No Chill Gingerbread Cut Out Cookies
Look at how fun these guys turned out! Not gonna lie, I actually hate decorating sugar cookies. Does that make me the Grinch incarnate? I really don’t like the flavor of most sugar cookie frosting, and I don’t enjoy working with royal icing in general, so I guess I am kind of Grinchy when it comes to this.
But these guys were a lot of fun. I don’t know why it took me this many years to realize that I could use sprinkles to jazz up my cut outs, but here we are. Anyway, that’s just a fun tip if you’re sugar cookie impaired like me. All you need is a thickened powder sugar glaze to stick the sprinkles on, and voila! Christmas lights, or a gingerbread man’s buttons.
So back to the cookies. This is entry #2 in the cut out cookie series this year. Last week, I did you a favor and introduced you to a glorious recipe for chocolate cut outs that, of course, requires no chilling. Well, these little gingerbread men are the same – except for the taste of course.
These guys are an adaptation of the Betty Crocker gingerbread man recipe from the 1972 cookbook. This is the one my family has always used, but I have two problems with it. 1) The recipe requires that you chill the cut outs for 3-5 hours! This is not something that someone as impatient as I am can handle. 2) The cookies have a great taste, but they come out kind of crispy and hard. I like softer cut outs.
This recipe remedies both those issues. These cookies maintain that gingerbread flavor, but are soft. They are firm enough for decorating, but definitely not crispy. And as mentioned before, they don’t require chilling.
And they do not spread. Just look at those lovely edges. My 3 year old cut them, and they still came out that nice, so you know its a good recipe 😉
No Chill Gingerbread Cut Outs
Ingredients
Cookies
- ½ cup butter or margarine
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ cup molasses NOT blackstrap
- 1 egg
- ¼ cup water
- 3-4 cups flour
- ¼ tsp ginger
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
- ⅛ tsp allspice
Icing
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 4 Tbsp water or milk
Instructions
Cookies
- Beat together butter, sugar, egg, and molasses.
- Add water and mix well.
- Add 3 cups flour and spices and mix well. Dough should clean itself from the side of the bowl. If not, add flour in 1/4 cup increments until desired consistency is reached.
- Turn dough out onto floured surface and roll to 1/4" thickness.
- Cut cookies and place them on lined or greased baking pan.
- Bake at 350° for 8-10 minutes.
- Allow to cool completely, then decorate.
Icing
- Add water to powdered sugar in 1 Tbsp increments until desired consistency is reached.
Looking for more Christmas treats? Check these out!
Chocolate Dipped Shortbread Cookies
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