Gingerbread Cookies
Published December 18, 2007
Con Poulos for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Rebecca Jurkevich.
- Total Time
- About 1 hour, plus chilling
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
1 cup light brown sugar
1 cup light molasses
1 cup vegetable shortening
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 egg, lightly beaten
¼ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground cloves
4 to 4 ½ cups all-purpose flour, more for rolling dough
Royal icing and cinnamon candies, for decorating, optional.
Nutritional analysis per serving
23 grams carbs; 4 milligrams cholesterol; 149 calories; 2 grams monosaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 6 grams fat; 1 gram trans fat; 1 gram fiber; 132 milligrams sodium; 2 grams protein; 11 grams sugar
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
In a small saucepan, combine brown sugar, molasses and shortening. Place over medium-low heat and stir just until mixture is melted and smooth. Remove from heat and mix in baking soda and ¼ cup cold water. Set aside and allow to cool to room temperature.
- Step 2
Add egg, salt, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon and cloves; stir to mix well. Add 4 cups flour and mix well, adding up to ½ cup more if dough seems sticky. Shape into a ball, cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, up to 24 hours.
- Step 3
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to ¼-inch thickness, and cut into gingerbread boy shapes with a 5-inch-long cookie cutter. Arrange on baking sheets 1 ½ inches apart, and bake until risen and no longer shiny, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and allow cookies to cool. If desired, decorate with royal icing and cinnamon candies. Store in an airtight container.
Private Notes
Comments
Not sure why they don't mention that the small sauce pan is not adequate to handling all these ingredients. When the baking soda is added the resulting reaction creates foaming that immediately rises over the sides of the sauce pan. You definitely need to move to a bigger bowl.
I used butter instead of shortening. They were tender and delicious, approaching the quality and texture I still remember from a 1978 bakery on 3rd St in Washington DC (apparently now the Firehook Bakery but I’ve not been there in 40 years). In the next batch I added half a cup of unsweetened apple sauce to try for that remembered apple undertone. It improved the crumb but did not recapture that elusive flavor. My wife, currently in chemo, tolerates these very well. This recipe is a blessing.
My teen daughter baked these delicious gingerbread cookies following the recipe as written except that we didn't have shortening and didn't want to go out in the pouring rain ... so she substituted 3/8 c coconut oil + 1/2 c butter for the 1 c shortening (per www.coconutoil-online.com ... worked very well and tasted great!
Instead of rolling the dough out for cookie cutters, did anyone try just dropping or shaping the dough into balls for a plain, round cookie?
Must use a large saucepan for the sugar mixture! I hope the recipe is edited to include this for safety. Another reader brought this up 8 years ago so I am discouraged. The recipe is otherwise excellent - delicious gingerbread that is also easy to build with.
I’ve been making these for 7 years. Bigger sauce pan. Go extra on spices. Roll to desired thickness- thin gives you snappy gingerbread and thick gives you chewy. I like mine chewy. I also do plain royal icing. They’re a hit every year.