These spicy gingerbread cookies will have you savouring every bite with a delectable combination of spice and sweet for a treat you don’t need to wait for Christmas to bake! These can be made as thick cookies (sliced) or in classic cookie cutter shapes.
I’ve found that there’s usually a simple solution to challenges which may pop up in life. All you need are the right ingredients and the best recipe. What am I talking about?
Well, for a few days I noticed that I felt fatigued and my body was cold when everyone else seemed to be feeling warm. Sigh. A check up showed that I needed to bump up my body’s iron content. Boooo…
Options…take some iron tablets, drink a blood boosting complex, eat loads of iron rich foods (immediately) or have some blackstrap molasses. I don’t particularly like the taste of molasses, but when I weighed up the options, molasses topped the list because I could either make a molasses cake, some bbq chicken/beef/veggies or some delectable Gingerbread Cookies. Cookies won! They were the simplest to make.
So then came this refined sugar free masterpiece (experiment lol) that quickly disappeared as soon as they were cool enough to crunch. I’ve actually made this and molasses cake a few times (iron boosting or not, they’re def worth it).
There are two versions of these cookies which you can try:
Here’s how I do the first one:
I mixed the dry ingredients together. The flour, baking soda (an integral part of any ginger cookie), baking powder, salt and spices that make it taste of nostalgia and warm fuzziness. Aka lots of ginger, some ground clove and of course…some cinnamon!
Then I combined the wet ingredients. Molasses, melted butter (or on some occasions, coconut oil), honey (or in some instances coconut sugar). I tend to do this mix in a small pan or a stainless steel bowl which I can place over boiling water to make it warm enough to stir comfortably.
Then I poured the wet into the dry and mixed to combine them. This stage tends to make you question whether you added enough wetness to the mix, but, be strong lol, mix some more, it’ll get there.
When the dough came together (slightly sticky but okay), I put it into cling film and wrapped it up, shaping it into a log. Depending on how much dough I made, I sometimes made two logs in order to save a batch for another time.
Once that’s done and chilled for an hour or two, I slice the chilled (fairly solid) log into thick cookies and bake ’em for a few minutes. If ever I opted for using cookie cutters, I took the dough out while it was softer and pliable enough to roll around 1/4″ thick. This usually meant dusting the countertop with enough flour to keep the dough from sticking.
Here’s how I do the second one:
I whisk the butter (usually by hand when it’s softened) for a couple minutes, then add some coconut sugar or honey (sometimes I leave additional sweeteners out altogether). After those are combined i pour in my molasses and give it some elbow grease.
The egg gets tossed in next (and vanilla if I’m using it).
Next, I combined the dry ingredients and slowly pour them into the wet mix while mixing it.
The next steps are the same as the first method. The dough comes together and gets rolled into a log, wrapped up, then popped into the fridge for a couple of hours.
I slice it into disc shaped cookies and bake them for a few minutes.
GINGERBREAD COOKIES INGREDIENTS:
- 6 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 4 teaspoons ground ginger
- 4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon finely ground pepper
- 1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks or 1/2 pound) unsalted butter (at room temperature)
- 1 cup packed coconut nectar (or sub for 1/2 cup honey in alternative method)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup blackstrap molasses (use less for a less spicy version)
METHOD 1. (IF USING HONEY)
- Combine all dry ingredients
- Melt butter and combine with other wet ingredients
- Pour wet into dry ingredients and mix till fully incorporated
- Transfer (sticky) mixture to clingfilm and roll into a log
- Refrigerate for a few hours until firm
- Preheat oven to 350F, remove log from fridge and slice into 1/4″ thick cookies
- Place on lined baking tray
- Bake for 12-14 mins (to your preferred firmness)
METHOD 2.
- Whisk butter and sweetener until light and fluffy
- Add molasses and whisk till incorporated
- Add egg
- Combine dry ingredients
- Slowly incorporate dry ingredient mix into wet mixture
- Transfer to clingfilm and roll into a log
- Refrigerate log for 1-2 hours or until firm
- Preheat oven to 350F, remove log from fridge and slice into 1/4″ thick cookies
- Place on lined baking tray
- Bake for 12-14 mins (to preferred firmness)
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