The absolute best gingerbread cookie I've had was made by a young student in the American Regional class at the CIA. He was sous chef one day and asked if he could bake his grandmother's gingerbread recipe as a treat for the class if time permitted...  I believe it was a German recipe... the absolute best! Crunchy, spicy, sweet... so good.

  Ginger Bread

Gingerbread is my passion!

I experiment with several recipes each year, searching for the perfect, spicy/crunchy/ sweet ginger cookie.

Gingerbread cookies, to me, are defined by the warm spices and deep molasses flavor. Ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves create a spice profile that reflects the historic spice trade-I also like to add Chinese five spice or Japanese Togarashi spices for an interesting, global twist.

I prefer crisp, spicy ginger cookies cut into decorative shapes to the softer, cake-like versions.

This recipe is a combination of several recipes I've researched and developed into my favorite. I hope you enjoy it (with milk).


There are a lot of ingredients in this recipe... mostly spices. I noticed there are now Gingerbread spice blends on the market but I haven't tried any yet.

Making Gingerbread

Prep Time: 30 min

Cooking Time: 20 min

Yield: 10 portions

Ingredients                                          

1 C               Butter, room temperature   

3/4 C.         Brown Sugar

1/2 tsp       Salt

3tsp           Cinnamon

3 tsp          Ginger

1/4 tsp       Allspice

1/2 tsp.      Nutmeg

1/2 tsp.      Clove

1 C              Molasses

1/2 tsp      Vinegar, cider

2 tsp.         Baking Soda

1 ea.           Egg

4 C.           AP Flour

How to Prepare Gingerbread cutouts


Step 1  Making the gingerbread dough

I prefer a spicy gingerbread dough, which is a little on the darker side and doesn't rise as much. The spices help with the spicy flavor and color.



Place the butter, brown sugar and spices into the mixing bowl. Using the paddle, blend to a coarse mixture.


Add the molasses and vinegar, incorporate.

Add the baking soda and the egg, incorporate.


Finally add the flour, blend to a paste but do not overwork the dough.

Step 2  Rolling out and cutting

Place 1/2 of the dough onto a floured counter (on parchment), gently flatten and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Repeat with the second remaining dough.


Roll out the cold dough to 1/8th inch thick and cool again if needed. Repeat with the other portion.

Cold dough is much easier to work with.


Dip the cookie cutter into flour periodically before cutting out shapes (to avoid sticking). Cut out shapes and gently place onto a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. If the dough begins to stick, place in a cool spot and continue when the dough is firm.

You can reroll dough trim and cut shapes.

3 Baking the Gingerbread

Bake in a preheated oven at 350°F for about 8--10 minutes, when the cookies have puffed a bit and you can see the surface is no longer wet and sticky.

Cool and enjoy-

or frost if you like.

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