These Egg-Free Gingerbread Cookies are so delicious. They are soft and chewy, with lovely hints of cinnamon, cloves, and ginger.
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Gingerbread is traditionally baked around the holidays. The warm smell of ginger, cinnamon, and cloves gives these cookies the irresistible flavours you look for in a good gingerbread recipe. Not to mention, the sweet aroma that fills your home with holiday cheer. But why wait for the holidays to enjoy these cookies when you can enjoy them all year round. My boys and I love baking gingerbread together. We cut them into cute shapes and enjoy them with a tall glass of milk or a nice warm tea.
This recipe has always been my favorite gingerbread cookie recipe. I have tried others, but none have turned out as well as this one. It’s egg-free too, making it a great option for people with egg sensitivities.
Making Gingerbread cookies
There are a few steps involved when making these cookies, but I’ll break it down for you, so these will be super easy to make.
1. Similar to my sugar cookie recipe, I like to make my dough the night before. I start by preparing and measuring all of my ingredients to make sure it’s all ready to go.
2. Using an electric mixer, stir together the dry ingredients for about 30 seconds. Then, add the butter pieces and continue to mix at medium speed for another 1-2 minutes, until the mixture looks sandy and resembles fine meal. Reduce the speed to low, and with the mixer still running, gradually add the molasses and milk. Mix for about 20 seconds, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed, until the dough is evenly moistened. Increase the speed to medium, and mix for another 10 seconds until thoroughly combined.
3. The dough will be very soft and a bit sticky to work with. It should be chilled for at least 2 hours, or overnight, before rolling out and cutting into shapes.
4. Flour the working surface and rolling pin well, as the dough can become sticky while working with it. Roll out the dough to about ¼” thickness. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, then place the cut-out cookie dough onto it. Bake for about 8-9 minutes. DO NOT OVERBAKE! Cool the cookies on the sheets for 2 minutes, then transfer cookies to a wire rack to continue cooling.
Benefits of Ginger
Ginger is a popular spice. It is high in gingerol, a substance with powerful anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. It is commonly used when easing a cold, or the flu, and is known to relieve nausea. Great in helping to keep a body healthy, and good to know when I’m trying to justify eating my 4th cookie.
Extra hints for making these cookies
- Be sure the dough is well chilled before working with it.
- After rolling out the dough and cutting your shapes, you can pop the tray back into the fridge for a few minutes. This will help to prevent the dough from expanding too much when in the oven.
- DO NOT over bake these cookies. Oven temperatures may vary, so keep a close eye on them while they are in the oven.
- You can tell they are done when the centers are set and the dough barely retains an imprint when touched gently, with a fingertip.
These cookies have a very mild flavour. If you like a stronger ginger flavour in your gingerbread, you can double the amount of ginger to your dry ingredients (1 ½ tbsp).
Decorating Gingerbread cookies
You can make these for any holiday, or any day really. We always make them at Christmas time. We cut them into cute gingerbread shapes, Christmas trees, stars, anything that symbolizes the season. The white icing nicely contrasts the cookie, creating a nice punch on a Holiday cookie display. We also used this recipe to make these cute little Four Leaf clover shapes. A bit of green icing and some gold sprinkles and, voila! Perfect for St. Patrick’s Day.
I like to use this royal icing recipe for all of my cookie decorating. Easy to make and sets up nicely.
More Cookie Recipes
Egg-free Gingerbread Cookies
Course: DessertCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy24
servings10
minutes40
minutesIngredients
3 cups flour
3/4 cups brown sugar
3/4 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp groud cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp salt
12 tbsp softened butter at room temperature (cut up into 12 pieces)
3/4 cups Dark molasses
2 tbsp milk
Directions
- With a mixer, stir together the flour, brown sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and salt at low speed for about 30 seconds, until combined.
- Add the butter pieces and mix at medium-low speed for about 1 to 2 minutes, until the mixture is sandy and resembles fine meal.
- Reduce the speed to low, and with the mixer running, gradually add the molasses and milk; mix for about 20 seconds until the dough is evenly moistened. Increase the speed to medium and mix for another 10 seconds until it is thoroughly combined.
- Scrape the dough into a glass bowl and refriderate for 2 hours or ovenight.
- Line baking sheets with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 350º. Roll out the dough and cut into shapes.
- Bake cookies for about 8 to 9 minutes. Do not over bake.
- Cool the cookies on the pans for 2 mintues and then transfer them to a wire rack.
Notes
- Make dough ahead and Freeze: Made too much dough or just want to plan ahead? You can easily freeze this dough whole or in cut shapes. If cut into shapes, place them onto a lined cookie tray for an hour and then transfer them into a freezer bag or freezer-safe container for later use.
- Unbaked cookie dough freezes well for up to three months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then bake as directed
- Making a gingerbread cookie house? This cookie dough is not sturdy enough for gingerbread houses. Just testing out a few recipes, so check back for a great gingerbread house recipes.
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