamom
1/2 tbs ground cloves
1 tsp baking soda
3 cups + up to an additional 1/2 cup

Instructions:

Melt butter in a large sauce pan and stir in the sugar and molasses. Once thoroughly combined, pour into mixer bowl and add spices and baking soda. Perhaps it’s the south Asian in me, but I sometimes add a dash or two more cardamom.

Next gradually add the three cups of flour. Depending on elevation/moisture levels, you may need to add a few tablespoons, up to the last 1/2 cup to the batter. You don’t want your dough to be sticky. It should begin to pull from the sides of the bowl and easily form into a ball.

Half your dough and roll into two discs. Cover and chill each disc for at least 4 hours.

Once you’re ready to start baking, preheat your oven to 435° F and take your dough out of the fridge. Roll your dough 1/4″ thick and cut out your cookies. I find if my dough warms up too much, my cookies spread out a bit while baking, so keep that in mind when placing them on your baking sheet. Bake for 5-7 minutes. The longer the time spent in the oven, the crispier they are. For soft, chewier cookies, remove them quickly and set them on a cooling rack within a couple of minutes of taking them out of the oven.

Decorate using your favorite frosting recipe or sprinkle with powder sugar. Enjoy!