Baking traditional gingerbread cookies during Christmas time simply sparks my festive mood. In fact, don’t we all love some sugar & spice in our holidays? Try these gently spiced Gingersnap Cookies with Fresh Ginger in your favorite seasonal shapes.
I am partial to stars and pine tree silhouettes, as you can see. The beauty of these rich brown delights is that you can get creative with the finishing touches. I have decorated mine in a minimalist theme – simple swirls of white royal icing with contrasting pearl drops of glistening black gel. However, you will enjoy these Gingersnap Cookies with Fresh Ginger regardless of shapes and finishing touches. Just roll up your sleeves and have some fun baking!
Method
You can use Method 1, 2 or a combination of 1 & 2
- Roll the dough and use cookie cutters to shape the ginger snaps.
2. Using a knife, slice cookies from your frozen dough disk(s).
Method 1, a traditional approach, is slightly more time consuming but a lot more fun – especially if you have little helpers. Method 2 is faster and simpler.
You may need the following tools:
- Rolling pin – to roll the dough if you decide to choose Method 1
- Cookie cutters to shape the ginger snaps. Alternatively, you can use a glass, knife, or pizza cutter (or even a putty knife – LOL)
- Electric mixer
- Parchment paper or silicone baking mats
Ingredients substitutes/additions:
- If you don’t have molasses on hand, you can make a 1:1 mixture of honey & dark corn syrup.
- You can omit some spices or add extra like ground cloves or cardamom.
- Consider adding lemon or orange zest, if desired.
Royal Icing ingredients and method (optional)
In my recipe, I am using royal icing with egg whites and food gel. However, it’s entirely optional. If you are pressed for time, lightly dust your cookies with icing sugar or simply leave plain.
Check this detailed royal icing recipe.
I used the following ingredients: 1 egg white, 1 1/2 cup icing sugar, 1/2 tsp water, 1 tsp lemon zest.
To make royal icing, in a large bowl, beat egg whites with a whisk or electric mixer until foamy. Add 2 table spoon of sugar and continue mixing at lower speed. Gradually, add the remaining sugar and lemon zest. Beat until thickened. Add a few drops of water to thinner the consistency if needed.
Gingersnap Cookies with Fresh Ginger
Course: DessertsDifficulty: Medium70
cookies30
minutes10
minutes53
kcal20-30
minutes40
minutes
The beauty of these rich brown delights is that you can get creative with the finishing touches.
Ingredients
1 cup 1 Unsalted butter (2 sticks – 226 grams or 8 ounces)
2 tbsp 2 brown sugar
2 2 Eggs
2/3 cup 2/3 Molasses
3 cup 3 All-purpose flour
2 tbsp 2 Finely grated fresh ginger root
1 tsp 1 Ground ginger
1 tsp 1 Vanilla extract
1 tbsp 1 Cinnamon
1/2 tsp 1/2 Baking soda
1/2 tsp 1/2 Salt
1/2 1/2 Ground nutmeg
1/4 1/4 Ground black pepper
Directions
- Prepare the ingredients.
- Peel the ginger with a vegetable peeler or paring knife. Grate peeled ginger with a microplane or standard grater.
- In a large bowl, gently mix your dry ingredients with a fork – flour, baking soda, salt, and all spices.
- In another large bowl, beat softened butter and brown sugar until smooth – by hand, or using an electric mixer on medium speed. Add molasses, eggs, vanilla extract and minced fresh ginger and beat for 1-2 minutes.
- Using a wooden spoon, gradually stir the flour mix into the bowl with wet ingredients until well combined and the dough is smooth. Form 2-3 dough disks, wrap them in plastic wrap and place them in the freezer for 20-30 minutes.
- Retrieve one dough disk from the freezer and place it on a slightly floured surface. Using floured rolling pin, roll out dough to a thickness of about 1/8 to 1/4 inch.
- You can create some festive patterns on the dough by using either an embossed rolling pin or any accessory you have available to make an impression (e.g. wooden snowflakes (in my case), bottom of a glass, fork, knife, bubble wrap, textured silicone baking mats, etc.). Cut the dough with a cookie cutter or thin-rimmed glass/cup. Re-roll the dough as needed to cut out more cookies.
- If you want to create your own shapes, you can always break off an amount of dough for a single cookie, flatten it with a plate or rolling pin, and carve your desired shape using a sharp edge – like a knife, pizza cutter, spatula, ruler, or – putty knife LOL!
- If rolling out dough isn’t in you plans, simply slice cookies from your frozen dough disk(s) using a knife.
- Transfer the dough shapes to a baking sheets lined with parchment paper or silicone baking mats, spacing them at least an inch apart.
- Bake at 350°F for 8-10 minutes until edges are golden-brown.
Remove from the oven and let sit on the baking sheet for a few minutes until firm; then transfer to a rack to cool to room temperature. Repeat with remaining disks of dough. - Optional – Pour the royal icing into a pastry bag or a ziploc bag (with the corner cut off) and decorate as desired.
Notes
- Raw cookie dough can be kept in the freezer for 3-4 weeks.
Nutrition Facts
70 servings per container
Serving Size2 cookies
- Amount Per ServingCalories53
- % Daily Value *
- Total Fat
2.12g
4%
- Saturated Fat 1.19g 6%
- Cholesterol 21mg 8%
- Sodium 31mg 2%
- Total Carbohydrate
6.92g
3%
- Dietary Fiber 0.2g 1%
- Sugars 2.69g
- Protein 0.93g 2%
- Vitamin A 3%
- Vitamin C 1%
- Calcium 1%
- Iron 3%
- Vitamin D 1%
- Thiamin 4%
- Riboflavin 3%
- Niacin 3%
- Vitamin B6 2%
- Vitamin B12 5%
- Folate 4%
- Phosphorus 2%
- Magnesium 3%
- Selenium 6%
- Copper 3%
- Manganese 6%
* The % Daily Value tells you how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
Nutrition information is estimated. It is calculated using an online nutrition calculator based on recipe ingredients as inputs. Accuracy is dependent on the calculator. It is not intended as a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Wow, Iryna, I love how beautifully decorated these are! Gorgeous. And yes, baking gingerbread cookies always puts me in a Christmas mood too!
Thank you Katerina! Seems we are on the same wavelength 😀🎄
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