Every year my sister-in-law and I make Christmas cookies. We bust out the wine, Christmas tunes and the KitchenAid mixer that quite honestly doesn’t come out that often but yet I HAD to have on my wedding registry 8 years ago anticipating Holly Homemaker habits. However, for the past couple of years as our lives and husband’s dream jobs put miles between us…our baking traditions haven’t been as traditional as we prefer. But we bake from afar and are able to share our sweets via social media.
This year social media gifted me with an invite to a Christmas Cookie Exchange. Through Instagram I met Jennifer Moiso, who is the creator of the blog SouthFloridaLifestyle.com-a family-friendly guide to living in South Florida and uniting South Florida Moms. Which you know, barks right up my tree! And that’s exactly what she did. Barely treading water in my new neighborhood, state, hell, COUNTRY, she befriended me and welcomed me with open arms to her annual cookie exchange party. I eagerly accepted and knew that I had to make the ultimate CHRISTMAS COOKIE.
Nothing says Christmas more than Gingerbread. That and Egg Nog…give me all the nog. {See my Egg Nog Cookie Recipe here!) But I will tell you. Ginger cookies are hard to master. Not enough ginger can leave a tasteless chew toy, and too much heat can leave for a crunchy cookie which has no place in the gingerbread world and don’t get me started on dry dough…a ginger cookie should not crumble. Please, do not let these warnings red flag you from attempting these holiday must-haves. Don’t’ let fear keep you from the most perfect cookie for the holidays. I have tried and tested other recipes from Martha Stewart to Pinterest Pins…took notes, tweaked some things here and there making it mine and HOLD the PHONES! I’ve done it! Not to toot my own horn but….TOOT TOOT! I even took some of my own cookies when I filled my tin! Shhhh….
The ULTIMATE GINGER SUGAR COOKIE
What You’ll Need:
- 2 Cups of Flour (Choose your flour based on your preferred/dietary needs)
- 1.5 TSP of Ground Ginger
- 1.5 TSP of Cinnamon
- 1/4 TSP of Ground Clove
- 1 TSP of Baking SODA
- A few healthy grinds of Salt
- 1 CUP of Sugar
- 1/3 Cup of Butter (Room Temperature)
- 1/3 Cup of Grandma’s Molasses
- 1 Tsp of Milk
- 1 Egg
- Cup of Sugar in the RAW (coarse Sugar)
Step by Step (Ooh Baby!)
- Preheat your oven at 350F.
- Use a large mixing bowl to combine the first 6 DRY INGREDIENTS. Wisk together.
- In a separate mixing bowl or in a large mixer ~I used my KitchenAid mixer~ Combine your sugar and butter until blended nicely. I mixed at a low speed for 2-3 minutes, stopping once to clean the wisk extension from my mixer.
- Into your Sugar and Butter mixture, add your egg and slowly mix in the molasses. A lovely browning of the dough will occur. The magic is happening. You’re doing it. You’re doing it (Peter..). -> If you get that reference…you’re amazing and we are now friends.
- Bit by bit include your dry ingredient bowl into your “wet” ingredients mix. Mix well until you are happy with your cookie dough consistency. Taste….Always…if it don’t taste like cookie…you done somethin’ wrong. But it’s good, so you’re good.
- Grab a small bowl, pour 1 Cup of the COARSE RAW sugar.
- Grease up your hands a little with a smudge of butter. This keeps your mitts from getting overly doughy.
- Using a teaspoon, dollop that quantity into your hand and roll into golf ball size portions. Roll the top of the ball in your coarse sugar and place on your cookie sheet. Be sure to leave appropriate space between cookie balls. These beauties expand in all the right places.
- Finally, when you have placed them all on the cookie sheet, press each cookie down a quarter of the way down.
- Bake for 10 MINUTES! Seriously that’s it. Don’t overcook. They may seem overly soft when you remove them from the oven but rest easy, these cookies firm up into the perfect chewy consistency. Set on a cooling rack and marathon bake these bad boys because they freeze better than Elsa’s frosty touch.
Thank you for all the kind words over Instagram on how yummy these cookies looked! My Ginger cookies will not disappoint and they are SO EASY! Let me know how they turned out! Leave me a comment below!
