Every Christmas cookie plate needs an old fashioned Gingerbread cookie! I have been using this recipe for years. The cookie is sturdy, bakes flat and although it has a pronounced gingerbread taste, it’s not overwhelming; kids can decorate it without it breaking, and kids will eat it without complaining! I found this recipe in a small spiral bound Christmas Cookie cookbook back in the 1980s or 1990s. My daughter just baked 12 dozen of these cookies for two Christmas parties she’s catering. She’s making the cookies, and the kids will decorate with royal icing and assorted candies and then take them home to their families.

Save this recipe; it’s not just for Christmas! Cut the dough into pumpkins, bats, ghosts and witches! It’s perfect for Halloween! The same pumpkin cutter, along with leaves, pilgrims and turkeys, make it a good cookie for Thanksgiving, too. And hearts, cupids, X’s and O’s, along with pink, red and white royal icing, make it a very good cookie for Valentine’s day!

Gingerbread Cookies

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup light molasses
• 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 4½ cups flour

1. Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy—at least 5 minutes.
2. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. 
3. Stir in molasses and vinegar.
4. In another bowl stir ginger, cinnamon, baking soda and salt into flour. 
5. Add flour mixture to butter mixture—dough will be very soft.
6. Divide dough into fourths, and place into a large Ziploc bag and place in freezer for an hour—I prefer to let the dough rest overnight in the refrigerator, because the dough is VERY firm, and difficult to roll when out of the freezer. Dough can be made up to two days ahead.  When ready to bake proceed as below.
7. Preheat oven to 350°.
8. Gently roll dough to ¼” thickness—cut into shapes. Re-roll scraps—cut more shapes! This recipe will make a lot of cookies, but the number depends on the size of the cookie cutters used. I think you’ll get at least 4 dozen 3″ cookies out of this recipe.
9. Bake in a preheated 350° oven for 10-12 minutes. Remove to racks to cool.
10. Store baked cookies in an airtight container.

For the Royal Icing

• 3 Tablespoons meringue powder, available at Michael’s, Amazon, specialty baking stores and many upscale grocery stores
• 1/3 cup warm water, or more—add additional water 1 Tablespoon at a time
• 4½ cups, 1 pound, powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• ½ teaspoon cream of tartar

1. Beat ingredients together with an electric mixer.
2. When combined, increase speed to high and beat for 7-10 minutes. 
3. Place in decorator bag with a decorator tip.
4. Decorate cookies!
5. There will be a lot of Royal Icing for this cookie recipe, almost double the amount you’ll need.  Gingerbread cookies look good with plain white Royal Icing, but icing can also be colored with paste food coloring.

Thanks for stopping by my kitchen today! Hopefully we’ll be able to meet back here SOON for some more baking!