A no-chill and no-spread gingerbread roll out cookie recipe that makes a soft and chewy gingerbread cookie!
See, I am into molasses. Soft and chewy molasses cookies, crunchy gingersnaps, and every type of gingerbread that has ever existed... from cake form to houses. I've tried it all. And I like it all. Mostly. Some of the gingerbread cakes are just a little too weird.
And all molasses recipes have two things in common -- They use baking soda and they have a minimum chill time. Both of these things bring out the flavor of the molasses. The down side is that without chilling, the baking soda does crazy things to your cut out cookies and your Christmas tree cookies start looking more like the Mayflower with a bad case of the mumps. And the down side to chilling is that you have to... you know... chill it. And that takes time. And not the good kind of time where you can just lie on the couch and cuddle with an affectionate child watching your favorite cartoon from your childhood while you consider . This is more like the time where you completely forgot that you agreed to bring 85 gingerbread snowflakes to your community center by noon today and it's already 9 am.
And I would kind of feel bad if you weren't able to take those snowflakes to the community center just because I have psychological attachments to "pure gingerbread." Just don't say that I didn't warn you. Also...before you try it, you should know that molasses really does need time to develop with the flour. These cookies don't taste as fantastic as I would want them to coming right out of the oven. But the flavor develops like magic over a few hours. It's a chewy cookies with a smooth gingerbread cut out flavor that is the perfect compliment to royal icing while still retaining perfect shape.
Yield: 3 dozen 3 inch cookies rolled at 1/4" thick
No-chill and No-spread Gingerbread Roll Out Cookies
This soft and chewy gingerbread cookies does not need to be chilled and won't spread! It's mellow flavor is PERFECT for picky eaters!
ingredients:
- 1 cup slightly softened unsalted butter (227 grams)
- 1 1/2 cups packed light or dark brown sugar (300 grams)
- 1/3 cup molasses (113 grams)
- 2 large eggs (100 grams)
- 1 Tablespoon cinnamon (9 grams)
- 2 teaspoons allspice (3.5 grams)
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger (2 grams)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt (3 grams)
- 3 1/2 to 4 cups all purpose flour (490-560 grams)
instructions:
How to cook No-chill and No-spread Gingerbread Roll Out Cookies
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper.
- Cream butter and sugar together. If you have any brown sugar lumps, you should crush them up or pull them out. If your brown sugar is especially lumpy or hard, you can microwave it in 10 second bursts until it softens.
- Add the eggs and molasses and mix well.
- Stir in the spices and salt all at once.
- Add the flour 1 cup at a time. Add only as much as you need to be able to roll out the dough and cut your fancy little shapes of perfection. If you are using a stand mixer, the dough should pull away from the sides of the bowl and form a ball.
- If, by chance, you *are* planning on taking some leisure time to yourself and want to wait to bake these cookies later, go ahead and stop adding flour at 3 1/2 cups. The dough will dry up a bit as the flour absorbs more of the molasses.
- Roll out on a lightly floured surface. I roll my cookies to about 1/4" thick and bake them at 350 F for 7 minutes.
FAQs
CAN I MAKE A GINGERBREAD HOUSE WITH THIS RECIPE? -- As written, this makes a soft and chewy gingerbread cookie. If you DOUBLE the baking time, you can use it to make a house or other 3D structure!
MY DOUGH IS TOO SOFT! WHAT SHOULD I DO? -- If your dough is too soft, try adding a little more flour 1/2 cup at a time until the dough pulls away from the sides of the mixing bowl. ALSO... If it's very hot where you live and your butter was room temperature instead of just slightly softened - you might actually need to cool everything down in the fridge for 10 minutes before rolling out the dough.
MY DOUGH IS TOO DRY! WHAT SHOULD I DO? -- The two most common reasons for this dough turning out dry is:
1) Not using large eggs. It's SURPRISING what a difference that makes.
2) Using too much flour. I'm not saying you used more than the recipe calls for - but since this recipe is written by volume and not weight, you might be adding more flour depending on elevation and humidity. Next time you make this recipe, try starting with 1 cup less flour and adding flour until it's just right. But you can still save this batch too!
Luckily, the solution to both of them is the same -- Crack an egg into a bowl and whisk together. Mix a little at a time into the dry dough until the dough comes together again.
HOW MANY COOKIES WILL THIS RECIPE MAKE? -- The yield for this recipe varies. It depends on how thick you roll your cookies. I can get about 3 dozen cookies when I roll them at 1/4 inch thick and use a 3 inch wide cookie cutter.
HOW DO I KNOW WHEN THEY ARE DONE? -- Watch the surface of the cookie. As the dough begins to bake, the butter starts melting - creating a shiny or "wet" look on the surface of the cookie. As it continues to bake, the outside edge of the cookie will look dry and the wet spot in the middle shrinks. When that shiny "wet" spot in the middle disappears and the entire surface of the cookie is dry -- your cookies are done!
MY COOKIES TASTE DRY AFTER THEY ARE BAKED - WHAT'S WRONG WITH THEM? -- It could be a couple of things.
1) You might be slightly over baking them. I watch the surface of the cookies and when the shiny spot in the center looks dry instead of shiny... I know they are done.
2) You might be using a little too much flour. If your butter was too warm to begin with, the dough will seem soft, and if you add more flour to make it not sticky...it will turn out dry. OR you might be adding too much flour for the amount of time that the dough sits. - This is why the recipe has two different amounts of flour. As the dough sits, the flour continues to absorb more moisture...making the dough more dry.
HOW LONG ARE THESE COOKIES GOOD FOR? -- It depends on how they are stored, but generally, you can expect these cookies to taste fresh for about 7-10 days at room temperature.
NEED MORE??
MY DOUGH IS TOO DRY! WHAT SHOULD I DO? -- The two most common reasons for this dough turning out dry is:
1) Not using large eggs. It's SURPRISING what a difference that makes.
2) Using too much flour. I'm not saying you used more than the recipe calls for - but since this recipe is written by volume and not weight, you might be adding more flour depending on elevation and humidity. Next time you make this recipe, try starting with 1 cup less flour and adding flour until it's just right. But you can still save this batch too!
Luckily, the solution to both of them is the same -- Crack an egg into a bowl and whisk together. Mix a little at a time into the dry dough until the dough comes together again.
HOW MANY COOKIES WILL THIS RECIPE MAKE? -- The yield for this recipe varies. It depends on how thick you roll your cookies. I can get about 3 dozen cookies when I roll them at 1/4 inch thick and use a 3 inch wide cookie cutter.
HOW DO I KNOW WHEN THEY ARE DONE? -- Watch the surface of the cookie. As the dough begins to bake, the butter starts melting - creating a shiny or "wet" look on the surface of the cookie. As it continues to bake, the outside edge of the cookie will look dry and the wet spot in the middle shrinks. When that shiny "wet" spot in the middle disappears and the entire surface of the cookie is dry -- your cookies are done!
MY COOKIES TASTE DRY AFTER THEY ARE BAKED - WHAT'S WRONG WITH THEM? -- It could be a couple of things.
1) You might be slightly over baking them. I watch the surface of the cookies and when the shiny spot in the center looks dry instead of shiny... I know they are done.
2) You might be using a little too much flour. If your butter was too warm to begin with, the dough will seem soft, and if you add more flour to make it not sticky...it will turn out dry. OR you might be adding too much flour for the amount of time that the dough sits. - This is why the recipe has two different amounts of flour. As the dough sits, the flour continues to absorb more moisture...making the dough more dry.
HOW LONG ARE THESE COOKIES GOOD FOR? -- It depends on how they are stored, but generally, you can expect these cookies to taste fresh for about 7-10 days at room temperature.
Ready to start making and baking an army of decorated sugar cookies?! Check out my Beginner's Guide to Making and Baking Sugar Cookies for Decorating!!
GRAB THE CUTTERS HERE -- Gingerbread Man, Christmas Tree, and Snowflake. (The deer head is a Meri Meri cutter that they don't make anymore. Sorry!)
Make sure all your cookies are the same thickness with the Joseph Joseph Adjustable Rolling Pin. (Or any other rolling pin with rings.)
Make sure all your cookies are the same thickness with the Joseph Joseph Adjustable Rolling Pin. (Or any other rolling pin with rings.)
Bake more cookies at a time with a Half Size Baking Sheet.
Use a High Heat Thermometer to make sure your oven is the right temperature.
Use a High Heat Thermometer to make sure your oven is the right temperature.