Gingerbread Cookies
You’ll love making holiday memories with this gingerbread cookie recipe! Crisp, crunchy, and sturdy, they’re perfect for decorating. The easiest dough you’ll ever roll out, with a flavor that just screams holiday!
Thank you to Aldi Stores for sponsoring this post, and helping me to make happy holiday memories with my family! All opinions expressed herein are straight from my heart.
Over the Thanksgiving holiday, I participated in a pin party hosted by Better Homes and Gardens. I was scouring the web for anything and everything to get the holiday spirit flowing, and I saw so many gorgeous images of gingerbread houses. It just inspired me!
Have you ever made a house though? It’s a lot. I mean, I’m the kind of person that likes a lot, but whole gingerbread houses are a lot a lot. Even for me. And the front facade is really the best part anyway, so I just decided to do that. I used a 4-inch square cutter and just went nuts with the royal icing and Christmas candy decorations.
I picked up all the trimmings at my favorite place in all the land, Aldi. Once again you got me, Aldi. Everything you see here, plus eggs, bacon, milk, bagels (of the big and mini variety), and a loaf of bread rang up at just a little over 20 bucks. I will never stop being astonished by just how much I can get for so little at that store.
When I was at the headquarters a couple of weeks ago, I learned all about just how they do it (read more about that here). No credit card fees help (they just take cash or debit there), and so do no bags. Bring your own reusable bags, or take advantage of the empty boxes they put out for customers.
Also, they have fewer employees. Just a couple in the store at any given time, and it’s on you to put your shopping cart back when you’re done with it. You see this chain thingy? I stick my quarter in there and it unlocks it. The quarter stays right there with me while I shop, and when I put the cart back and hook the chain back up, it pops the quarter back out for me. I will gladly put my own cart back if it cuts my grocery bill like that! And you notice how all the boxes are stacked there? It’s pretty genius. The packaging is designed to do double duty as shelving. No need to place products on a shelf one by one. Just stack up the crates and rip off the front of the box. That’s what I call efficient!
Once I got home with all my Aldi loot, I couldn’t wait to get to decorating. But first I had to settle upon a good gingerbread cookie recipe- and I think this one nails it. It took me a couple tries. The first time around, the kiddos were right there with me, lovin’ every minute of it, until the part where the molasses goes in. Uh oh. Game over. They just couldn’t get into that slightly bitter funk. So I reworked the recipe with less molasses and a touch of floral honey for balance. This time around they were all in!
I always add a bit of cornstarch to my roll-out cut-out (whatever you want to call them) cookies, because it just does something so magical to the dough. Honest to goodness, I was scared to death to make cookies like this until I discovered that secret ingredient. The thought of sprinkling flour all over my counters and everything else was about the last thing I’d ever want to do, but when I discovered this trick I just couldn’t stop baking cut-outs. No flour sprinkling necessary! Just plop a ball of dough between two sheets of parchment and roll away. The shapes hold beautifully, the edges stay nice and clean, and you can re-roll the scraps without them getting tough. Check out this post for a vanilla version, and this one for chocolate.
These gingerbread cookies are so much fun to make! My boys and I had a blast working on them together, and Aldi made it all so much more manageable. They’ve got tons of great cookies, candies, and gift items for the holidays, so be sure to check your local store and let your creativity run wild!
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Gingerbread Cookies
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons (88.72 g) unsalted butter,, softened
- 1/2 cup (110 g) dark brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons molasses
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 1/2 cups (187.5 g) all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup (32 g) cornstarch
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 tablespoons milk, I used 1%
Instructions
- Cream the butter and brown sugar together until smooth.
- Mix in the molasses and honey until incorporated.
- Add the flour, cornstarch, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, salt, and baking soda, and mix on low speed until moistened. Add the milk and stir until the dough forms a ball.
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
- Roll the dough, between sheets of parchment paper, to a thickness of 1/4-inch. Cut shapes and transfer to parchment-lined baking sheets.
- Bake for approximately 20 minutes, or until set around the edges and just barely soft in the middle.*
Are they more crisp than regular sugar cookies because there are no eggs?
No, they are not more crisp. These cookies have more of a shortbread-like texture.
hi allie..those cookies look amazing! just wondering, is it sturdy enough to build gingerbread house with it?
Hey Juliana! Although I’ve never actually attempted it myself, I think you might be good! Just make sure your royal icing is nice and stiff 🙂 Good luck and have a blast!
Okay… these cookies are like the cutest thing I’ve seen all Christmas season. Such a fun project to do with your family!
Thanks Chris! We had a lot of fun getting creative with all that Christmas candy 😉
Allie,
I wanted to ask a question about the recipe. I followed on the ingredients and I had to add more milk because the dough was too dry. I think that I added 3 more tablespoons of milk. Is it possible that there is anything missing or that the amounts are off for the flour?
Thanks!
Hey Cinnamon, thanks for bringing this to my attention. I pulled the cookbook off the shelf to double check, and sure enough it should have been 2 tablespoons of milk. I went ahead and updated the recipe. Thanks again and I hope you enjoy the cookies!
These cookies are too cute! Love them!
Aw, thanks Jess! Hope you’re having a fun weekend sweetie 😉
So adorable – I think I’m in love! I adore your decorations too!
Thank you so much Alessandra! I’m so happy you like them 🙂
Oh my gosh – making just the front of the house is really genius. Love the look of these!
Thank you so much Liz!
ADORABLE!!!
Thanks Amanda! Hope you’re having a fun weekend 😉
perfect for a fun afternoon with my niece!
Yay! I hope you both enjoy! 🙂
I’m dying over all the cuteness here!! You did such a fabulous job. I’ve got a gingerbread recipe coming up but I’ve never made my own house before. My husband (an architect) thinks it would be cool to design one and then build it. 🙂
That would be SO cool! The first time I tried one I was young… and then I actually went on to become an architect as well! Small world. I was a project architect for close to 10 years (residential). After all that practice building models I sorta wonder if building a gingerbread house would be easier now. Either way I’m sure I’d get lost in the creative process and have a blast! Can’t wait to see your recipe Tiffany!
Oh my goodness … pinning these!! They are just beautiful. You are so creative, Allie. At first I thought they actually were the whole house, so you’ve definitely achieved what you set out to do … but with much less work, as you say. 🙂
Thank you so much Helen! And for the pin too. Hope you’re having a great weekend, friend!
I cannot get over how cute these are! I haven’t made gingerbread houses for the longest time! But I do love them!! Nice post!
Thank you so much Annie! I’m so glad you enjoyed. Hopefully it inspired you 😉
Oh my GOSH Allie, these are so cute! Haha, I get you on the a lot a lot. Gingerbread houses are a work of art and you nailed these! Can you come do mine? Seriously, you could teach a class because I would take it. Pinning these awesome Christmas treats!
Thank you so much Mary Frances! I absolutely love to decorate. Wish there were more hours in the day!