Gingerbread Cookies

I had tried to make gingerbread cookies a couple of times, but I didn't like the dough, it was either too soft or lacked a true gingerbread flavor. So for the past couple of years, I just used my Molasses Cookie recipe and cut the dough out with a little boy and little girl cookie cutters. When I explained this to Christina's preschool teacher, she said,

"I have the perfect gingerbread cookie recipe for you. I'll get you a copy."

I tried it today...it was fabulous. The dough was incredibly easy to work with, and the cookies tasted great...my kids gave them 2 thumbs up! When Christina saw these cookies cooling, she said,

"Mommy, did one of the cookies run away?"

I told her, "no," they were all accounted for. Apparently, the kids made some of these cookies at school, and when they went back to the oven to check on them, one was missing. The teachers explained that one cookie ran away, like the gingerbread man in the story. Too cute.

So thanks Ms. Miller for this recipe! This one's a keeper...for sure :-)

Gingerbread Cookies

1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 package (4-serving size) butterscotch flavor instant pudding

1 large egg

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 tablespoon ground ginger (I used 1/2 the amount)

1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

In a stand mixer bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the pudding mix and egg, beat on medium speed until well blended. Combine the flour, baking soda, ginger, and cinnamon in a bowl. Gradually add to the creamed mixture, beating well after each addition. Turn dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap, cover, and refrigerate for 1 hour, or until firm.

When you're ready, take the dough out of the fridge and let it warm up for about 15-30 minutes so it's not too stiff to roll out.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly flour your work surface. I have 2 cookie cutters that I use for making little boys and little girls. And in case you're wondering, Joshua will only eat the boy cookies and Rebecca and Christina will only eat the girl cookies :-). Kids!

Divide the dough in half, and sprinkle one portion with a little flour.


Roll the dough out to about 1/8 of an inch thick. Cut your cookies out with a cutter dipped in flour.  Transfer the cookies to an ungreased, non-stick baking sheet.





Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until the edges are light golden brown.


I had some frosting left over from my Molasses Cookies, so put the rest in a bag and decorated the cookies. This is easy to do, and you don't need a fancy piping bag. A quart-sized zip top bag works great. You just need a piping bag adapter and a coupler. These can be found in the cake decorating aisle of your grocery store or craft store.


Here's how to put it all together. Snip a little bit off the corner of the bag and insert the adaptor. The edge of the bag should lay on top of the threads of the adaptor.

Now slide on the metal tip you want to use, and screw the coupler on. All done! See...easy, right?


I pipe a little bit of a design on the cookies. Feel free to do whatever you'd like. I love making these, and the kids love to watch. I suppose I should let them have a go at it...maybe next year.

Aren't they CUTE? They're sure to be a hit with your kiddos too...mine had already eaten some by the time I published this post, lol. I hope you try this recipe out!

God bless your table tonight!