The holiday season completely sneaked up on me out of nowhere, and I find myself utterly unprepared. Is it just me, or has Christmas come faster than usual this year? A week from Christmas and I have not decorated, put up a tree, or braved an over-crowded shopping mall. And I definitely have not been cranking out the Christmas cookies.
That said, I made sure I carved out some time this weekend to make these Soft Gingerbread Cookies. This is a recipe a family friend has used for decades. Every year, she would use it to make my younger brother the cutest advent calendar. She would wrap 24 of these cookies in plastic and attach them to a ribbon. My brother would then snack his way down to Christmas! These cookies stay remarkably soft day after day, so you can make these quite a bit in advance of when you'd need them. The spices in these are just right, and they have the perfect amount of sweetness. I'm sure Santa wouldn't mind gobbling a few up!
SOFT GINGERBREAD COOKIES
2 1/4 c flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 c shortening
1/2 c sugar
1 egg
1/2 c molasses
1. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir in the cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg. Set aside.
2. Cream together the shortening and sugar until fluffy. Beat in the egg and then the molasses. In small batches, mix in the dry ingredients, scraping down the bowl between each batch. Refrigerate dough for about an hour.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Roll dough into 1-inch balls and place on parchment, leaving plenty of room between them. Dip the bottom of a drinking glass into flour and shake off the excess. Press the drinking glass onto each dough ball to flatten them.
4. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Makes about 2 dozen cookies.
This recipe is shared with Melt in Your Mouth Monday, Craft-O-Maniac, Made by You Monday, Tuesday Talent Show, Totally Tasty Tuesdays, This Chick Cooks, Full Plate Thursday, It's a Keeper, Foodie Friday, Sweet Tooth Friday, Sweets for a Saturday, Crazy Sweet Tuesday
Creative and neat tradition with the advent calendar! Eating your way to Christmas, sounds like the way to go :)
ReplyDeleteWhile gingerbread boys and girls look sweet, sometimes I just want a gingerbread cookie without all that work and this recipe is just the ticket. Glad I came across this-yum. Enjoy the holidays!
These look super yummy! My kiddos love gingerbread I'll have to make these!
ReplyDeleteMy mouth is watering looking at these cookies! Thanks for sharing them on Crazy Sweet Tuesday!
ReplyDeleteOh Gosh I want those right now... Mmmmmm Thanks for the recipe!
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas!
Rainey @ The Project Table
Blog hopping from This Chick Cooks...I can't wait to try these! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDelete