It’s Holiday Season! This can mean many things: gifts, Santa Claus, Hanukkah, debt, etc.

But for me, this season means COOKIES! More specifically, gingerbread cookies!

Now that school is out (both my graduate school and elementary school for my kiddos), I have time to BAKE!

Growing up, I never made gingerbread cookies. We always bought the store bought ones, and when ever my parents used the oven for baked goods, the dough was always out of a Pillsbury container.

This year, I was determined to make my own gingerbread cookies – from scratch. After a few (read MANY) trials, I have come up with this recipe below! I like my cookies not too sweet and not too gingery. If you want a bit more sweetness, add ~1 more tablespoon of sugar. If you want a little more of a ginger kick, add 1 more teaspoon of ginger! ENJOY!

Ingredients:

• 2¼ cups flour
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground cloves
• ½ teaspoon allspice
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¾ cup butter, softened
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¼ cup molasses

Instructions:

1. Sift together the dry ingredients (flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, cloves and salt). The sifting ensures your cookies will have a smooth consistency throughout your batch!
2. Cream the butter and 1 cup sugar. Add the egg and vanilla. Beat until fully incorporated.
3. Add molasses until combined.
4. Add in the dry ingredients in small batches until just combined.
5. Refrigerate for 2-3 hours.
6. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
7. Bake:
   1. 5 inch ginger-people: 8-9 minutes
   2. 1-inch cat faces: 5 minutes
   3. 3-inch cat shapes: 7 minutes

• You need to check in on your cookies around the minute mark, and every minute afterwards. The above measurements are merely for reference. When the cookies are ready, they will have slightly darker edges. 

8. Cool before you decorate with icing! (For icing: Mix 1 cup of confectioner’s sugar, 2 tbsp of milk, and 1/2 tsp of vanilla)