I hope everyone enjoyed a happy Thanksgiving with friends and family! We sure did! Although, I learned the hard way that being 8 months pregnant and eating one’s weight in turkey and dressing (and cranberry sauce…and mashed potatoes…and green bean casserole…and 3 kinds of pie…) isn’t the smartest idea (I literally thought I was going to pop!). Instead of being sociable with the rest of the women, I snoozed with the men folk in front of the TV. It was worth it, though- I LOVE Thanksgiving food!
But now it’s onto more important things, like baking Christmas goodies! I couldn’t wait to get home, get in my kitchen and start baking! I made these gingerbread cookies a couple of years ago, but rolled them out into gingerbread men and decorated them. As fun as that was, I’m not a fan of having to wait for the dough to chill, then roll it out, then cut out the shapes…then repeat 10 times. This time, all I wanted was a chewy, spicy gingerbread cookie I could bake in minutes and enjoy right away! And these are sooooo good! Especially if you’re a huge gingerbread cookie fan like I am! They’re crispy around the edges but have a wonderful chewiness that’s downright addicting! I think I polished off about 6 of these in one sitting! I have tons of leftover dough, so I know I’ll be baking lots more of these in the coming weeks!
Soft and Spicy Gingerbread Cookies
1 cup butter (2 sticks), softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup molasses
1 egg
4 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon nutmeg
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy; about 1 minute. Add the egg and molasses and combine.
In a separate bowl, combine flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, ginger and nutmeg. Slowly and gradually blend into the butter mixture until smooth.
Using a cookie scoop or a spoon, scoop dough out into 1 1/2 inch rounds onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Space cookies about 2 inches apart. Bake for 10-11 minutes. Let cookies cool for 10 minutes on the cookie sheet, then remove to a cooling rack to cool completely. Makes approximately 4 dozen cookies.
Recipe source: adapted from allrecipes.com
These cookies sound delightful! I always enjoy a good gingerbread treat to sink my teeth in 🙂
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Comment by Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar — November 29, 2011 @ 5:49 AM
These look fantastic! I am adding these cookies to my baking list this year.
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Comment by Stephanie @ Plain Chicken — November 29, 2011 @ 9:29 AM
Hmmm – they look super delicious and just perfect for the season.
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Comment by Eliana — November 29, 2011 @ 10:40 AM
I love gingerbread cookies! I love cookies that are easy, too.
Best of luck with the last month of your pregnancy!
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Comment by Rose — November 29, 2011 @ 5:49 PM
I’ve never been a fan of gingerbread cookies. The taste is fine, but they’re always really hard, and that’s a turn-off to me. But your recipe looks great! I love that the cookies are soft and chewy! These gingerbread cookies I’ll definitely try!
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Comment by Michelle W. — November 29, 2011 @ 6:41 PM
I can’t believe you’re already 8 months along! I feel like it was just yesterday you announced you were pregnant. Hope the last bit goes smoothly 🙂
Your cookies look great!
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Comment by Tracey — November 29, 2011 @ 7:00 PM
made these today and they are SUPER good! and addicting….good job!
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Comment by Elya — November 30, 2011 @ 6:07 PM
Amy, I bet these cookies would be delicious with a mug of your Mom’s Wassail… I made a batch of that for Thanksgiving and everybody loved it! Can’t wait to try your cookies. 🙂
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Comment by Kimby — November 30, 2011 @ 6:58 PM
Mmm..my gingerbread house is hard. xP but it has to be or it’ll fall down.
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Comment by Maria — December 1, 2011 @ 12:08 AM
I always thought I hated ginger until I tried gingerbread cookies! Soft chewy ones are my favorite for the holiday time. These sound perfect!
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Comment by Dana — December 2, 2011 @ 10:07 AM
these sound perfect…I’m a soft cookie lover.
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Comment by The Food Hunter — December 2, 2011 @ 1:27 PM
they look perfect, ginger cookies are always hard but yours look great
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Comment by beti — December 4, 2011 @ 10:43 PM
I’m into all things gingerbread right now and these look amazing! I don’t like rolling out cookies and waiting and all that either. It can be fun, but usually I just want cookies as soon as possible and not to drag out the process forever. So these look perfect. 🙂
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Comment by Erin — December 5, 2011 @ 1:47 PM
These look absolutely perfect!
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Comment by Laura — December 8, 2011 @ 7:50 PM
I made 4 batches of these cookies on Friday for a cookie swap of about 40 people and they are awesome! Thank you for the recipe 🙂
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amy Reply:
December 11th, 2011 at 9:44 AM
So glad to hear it! You are most welcome!!
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Comment by living_insanity — December 11, 2011 @ 8:33 AM
I’ve been looking everywhere for a soft gingerbread cookie, can’t wait to try these! I love that you don’t have to chill the dough. Can you freeze these too?
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amy Reply:
December 12th, 2011 at 7:14 PM
Absolutely!
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Comment by Kristina — December 12, 2011 @ 6:48 PM