Gingerbread Cookies

the_cookie_lady's Note:

This is the very first gingerbread cookie I ever tried and it is still my favorite to this day. It has a nice chewy texture straight out of the oven and gets hard when it cools. But, as soon as you bite a chunk off, it melts in your mouth! I think the orginal recipe came from Taste of Home in their Christmas cookbooklet. The dough needs to refrigerate for at least 2 hours to let the flavors blend together, so plan ahead and don't skip this step.The recipe was for rolled cookies, but you can just as easily roll the dough into balls and push them down a little before baking. The dough does puff up quite a bit during baking, but it flattens back down as it cools. You can also substitute margarine for the shortening without changing the texture.

• Total Time: 55 mins
• Prep Time: 45 mins
• Cook Time: 10 mins

Ingredients:

Serves: 18

Yield: 18.0 cookies

• 2⁄3; cup shortening
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• ¼ cup molasses (dark is best)
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger

Directions:

1. Cream shortening and sugar. Beat in egg and molasses.
2. In a separate bowl, combine remaining ingredients; add to mixture while stirring.
3. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
4. Roll dough out on a floured surface (try to use the least amount of flour that you can to keep dough from sticking) to about 1/8" thick. Using a large cookie cutters (I use a 3 1/2" gingerbread man), cut out cookies and place on ungreased cookie sheets. Reroll dough scraps and repeat.
5. Bake @ 350 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes or until edges begin to brown. Remove cookie sheet from oven and allow cookies to cool on the sheet until they have flattened again. Carefully remove from cookie sheets and allow to completely cool on a wire rack.

Reviews

[Bexxx]

These cookies are great! I just finished making them with my toddler and a few of his little friends. I did not let them chill for the whole 2 hours, more like 1 hour. I did have trouble rolling them out, so I ended up just rolling them into balls with my fingers and placing them on the cookie sheet. That worked out great. I would make them agian for sure, but if I really wanted to make gingerbread men, I would probably try another recipe.