Gingerbread Cookies with Lemon Glaze

I made these Christmas cookies to accompany my masala-spiced eggnog panna cotta with rum-soaked raisins at my “roast beast” Christmas dinner party this year! They were such a hit! I also served a sparking ginger-pear cocktail to add a little extra sparkly ginger spice!

I love using snowflake cookie cutters for this recipe, instead of gingerbread men. The cookies look like little, icy, sparkly snowflakes – but certainly, any cookie cutter will do. I used a 2-inch snowflake and simply used a smaller flower-shaped cutter to cut out the center.  

To make the ginger sugar, I simply took about 6-10 ginger candies and popped them in a food processor on a chop setting for about 3 seconds. That’s all it takes! It really kicks up the “gingery” flavor in the cookie, which is my favorite thing about this recipe. I love that spicy, gingery zing!

The Simple Process

1. First, we’ll combine softened butter with molasses and brown sugar in a bowl, then add egg, and vanilla extract.
2. Next, we’ll combine spices, flour, baking soda, and salt in a separate bowl, mix everything together, and refrigerate the dough for a few hours.
3. Then, we’ll roll, cut, bake, and cool the cookies. 
4. Finally, we’ll make the glaze and ginger sugar, then give the cookies a little glaze and sugar sprinkle.

Ingredient Notes

dark brown sugar – You can also use light brown sugar. I just find dark brown gives the cookies a little more flavor.

unsulphured molasses – Not “black strap molasses,” which is too bitter for this recipe.

vanilla extract – I used Beyond Good Madagascar Vanilla Extract.

baking soda – Be sure your baking soda isn’t too old. If it’s more than 18 months old, toss it. The biggest complaint about gingerbread cookies is that they’re often too hard – these cookies are perfectly semi-soft because of the baking soda, and if it’s too old (or you leave it out), your cookies will be hard and dense.

ground ginger – You’re going to be using 1 whole tablespoon. That’s not a typo.

ground cinnamon – If you really want to give these cookies a special zing, use Saigon cinnamon instead! It has an intriguing spiciness that really complements ginger!

ground nutmeg – You can substitute with ground cloves if you don’t have nutmeg.

fresh lemon juice – Only fresh. Don’t use lemon juice from a bottle.

powdered sugar – I know it seems like a lot, but it really melts down into the glaze when mixed with lemon juice.

ginger candies – I used Pure Ginger Hard Candies.

How to Make These Cookies – Step by Step

I used a hand mixer, but feel free to use a standing mixer with a paddle attachment if you have it.

1. In a large mixing bowl. Combine 10 tbsp. soft (or melted) butter, ¾ cup dark brown sugar, and ⅔ cup molasses. Use a hand mixer to combine well until smooth. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides when necessary.

2. Add 1 egg and 1 tsp. vanilla extract. Continue to mix until smooth.

3. In a separate bowl, combine 3½ cups all-purpose flour, 1 tsp. baking soda, ½ tsp. salt, 1 tbsp. ground ginger, 1 tbsp. ground cinnamon, ½ tsp. ground allspice and ½ tsp. ground nutmeg.

4. Gradually add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, stirring with a mixing spoon. The dough will begin to become sticky, hard, and a little crumbly. I usually end up using my hands to completely combine the last bit of dry ingredients.

5. Separate the dough into 2 parts, and either wrap each in cellophane or place them in ziplock bags. Flatten them out a bit – this will allow the dough to cool and harden faster. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours. Don’t skip the cooling step.

6. Preheat oven to 350 F. (177 C.). Remove dough bags one at a time – it warms very quickly, so you want to keep the other refrigerated while you roll and cut the other. On a floured surface, roll the dough to ¼-inch thick. 

7. As you roll, the dough may crack a little. Use the warmth of your fingers to smooth out cracks before cutting if the rolling pin didn’t quite roll smoothly. Use your cookie cutter to cut shapes. I used a 2-inch wide snowflake.

8. I find it’s helpful to use a spatula to shimmy underneath the dough to lift the shape cleanly, even when the surface is well-floured.

9. On Silpat or parchment-lined baking sheet, lay cookie shapes (you may have to bake in batches). Bake for 10 minutes. Once done, remove and cool for 5 – 10 minutes. 

10. Once cookies are no longer warm, stir 1 cup powdered sugar (I know it seems like a lot, but it will really melt in the lemon juice) and 2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice, until a glaze forms. Glaze cookies with a pastry brush. Refrigerate for 10 minutes.

11. Place 6-10 ginger candies in a food processor and process on a “chop” setting for about 3 seconds to create ginger sugar. If you don’t have a food processor, you can also place candies in a bag and use your rolling pin to grind them into sugar.

12. Sprinkle ginger sugar evenly on the cookies. Store them in a container with a lid. 

A Few Notes

1. The cookies may not appear “done” after 10 minutes of baking, because they’ll seem quite soft right when you take them out, but they will firm up nicely to a semi-soft texture once cooled. However, if you touch one gently, and you really make a fingerprint in them, then they may need a little more time in the oven after all. If this happens, give them an extra 2-4 minutes more.
2. If you’re using larger cookie cutters than I used (a 2-inch snowflake) then your bake time may increase. If you’re using a 4-6 inch cookie cutter, give the cookies an extra 2-4 minutes to bake.