Old-Fashioned Gingerbread

Submitted by ReeLani

"Yummy sounding gingerbread recipe from John Zehnder, the Food/Beverage Director of Zehnder's Restaurant in Frankenmuth, Michigan. Prep time includes an hour for chilling."

 

• Ready In: 1hr 23mins
• Ingredients: 15
• Yields: 1 batch

ingredients

• GINGERBREAD INGREDIENTS

• 8 tablespoons softened butter
• 1⁄2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1⁄2 cup molasses
• 1 large egg
• 2 1⁄2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1⁄2 teaspoon ground allspice

• OPTIONAL INGREDIENTS FOR ICING

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1⁄3 cup softened butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons milk or 2 tablespoons cream
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Cream together butter and sugar, then beat in molasses and egg.
3. Mix all dry ingredients together in a separate bowl.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the creamed butter/sugar mixture and mix until well blended.
5. Cover and refrigerate for one hour.
6. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to about a 3/4-inch thickness.
7. Cut into 3-inch squares, or use your choice of cookie cutters to cut out shapes.
8. Place on cookie sheets and bake 7-8 minutes.
9. Transfer to a rack to cool completely.
10. If you plan to ice your gingerbread, prepare the icing now.
11. Mix all icing ingredients together in a small bowl until smooth.

Reviews

[FOREVER YOUNG]

These are pretty good. Softer than my original recipe i use. My recipe is more like a gingersnap. I did like the taste of these.

 

[slb2008]

This is so easy to work with, delicious tasting, and perfect results -- everytime! Thanks Reelani!

 

[pies & cakes & cookies ohmy!]

This is great. The end result is so authentic because they are so thick. They make great ginger men, old fashioned and good tasting. I think next time I'll decrease the ginger a bit. Just a little strong for my taste. Dough was easy to roll, and baked up nice and even, no soft spots, although with larger cutters, more time is needed. Chill time is a must. Thanks, this one is tops.

 

[Your Mom]

I loved these. I added extra cinnamon and rolled them in it as well:)Will make next year!

 

[nyc4me03]

Everything a gingerbread cookie should be- soft, cakey and fragrant. I didn't have any allspice so I used ground cloves instead and it turned out beautifully! 12/15/07- I just want to add that a year after finding this recipe on Zaar, I still LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this recipe! It's a winner every time and makes the best gingerbread cookies! This year, I did gingerbread pigs (for good luck!). The key to this cookie is to roll out the dough thick. Beautiful cookie!