Super Chewy & Soft Cinnamony Gingerbread Friends

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Super Chewy & Soft Cinnamony Gingerbread Friends.

These gingerbread cuties are seriously the most chewy, soft gingerbread cookies I’ve had! They are lightly spiced and have the perfect amount of cinnamon, ginger and molasses. I don’t like my gingerbread cookies to be too spiced but these are the perfect balance of sugar and spice and everything nice :) They are just delightful to each right out of the oven.

These gingerbread friends are seriously too cayooot to eat!

These gingerbread friends are seriously too cayooot to eat!

Super Chewy & Soft Cinnamony Gingerbread Friends

Ingredients:

Gingerbread Dough:

  • 2 3/4 cups + 3 tablespoons all purpose flour (372 grams)

  • 1 tablespoon corn starch

  • 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice, I used McCormick

  • 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

  • 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

  • a pinch of allspice powder, optional

  • 1 teaspoon baking powder

  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

  • 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature (170 grams)

  • 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar (130 grams)

  • 1/4 teaspoon vanilla paste

  • 2 tablespoons unsulphured molasses (36 grams)

  • 1/4 cup dark corn syrup (79 grams)

  • 3 tablespoons of golden syrup or light corn syrup (57 grams)

  • 1 egg

Simple Vanilla Icing:

  • 1 cup of powdered sugar (125 grams)

  • 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

  • Pinch of salt

  • 1-2 tablespoons of milk

Method:

Gingerbread Cookies

  1. Prepare your gingerbread dough by whisking flour, cornstarch, pumpkin spice, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl and mixing until combined. Set aside.

  2. In a new bowl, beat butter and dark brown sugar until it is combined and smooth. The butter and sugar should be homogenous.

  3. Add an egg to the butter mixture and beat until fully combined.

  4. Add in the flour mixture a bit at a time and blend on low speed until no flour pockets remain. Do not overbeat!

  5. Gather the dough and shape it into a disc and cover with plastic warp. Let the dough chill in your fridge for at least 2 hours or overnight.

  6. Once the dough has chilled, let it stand at room temperature for a few minutes.

    • Note: The dough needs to thaw out a bit so it is easy to roll. To see if it is ready, give it a press with your finger to see how soft it is. It should indent with a little force.

  7. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line your baking trays with parchment while the dough thaws.

  8. Once the dough is thawed, cut the dough in half. Place half the dough back in the fridge wrapped in plastic and place the other half of the gingerbread dough between two large pieces of wax or parchment paper.

    • Note: Working with less dough will make it more manageable to roll. Also it’ll prevent your dough from getting to warm and soft, making it hard to cut shapes.

  9. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough to 1/4 inch thickness.

  10. Pull off the top piece of parchment and using your desired cookie cutter, begin to cut out your shapes. Place your cut out shapes on your pre lined baking sheets. Give each cookie at least 1/2 an inch of space.

    • If your dough has become too sticky to cut, place it in the freezer for a few minutes and then try to cut out your shapes.

  11. Bake the cookies for about 8-12 minutes, or until the cookies are set and begin to turn golden. It is okay if the cookies look a little underdone, this ensures that the cookies are soft and chewy.

    • Note: The baking time will vary based on the size of your cookie cutter.

  12. Re-roll your gingerbread dough scraps until it is unified again and place it in the fridge to firm up. You can work on the other half of the dough while the rerolled scraps firm up.

  13. Repeat the steps until all the dough is used.

    • Note: When making multiple batches of cookies, make sure your pans are fully cooled before putting your next batch of cookie dough on them. Hot pans will prematurely melt the butter and create chubby, spread out cookies. A quick way to make sure your pans are cool are to remove the parchment and run the pans under cold water and wipe them before placing the next batch. This ensures that your cookies don’t spread and become blobby.

Simple Vanilla Icing.

  1. Add powdered sugar, salt and vanilla extract and give the mixture a quick stir.

  2. Add milk gradually and mix continuously to achieve the desired thickness. I find that the best consistency is similar to toothpaste. It should be smooth and thick but not too thick that its hard to move with your spoon.

    1. Note: If your mixture is too thin, add more sugar. If too thick, add more milk.

  3. Using a piping bag and a small round tip, I used the Wilton Tip 2, scoop icing and pipe your details on the fully cooled cookies.

  4. Adhere any sprinkles or dragees right after piping. The icing will begin to harden and will fully harden after a few hours.