The classic rolled gingerbread cookie, with molasses for the dark color and the deep taste.
Medium. Hands on for about 40 minutes. About 125 minutes start to finish. Makes about 20 cookies, 4 inches (10 cm) tall.
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground cloves
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 stick unsalted butter, soft
- ½ cup light brown sugar, packed
- ½ cup molasses
- 1 large egg
Steps
- Whisk the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves and salt in a medium bowl.
- Beat the butter and brown sugar together until pale and fluffy.
- Beat in the egg, then the molasses, until smooth.
- Add the flour mix in two parts. Stir until you have a soft dough with no dry streaks.
- Split the dough in two. Press each half into a flat disc and wrap it. Chill for 1 hour.
- Heat the oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. (350°F (175°C))
- Roll one disc out on a floured counter until it is ¼ inch (6 mm) thick. Cut your people and set them 1 inch (2.5 cm) apart on a sheet. Keep the other disc in the fridge.
- Bake for 8 minutes for chewy cookies, or 10 for crisp ones. The edges should look set. (350°F (175°C))
- Cool on the sheet for 5 minutes, then move the cookies to a rack. Roll and cut the second disc and the scraps.
- Wait until the cookies are fully cool, then decorate with icing.
The dough needs the hour in the fridge. Warm dough sticks to the counter and the cutters lose their shape.