Easy Honey-Sweetened Gingerbread Cut Out Cookie Recipe
Gingerbread is a holiday staple for many people. The dough gets its classic flavour profile from molasses and the cookies also have a chewy profile. You’ll want to make sure not to overbake them as it’s hard to tell when they are done with the dough already being dark. I also want to warn you that this really is a chewy cookie recipe, so don’t go baking them longer to make them crispy, it won’t happen (ask me how I know…)
The dough needs an hour to chill before rolling, so just pop it in your fridge. If it’s already cold by you like it is here, you can just set it outside on the deck like we do. (in a sealed bowl! beauty of the bosch mixer). I love having that extra space to chill food this time of year.
You can decorate these however you like, or eat them straight. This time I chose to use a simple buttercream frosting and let the kids go to town on decorating with leftover Halloween candy.
Does anyone really like decorating cookies with kids? I’ll admit it took me quite a few years to get to that place. Cutting out cookies can be a great way to connect with your family, but don’t worry if you’re still in that stressful place with them. Keep in mind that most kids like to decorate with as much candy or sprinkles they can fit, so I find that limiting the types of decorations I offer can help. Or I will ice them, and then they get to put the decorations on.
Honey Sweetened Gingerbread Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened/at room temp
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/4 cup molasses*
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1/8 tsp cloves
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat honey, molasses and butter until well combined, scraping the bowl a few times if needed. Add in egg, vanilla, salt and spices, mix well. Mix in flour until well combined.
- It will still be a little sticky but scoop it into a container and chill for 30-60 minutes (If it ends up in fridge overnight, you may need to let it sit on counter a bit to warm up as it may be too firm…)
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Divide dough in half and roll dough out on a floured surface to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut out your desired shapes, transfer to cookie sheets lined with parchment or silpats. Re-roll scraps and cut out some more!
- Bake for 8 minutes, turn trays around, and bake another 5 minutes; its hard to see if the edges are browned.
- Cool, decorate to your hearts content, and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Want more cookies?
11 Comments
jc
Great! Now I have another recipe to try! Thanks
Pam
Could you use this recipe to make gingerbread house?
kateschat
not sturdy enough in my opinion.
Pam
Thanks! Can ypu freeze the cookies?
Lillian
Could you swap the butter for coconut oil? Or olive oil?
karenmouat@gmail.com
Yes you could sub either but it will change the outcome somewhat so try with a small batch first.
Amanda
I LOVE this recipe! They are a hit in my house, and I never feel bad letting my kids eat a few with so little sugar. My question- is there any way to freeze the dough? Baby #3 is coming in a week or so, and I’d love to freeze some cookie dough!
karenmouat@gmail.com
You can definitely freeze this dough. You must have had your baby#3 now…..so congratulations!!!
Stephanie Haas
These are delicious! I wasn’t sure how strong my molasses was, so I did as suggested and cut back on that but added just a bit more honey. Next time I will follow full amount of molasses. With some sugared icing on top these are
the perfect amount of sweet for me. I will definitely be making these for Christmas gifts!! Thanks again Kate for a terrific recipe!
Kaeleigh
Made a half recipe, which gave me about 2 dozen cookies. This recipe is so delicious! I think I may have mixed the ingredients too long and vigorously (left the mixer running while I got the flour), the dough ended up very light coloured and a whipped texture. Not complaining because they turned out absolutely delicious, just not dark like the photos or traditional gingerbread!
Lesley
These were delicious and made a perfect workable dough. I doubled the molasses and lessened the honey to compensate as I like a darker cookie.