How fun to start out the holiday season! I remember Nanny having multiple cookie cutters and icings for us to decorate our gingerbread!

These really give you a quick start to celebrate the holidays! With them fast approaching, this is gonna be something you’re going to want in a cloche or on the counter. You can even use them as decorations on your tree!

They are super simple to make and I recommend chilling your dough as well!

Ingredients:

• ½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• ⅔ cup packed dark brown sugar
• ⅓ cup unsulphured blackstrap molasses
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2¼ cups all purpose flour, spooned and leveled
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 tablespoon milk

Instructions:

• In the bowl of a stand mixer, or using an electric mixer, cream the butter and brown sugar. Add the molasses, egg yolk, and vanilla and mix again.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, ginger, baking soda, salt, and cloves. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing after each addition. Mix in the almond milk.
• Form the dough into a ball, divide the ball in half, and flatten each half into a 1-inch-thick disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for at least 2 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F and line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface until about ¼-inch thick. Use cookie cutters to cut out desired shapes, then transfer the cut-outs to the prepared baking sheets, re-rolling the dough scraps as necessary.
• Bake, one sheet at a time, for 7 to 9 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies are just set but the middles are still soft. The cookies might seem underdone, but taking them out at this point will ensure that they stay soft once they cool. I typically use a 3-inch cookie cutter and bake my cookies for 8 minutes. The exact timing will depend on your oven, the size of your cookie cutters, and how soft or crunchy you like your gingerbread cookies.
• Let cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Decorate as desired.

These are genuinely a favorite of mine! I do tend to like a little more sweet in mine so I may add powdered sugar to the top! Everyone has different preferences.

This dough makes 24 nice size cookies! I will be making these this holiday season and giving them out to friends and neighbors!

This is so super rooted in tradition! You’re going to want to whip these up!