Soft Glazed Gingerbread Cookies

soft glazed gingerbread cookies for the holidays

Is everybody jazzed for cookie baking season? This week I lined up all my flour and sugar canisters front and center on my counter, and it seems like my oven never cools down. I love to make the traditional lineup, but every year I try to breakout with something new. I’ve been dying to make these gorgeous glazed gingerbread cookies from chef Yotam Ottolenghi’s dessert cookbook, Sweet.

This gingerbread dough is a dream to work with, and takes my cookie stamp imprints perfectly (find the cookie stamps I use here.) I highly recommend these glazed gingerbread cookies ~ they’re not only drop dead stunning, they taste like the holidays!

gingerbread is one of my favorite holiday ‘flavors’

And I have lots of gingerbread inspired recipes already on the blog. Gingerbread cookies can be crunchy or soft, spicy or mild, deep and dark, or more golden. I happen to love my gingerbread on the soft side, so these soft glazed gingerbread cookies are just perfect for me. They stay soft, too, day after day (if they last that long.)

related: Chocolate Gingerbread Stamped Cookies

what are the spices in glazed gingerbread cookies?

Gingerbread is characterized by molasses along with a blend of spices, but every gingerbread cookie will be unique depending on the exact mixture of spices you use. I don’t recommend using a premixed spice blend, it’s better to use individual spices. If you like you can make your own custom gingerbread spice blend at the start of the holiday season. Then you’ll have it handy for spicing up cocoa, latte, pancakes, or anything that needs a holiday vibe. Feel free to adjust the ratios of the ingredients to your particular taste.

how to make homemade gingerbread spice mix

• 1 Tbsp ground ginger
• 1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
• 1 Tbsp ground allspice
• 1 1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

cookie stamps make intricate glazed gingerbread cookies with no effort!

As you can see these cookies are gorgeous, but what you might not guess is how simple they are to make. I used my Nordicware Cookie Stamps, they make it so quick and easy to get that intricate patterning.

how to use a cookie stamp

Cookie stamps are fun and easy to use, and you get a fancy cookie effect instantly!

1. It’s essential to use the right dough ~ choose a recipe made for stamping, or choose a firm gingerbread, shortbread, or other type of non-spreading dough that will hold the shape of the stamp as it cooks.
2. Chill your cookie stamps in the freezer for several minutes before using. This helps insure a crisp imprint.
3. Roll out your dough to a 1/4 inch thickness.
4. Alternatively you can roll small balls of dough and press the stamp onto the individual ball.
5. If your stamp sticks to the dough, lightly flour it.
6. Use a cookie cutter that is slightly larger or slightly smaller than the stamp itself to cut out your cookies (you can also cut the cookies by hand with a paring knife)  and transfer to a cookie sheet. Bake as normal.
7. If your imprints are not sharp after baking, try chilling the cookies before baking. If they are still not sharp, try another recipe.

this gingerbread dough is a dream to work with

This dough is so beautiful all by itself, there’s nothing else that gets me in the holiday spirit quite like rolling out gingerbread dough. (Did you know that I’ve got a gingerbread play dough recipe on the site?)  This particular dough is easy to roll, and the scraps are easy to reform and re-roll because the dough is moist. Kids love to help with stamped cookies, so let them join in the fun. Give them a ball of dough and let them stamp away.

A glaze brings out the gorgeous stamped pattern

The glaze is the secret to glazed gingerbread cookies! A light brushing of a simple confectioner’s sugar glaze highlights the beautiful patterns and really sets these cookies apart, so don’t skip it.

The glaze adds an extra layer of sweetness, and also seals in the moisture so these cookies last for days.

tips for glazing your stamped gingerbread cookies

• Do a test cookie to make sure your glaze is the right consistency. If it’s too thick it will hide the pattern rather than highlight it.
• I like to use a pastry brush to get the glaze even across the cookie, don’t worry if a little bit drips down the sides of the cookies, that’s part of the charm!
• Water makes a translucent glaze, which is what you want. Milk or cream can make it more opaque.

I recommend Nordic Ware cookie stamps

The set I use for my glazed gingerbread cookies is called Starry Night. These sturdy cookie stamps are cast aluminum with wooden handles, I love how they give an instant ‘wow’ factor to a plain cookie. Just like your favorite copper cookie cutters, these tools will become a treasured family heirlooms. There are lots of designs to choose from.

Featured comment:

The stamps worked like a charm but that dough? It too rolled like a dream and the cookies were simply delicious? The addition of the cocoa makes them taste more like a European ginger cookie to my husband and I. And the cookies looked fab too! Thanks again Sue for another keeper of a recipe.

~ NoElle

Soft Glazed Gingerbread Cookies

3.78 from 431 votes

Soft Glazed Gingerbread Cookies are stunningly gorgeous, but made quick and easy with cookie stamps.

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Prep Time:15 minutes minutes

Cook Time:10 minutes minutes

Total Time:25 minutes minutes

Servings: 14 cookies

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Equipment

• cookie stamps buy them here.

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

wet ingredients

• 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/3 cup plus 2 tbsp dark brown sugar, packed
• 1/3 cup molasses, do not use blackstrap, which is bitter.
• 1 large egg yolk

dry ingredients

• 1 ¾ cups plus 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp Dutch-processed cocoa powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp ground cloves
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper

glaze

• 1 cup sifted confectioner’s sugar
• 1 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• 1 Tbsp plus 1 tsp warm water

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 375°F and put your cookie stamps in the freezer to chill.
• Cream together the butter, sugar, and molasses in a stand mixer or with electric beaters. Beat in the egg yolk.
• Sift together the dry ingredients. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, beating on low until the dough comes together.
• Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead it until all the floury crumbles are incorporated. Flatten the dough into a disk and then roll out to about 1/4 inch thickness. I did not have to chill my dough before rolling, but if yours is very soft, you may want to.
• Press the cookie stamps firmly into the dough, and then use a round cookie cutter slightly larger or slightly smaller than the stamp itself to cut out the cookies. Note: your cookie stamp shouldn't stick, but if yours does, your dough may have needed a bit more flour. Try flouring the cookie stamp before stamping, or put the cookie stamp in the fridge to chill it first.
• Transfer the cookies to a lined baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes. You don't want to over bake these cookies, so do a test cookie or two to figure out the best timing for your oven. The cookies will be soft when you remove them from the oven, but will firm up as they cool.
• Let the cookies cool for 5 minutes on the pan before carefully transferring to a rack to cool completely.
• While the cookies are baking whisk the glaze ingredients together until they become a smooth thin glaze. Add more water if the glaze is too thick, it should have the consistency of maple syrup or a thin honey.
• Brush the cooled cookies with the glaze. You want the glaze to be thick enough to settle into the design for a beautiful emphasis. It will become more translucent as it dries.
• Let the glaze set up fully before serving or storing.

Video

Notes

These cookies will keep for up to a week at room temperature. Feel free to double it for more cookies.

*Recipe slightly tweaked from Yotam Ottolenghi’s Sweet

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Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Author: Sue Moran

Keyword: baking, Christmas, cookie stamps, cookies, dessert, gingerbread, holidays

Nutrition

Serving: 1 cookie · Calories: 147 kcal · Carbohydrates: 21 g · Protein: 2 g · Fat: 6 g · Saturated Fat: 4 g · Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3 g · Monounsaturated Fat: 2 g · Trans Fat: 0.2 g · Cholesterol: 29 mg · Sodium: 83 mg · Potassium: 28 mg · Fiber: 1 g · Sugar: 8 g · Vitamin A: 194 IU · Vitamin C: 0.004 mg · Calcium: 7 mg · Iron: 1 mg

Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although The View from Great Island attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.

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