Gingerbread Cookies Recipe: 5 Ways to Use Gingerbread

Gingerbread refers to a broad category of cakes, cookies, and breads flavored with ginger and warm spices like cinnamon and nutmeg, and deep, moody sweeteners with hints of caramel, like brown sugar and molasses. Gingerbread generally comes in hard and soft varieties, like Polish gingerbread, torún, which has a soft texture like that of a glazed sugar cookie, or thin, brittle ginger snaps. Bakers sometimes incorporate fresh or candied ginger into their gingerbread concoctions to add dimension to its deep molasses flavor.

Many countries have their own variations and traditions around gingerbread cakes and cookies. It’s most familiar form may be the crisp, snappy cookie associated with wintertime holidays. Here are some ways to use gingerbread in your baking:

1. 1. Gingerbread cookies: These quintessential Christmas cookies are traditionally shaped into gingerbread men and dressed with colorful icing. However, you can take your bake further by bringing a host of gingerbread people to life, along with stars, fir trees, and snowflakes to complete the spread.
2. 2. Gingerbread cookie bars: Take gingerbread cookies to the next level by making chewy, gooey cookie bars. Cream butter, sugar, and molasses together, then incorporate flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Bake the mixture until it reaches a golden-brown hue and top with buttercream frosting.
3. 3. Gingerbread houses: Gingerbread is perhaps most famous as edible building material: Its firm, crisp-but-not-crumbly texture makes for exceptionally sturdy walls and roofs just begging for festive decorations with assorted candies and icing.
4. 4. Gingerbread fudge: Gingerbread fudge is a simple, unique treat that only requires a handful of ingredients to make: white chocolate, ginger, sweetened condensed milk, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Top with red and green sprinkles for a cute nod to the holidays.
5. 5. Gingerbread biscuits: Gingerbread cookie dough makes an ideal tea biscuit. Instead of using cookie cutters, simply roll the cookie dough into a rectangle, and use a paring knife to carve it into a grid for bite-sized treats.

Here are a few tips to help you make the perfect gingerbread cookies:

1. 1. Watch the clock. Timing is the key to achieving the crispy edges and chewy centers of a perfect gingerbread cookie. Due to gingerbread’s dark color, it can be tricky to tell when they’re done baking—look for puffed up, just-set centers. Gingerbread cookies will collapse as they cool, delivering that chewy cookie texture.
2. 2. Keep things chill. When working with gingerbread, it’s crucial to chill the dough before rolling out and stamping your cutouts. Chilled dough helps the gingerbread hold its shape as it goes into the oven, making it easier to work with.
3. 3. Mix only to incorporate. Gingerbread batter is fairly wet, so it’s tempting to mix it far longer than is necessary. As with most recipes, overworking the dough will lead to a brittle and dry final product. Mix just long enough to distribute the dry ingredients evenly, then add a few last kneads by hand as necessary to bring the dough together.