Spice & Everything Nice Gingerbread Cookies

Ingredients

• 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon ground ginger
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground allspice
• ½ teaspoon ground cloves
• 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• ¾ cup packed light or dark brown sugar
• ⅔ cup unsulphured or dark molasses (do not use blackstrap; Grandma’s brand is recommended)
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• Icing: Your choice! We like a simple mix of confectioners’ sugar, milk, and food coloring.

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, and cloves. Set aside.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or using a handheld mixer), beat the butter on medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute.
3. Add the brown sugar and molasses, and beat on medium-high speed until creamy and well combined. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
4. Beat in the egg and vanilla on high speed for 2 minutes. The mixture may look slightly separated; this is fine.
5. On low speed, gradually mix in the dry ingredients until combined. The dough will be thick and slightly sticky.
6. Divide the dough in half, shape each portion into a disc, and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Chill for at least 3 hours or up to 3 days (overnight is recommended).
7. Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Line 2–3 large baking sheets with parchment paper, silicone baking mats, or pizza stones. Set aside.
8. Remove one disc of dough from the refrigerator. Generously flour your work surface, hands, and rolling pin. Roll out the dough to ¼-inch thickness. If the dough cracks, rotate it as you roll and use your fingers to press the edges together. Re-roll scraps as needed.
9. Cut the dough into shapes and place them 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheets. Repeat with the second disc of dough.
10. Bake cookies for 9–10 minutes. Adjust the baking time based on the size of your cookie cutters:
    • For cutters smaller than 4 inches: bake ~8 minutes.
    • For cutters larger than 4 inches: bake ~11 minutes.
11. Let cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
12. Once cooled, decorate as desired. For a festive touch, add a cinnamon candy to the noses of reindeer-shaped cookies to make Rudolph!

Attribution: ​​This is a recipe my grandma used and has passed down to my mom. My mom, sister, and I have been making these for as long as I can remember and it has become my favorite part of Christmas!

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