Molasses Gingerbread Cookie Dough Recipes

MOLASSES-GINGERBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• Whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and spices in a medium bowl.
• Beat butter and sugar with a mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in molasses. Reduce speed to low. Gradually add flour mixture, and beat until just combined. Divide dough into 3 portions, and wrap each in plastic. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. On a generously floured piece of parchment, roll dough to a scant 1/4 inch thick. Brush off excess flour. Slide dough and parchment onto baking sheets, and freeze for 15 minutes.
• Cut out desired shapes. Transfer to parchment-lined baking sheets, and freeze for 15 minutes.
• Bake cookies for 6 minutes. Remove sheets from oven, and tap them firmly on counter to flatten cookies. Return to oven, rotating sheets, and bake until crisp but not darkened, 6 to 8 minutes more. Let cool on sheets on wire racks.
• Spoon icing into a pastry bag fitted with a very small plain round tip (such as Ateco #0 or #1). Pipe designs on cookies. Let cookies stand at room temperature until set, at least 2 hours (preferably overnight).

CHEWY GINGER MOLASSES COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Whisk the flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, cloves and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
• Beat the butter and sugar together in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until well combined, about 3 minutes. Add the molasses and egg and beat until lighter in color, about 3 minutes. Add the flour mixture and mix on low until well blended.
• Using a tablespoon, form the dough into 1-inch balls and roll in sugar. Place each ball 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Bake until golden and crackled, 12 to 15 minutes; the cookies will still be a little soft. Baking these in 3 batches one sheet at a time gets you the nice, crackly top. The second sheet of cookies can stay on the counter until ready to bake. Form the remaining dough, roll the balls in sugar and place on the now cooled first baking sheet. Allow the cookies to cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet, and then remove to a rack to cool completely.

NEW ENGLAND MOLASSES GINGERBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• For dough:
• Combine 5 1/4 cups flour, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and salt in medium bowl; whisk to blend well. Using electric mixer, beat butter and shortening in large bowl to blend. Add 1 cup sugar, molasses, and lemon peel and beat until smooth. Beat in egg and buttermilk. Stir 2 teaspoons water and baking soda in small cup to blend; beat into butter mixture. Beat in flour mixture in 2 additions. Stir in more flour, 1/4 cup at a time, until slightly firm dough forms. Divide dough into 3 equal parts. Shape each into disk. Wrap disks and chill until firm enough to roll, at least 2 hours. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep refrigerated. Soften slightly before rolling out.)
• Working with 1 disk at a time, roll out dough between sheets of waxed paper to 16x12-inch rectangle, occasionally lifting paper to smooth out wrinkles. Using 4- to 5-inch cutters, cut out boy and girl gingerbread people. Pull away excess dough around cutouts; flatten, wrap, and chill excess dough. Slide rimless baking sheet or inverted baking sheet under waxed paper with cutouts and chill until firm. Repeat with remaining dough disks, refrigerating cutouts on waxed paper on baking sheets. Roll out excess dough and make more cookies, using all of dough. (Cutout cookies can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; keep chilled.)
• Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Using thin metal spatula, lift chilled cookies off waxed paper and transfer to baking sheet, spacing 1 inch apart. Bake until darker at edges and just firm to touch in center, about 12 minutes. Cool on sheet 5 minutes. Transfer to rack; cool completely. Bake remaining cookies, 1 sheet at a time.
• For icing:
• Sift powdered sugar into medium bowl. Mix in lemon juice and corn syrup. Mix in enough water by teaspoonfuls to form smooth icing soft enough to pipe but firm enough to hold shape. Divide into 3 or 4 portions and tint with food coloring, if desired.
• Spoon icing into pastry bag (or bags if using more than 1 color) fitted with small (1/16- to 1/8-inch) plain tip. Arrange cookies on work surface. Pipe icing onto cookies in desired patterns. Apply decorations as desired. Let cookies stand until icing is dry. (Can be made 3 days ahead. Store cookies airtight between sheets of waxed paper at room temperature.)

CHEWY GINGERBREAD MOLASSES COOKIES

Steps:

• Place margarine in large mixing bowl; soften it in a microwave for a few seconds.
• Cream sugar and margarine; add molasses and water.
• Combine flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, and allspice.
• Add to the mixing bowl; mix together.
• Let dough cool, covered, in freezer for at least one hour.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Roll out dough; cut out with cookie cutters.
• If the cookies are thin, bake for 6 minutes.
• If cookies are thick, bake for 8 minutes.
• Cookies will appear slightly underbaked but that's what makes them taste so good and chewy!
• Cool cookies on a wire rack.
• These cookies stand their own without frosting, but if you want to frost them, mix a cup of powdered sugar with a little water to make frosting. Draw a few accent lines or dots on the cookies.

MOLASSES-GINGERBREAD COOKIE DOUGH

Steps:

• Combine brown sugar, molasses, butter, spices, and salt in a medium saucepan over low heat, stirring with a wooden spoon, until sugar is dissolved, about 10 minutes. Stir in milk. Remove from heat, and let cool.
• Pour milk mixture into a mixing bowl; add baking powder and flour. With an electric mixer, and beginning on low speed and increasing to medium, beat until well combined. Divide dough in half; shape into disks. Wrap in plastic, and refrigerate overnight. Dough can be frozen up to 1 month; thaw in the refrigerator before using.

MOLASSES CUT-OUT COOKIES FOR GINGERBREAD MEN

Steps:

• Mix sugar and shortening together until light and fluffy.
• Add molasses and beat until it is incorporated Add hot water and stir well.
• Sift dry ingredients into mixture a cup at a time and stir until mixed well Chill for at least 2 hours.
• Roll out a small amount, cut out a cookie round and test by cooking in a preheated 375F oven.
• If cookies are spreading out too much, add and knead in a bit more flour.
• Roll out dough a quarter at a time, keeping the rest chilled.
• This makes handling the dough easier.
• Roll out (using an equal mixture of confectioners sugar and flour) and cut into gingerbread men shapes.
• Bake in a preheated 375F oven for about 12 minutes.