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These Gingerbread Cookies without molasses are crunchy and flavorful. They're full of sugar and spice and everything nice, plus they're perfect for decorating. It's a delicious art project for all ages.
Cookie decorating was a longstanding holiday tradition in my family. There seemed to be no restrictions on how much frosting, sprinkles, M&Ms and other candies we could pile onto our cookies. We were allowed to be totally creative and indulgent. I don't remember there being any pressure to make them look nice. I also seem to recall my parents joining in and having just as much fun as we did.
This year, my 23 year old child is coming to stay with us for Christmas, and they've already requested we decorate cookies. It never, ever stops being fun, and it's a holiday tradition I hope we keep alive my entire life. It allows you to be creative without any pressure. No matter how "bad" your creation looks, it's only going to get eaten. It can't help but be a pleasurable experience.
What makes these Gingerbread Cookies so awesome
If you start with delicious cookies, you definitely can't go wrong. I prefer Gingerbread Cookies without molasses because there's no risk of bitterness. These are made with golden syrup, which is about the sweetest thing I've ever tasted. You coud substitute light corn syrup if you need to. They've also got plenty of ground ginger to make them warmly spiced but not overpowering. Their warm, burnished brown color makes the a delicious, crunchy canvas for artists of all ages.
These cookies hold their shape quite well, especially if the dough is chilled before baking Use whatever shapes you like. You can ice them quite simply or decorate them with candies and sprinkles. But even if you eat them plain, they taste amazing all on their own. It's fun no matter what.
Make it magical
These cookies can be cut into any shape and decorated in any way. With both cinnamon and ginger baked in, they'd make delicious little spells for romance, prosperity, protection or success. Cut your cookies into crescent moons or pentagrams. Decorate round cookies with a sacred spiral or draw a sigil on your cookie with writing icing. There's no end to the ways you could transform a simple cookie into a powerful spell.
For details on the magical properties of the ingredients in this recipe, check the Kitchen Magick page.
Ingredients
Here's everything you'll need for these cookies. You'll find all the details in the recipe card below.
- Flour - all-purpose or plain
- Baking soda - aka bicarbonate of soda
- Ground ginger
- Ground cinnamon
- Butter - unsalted and cold
- Brown sugar
- Eggs
- Golden syrup - light corn syrup would also work
Tips for making Gingerbread Cookies without molasses
We'll be making these cookies in the food processor. As these are crunchy cookies, we'll be working with cold butter. These are really easy but do need a bit of chill time, so don't try to rush if you want cleanly shaped cookies.
Start by mixing your dry ingredients together by pulsing your food processor a couple of times. Then add the cold butter in chunks and pulse to work it into the flour mixture. It should look like wet sand. You'll then mix in the brown sugar, followed by the egg and golden syrup. Pulse the mixture until a dough forms, and bring it all together with a few gentle kneads and squishes on the counter. Wrap your dough in plastic wrap and pop it in the fridge while you tidy up.
Roll your chilled dough to about ¼ inch thickness, and begin cutting out your cookies and placing them on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone baking mat. You can continue to reroll this dough as many times as you like. To ensure that the lines on your cut cookies stay clean, pop each baking sheet back in the fridge for about 10 minutes before baking at 350/180 for about 12 minutes. Obviously, you don't want to burn them, these also aren't cookies that you want to leave gooey and underbaked. They should be crisp, so make sure they're baked through, and let them cool completely before decorating.
I hope you have ridiculous amounts of fun baking, decorating, and eating these delicious gingerbead cookies. It's gonna be awesome.
Looking for more awesome holiday cookie ideas? Try these No-Fail Sugar Cookies or some Chocolate-Dipped Peanut Butter Cookies.
PrintGingerbread Cookies without molasses
These Gingerbread Cookies without molasses are crunchy and flavorful. They're full of sugar and spice and everything nice, plus they're perfect for decorating. It's a delicious art project for all ages.
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 12
- Total Time: 27 minutes
- Yield: 20 1x
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: British
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
- 350 grams all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 125 grams butter
- 175 grams light brown sugar
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- ¼ cup golden syrup or light corn syrup
Instructions
- Add the flour, baking soda, ginger, and cinnamon to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse a few times to combine.
- Add the butter and process to mix. You should have a mixture resembling wet sand. Add the sugar and pulse to combine.
- Add the beaten egg and golden syrup and process until the dough starts to clump together.
- Turn your dough out onto a clean surface and knead it two or three times just to bring everything together. Flatten your dough into a disc and wrap it in plastic wrap. Refrigerate the dough at least 15 minutes.
- Preheat your oven to 180C (350F) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- On a lightly floured surface, use a rolling pin to roll out your dough t about ¼ inch thickness. Cut out your dough using a cookie cutter in your favorite shape and transfer the cut cookies to a cookie sheet. Give them a little space. They will spread a bit.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes or until lightly golden brown. These are crisp cookies, so you don't want them underbaked. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Once the cookies have totally cooled to room temperature, you can use writing icing and other decorations to decorate however you like.
Notes
- If your dough starts to get too soft and sticky as you're rolling and cutting, wrap it up and stash it back in the fridge for 10 minutes.
- If you're baking your cookies in batches, store the cut cookies in the fridge until they're ready to go into the oven. This will help keep them from spreading too much.
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