Fun & Easy Gingerbread Cookies
Bake Together Anytime Of Year

Fun and Easy gingerbread cookies can be made any time of the year

If you have a child that loves Christmas and the whole Christmas season like we have this is a great gingerbread recipe. Choose summer or fall cut outs of leaves, trees and animals. We added different colors to a cream cheese icing(we have included the icing for you) and seasonal decorations to these gingerbread cookies. Our daughter was so excited making these cookies together with her Dad as a one on one date time. A great bonding time and some good practice in preparation for making Christmas cookies when Christmas time comes.

Use your stand-mixer or hand-mixer(the hand-mixer will take longer). Make a double batch and freeze one batch in an airtight freezer safe container for up to 3 months. Add parchment paper in between each layer of cookies.

Follow the 3 easy steps to making these gingerbread cookies and the quick step to making a wonderful cream cheese icing you will love to use for cookies and cakes.

Enjoy your time together making, baking and decorating these tasty cookies.

Recipe Step #1: The 'Dry' Ingredients
'Dry' Ingredients List
- 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 pinches salt
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground ginger(Ingwer)
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves(Nelke)
Combine all 'dry' ingredients in a large mixing bowl and set it aside. Preheat the oven to 175 C(350 F)
Recipe Step #2: The 'Wet' Ingredients
'Wet' Ingredients List
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup molasses(Zucker Reuben)
- 1/3 cup water

Combining the 'wet' ingredients
  1. With your mixer cream the butter in a large mixing bowl
  2. Add the sugar and cream it well
  3. Stir with a plastic spatula(granular texture means keep 'creaming')
  4. Add molasses and water, beat until smoothly blended
Take extra time if you need it for creaming--it is well worth it.
Recipe Step #3: Combining Mixtures
Combining all ingredients
  1. Mix the flour mixture to the butter mixture in 3 additions
  2. Mix thoroughly after each addition
  3. Roll dough with a rolling pin on a lightly floured surface
  4. Use cut out shapes on dough when rolled out 1/2 - 1cm thick
  5. Space a few cm(1-2 inches) between cookies
  6. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until firm and edges are slightly browned
  7. Leave cookies on cookie sheets for a few minutes
  8. Transfer the cookies to wire cooling racks
  9. Cool cookie sheets before next use
  10. Enjoy a warm cookie while you wait
Baking times depend on the thickness of the rolled out gingerbread cookie dough. 1/2 cm thickness will bake slightly faster than 1 cm thickness.
Cream Cheese Icing: The Ingredients
Ingredients List
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1 cup white vegetable shortening
- 3-4 cups sifted icing sugar
- 1 1/2 - 2 packages(200g) cream cheese

Creaming Ingredients Together
  1. With your mixer cream the shortening in a large mixing bowl
  2. Add 1 heaping spoonful icing sugar at a time
  3. Cream well after each addition
  4. Take Cream cheese out of fridge and add 1/4 at a time
  5. Blend to incorporate after each addition
  6. Color desired portion of icing with liquid or paste icing colors
  7. Chill the cream cheese icing

Take extra time if needed for creaming--it is well worth it.

Creaming after each icing sugar addition is important. Ensure that it is not clumpy but creamed throughout.

Your family will love this icing, it is really a great light tasting creamy frosting.

We go so far as to call it a 'sugar-kick free' frosting, and it's lots of fun for dipping cookies.

A few details for making these Gingerbread Cookies
The Serving Totals: 30-40 cookies
The Preparing Time: 30 minutes
Baking Time Totals: 8-10 minutes per cookie sheet
Calories per cookie: 100-130 calories
Cream Cheese Icing: 15 minutes
Decorating Cookies: Together time as needed

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