Gingerbread Boys and Girls (they didn’t have to be this way…)
Every year I have at least one cookie failure - and by “failure” I mean cookies that turn out poorly enough that I don’t even include them in the holiday baskets. This is why I stick mostly to recipes I’ve made for years (although I try to work in one or two new ones each year) - because if I’ve successfully made them before I know I can do it again.
Failures can happen for any number of reasons. They can be overcooked (read: burnt) or undercooked (which happens if you mess up the ingredient ratios and they won’t firm up - been there.) The problem can come in assembly (like the year I tried to make these lacey roll-up cookies that I couldn’t actually roll). It can also just be a dud of a recipe (like last year, when I tried to make “chocolate marshmallow clouds” that ended up looking like big turds - true story).
This year, it’s an assembly failure. I was doing so well until it came time to decorate these gingerbread people. I then made SEVERAL unforced errors that resulted in the creepiest-looking gingerbread cookies I’ve ever seen. The girls all remind me of Marge Simpson and the boys just look like big dummies. This isn’t the biggest failure ever - they still taste good, they just look pretty darn awful.
So, here we go - the anatomy of a failed cookie recipe. I’ll walk you through what went right and what went wrong because, when done correctly, these are awesome gingerbread cookies! I’ve made them before and they’ve turned out beautifully - it’s just that, this time, my cookie decorating choices were questionable.
step 1: gather your ingredients
Gingerbread people are high maintenance. You need to make the dough. You need to refrigerate it. You need to cut them out. You need to bake them. You need to decorate them. The decorating… oh, the decorating… but we’ll get to that later. For now, let’s talk ingredients and tools.
INGREDIENTS: there are a few things that put the gingerbread in gingerbread cookies:
Spices - Make sure you have them on hand. It’s not like they’re anything crazy, but they’re all necessary.
Molasses - This can be found in the baking section of the grocery store, usually on the top shelf. It’s what gives gingerbread cookies their classic dark gingerbready color.
TOOLS
Cookie Cutters - the classic shapes are people, but any shape will do. If you plan to get fancy with decorating them, choose a bigger cookie cutter to give yourself something to work with - just be aware they’re more likely to fall apart. If you’re going to go the easier frosting route I will recommend below, go with a smaller cookie cutter to prevent breakage.
Decorating Tools - You could get really fancy here… but I’m going to recommend you keep it simple. I know it’s heresy, but I’m going to make a case for the fact that you don’t actually need ANY fancy decorating tools or accessories. Stick with me, here - your gingerbread cookies are going to turn out SO much better than mine did!!
step 2: mix the wet ingredients together
In a large bowl or mixer bowl, beat butter and sugar together. Add egg and molasses and beat until combined, scraping down the sides as needed.
step 3: mix in the dry ingredients
In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and spices. Add to the wet ingredients in several parts, beating until completely combined before adding more. At least once, take a large wooden spoon and flip all of the contents of the bowl to ensure you’re not leaving any flour unmixed on the bottom of the bowl. You want to ensure everything is completely mixed together.
step 4: refrigerate your dough
Separate the dough into two halves. Gather one half in your hands and form it into a ball. Place the ball on a piece of plastic wrap or Press N’ Seal and flatten it into a disc, about 3/4” high. Wrap the disc tightly in the plastic wrap and repeat with the second half. Place both dough discs in the refrigerator for at least a couple of hours or up to a whole day.
step 5: cut out your cookies
Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.
Next, prepare your workspace before taking your dough out of the fridge. We received a pastry board for our wedding (thank you, Moore family :)) so I roll the dough right out on that. If you’re working directly on your counter, I suggest utilizing wax paper - just get the counter slightly damp with a sponge and then place a piece of wax paper down. The water will keep it from moving around on you. Sprinkle your wax paper or surface with flour. Don’t be shy here, the flour won’t hurt your cookies and it is what will keep them from sticking to your surface.
Once you’re ready, remove just one dough disc from the fridge, unwrap it, and place it down on your surface. Flour the top if it and then place a piece of wax paper on top. Using a rolling pin (and a significant amount of muscle), roll out your dough until it is about 1/4” thick. Please be careful here not to roll it too thinly - 1/4” is likely bigger than you’d think. If you cookies are too thin they will become overly crispy and/or be much more likely to fall apart.
Press your cookie cutter firmly into the dough and give it a little wiggle to separate the cookie from the surface. now, be very careful in removing the cookie from your working surface. I find it helpful to often pull away any excess dough to free the cookie and make it easier to lift it up cleanly. A small spatula can be helpful here, as well, but it’s not necessary. Place gingerbread cookies about an inch apart from one another on your parchment-lined cookie sheet. These guys (and girls) will spread a bit in the oven but not too much.
Ready to roll out, just need to flour the dough and cover it with wax paper first.
Pulling the extra dough away from this little guy makes it easier to get him off of the surface and ont to baking sheet.
It doesn’t look like it, but there’s at least two more cookies to be gotten out of this dough - just ball it up and roll it out again.
I was doing so well at this point… :)
step 6: bake your cookies
Bake cookies for approximately 11 minutes. It can be hard to tell when gingerbread cookies are done because of their color, so just make your best guess. When you take them out of the oven, let them rest on the cookie sheet for a minute or so before transferring them to a cooling rack. If you can’t make the transfer cleanly they’re not done - pop them back in the oven for an extra two minutes. Even if they are done, you’ll likely break a few in this process. It’s normal - don’t sweat it. Once on the cooling rack, let your cookies cool completely before attempting to decorate them.
These guys are done - if they look a little crackly on top that’s fine.
There’s a fair amount of cookie carnage involved in gingerbread cookie making.
step 7: make your frosting
This is where the wheels started to come off for me. I decided not to make a buttercream frosting, as I am suggesting you do, and made an icing from powdered sugar and milk instead. Don’t do that - just take the three minutes to make a simple buttercream frosting. Just combine your butter, milk, and vanilla in a large bowl or mixer bowl and beat until combined. It’s that easy, so just do it. If you want to add some food coloring, feel free to do so, but it’s not necessary.
Step 8: decorate your cookies
I made so many mistakes here. My biggest one was finding googly eyes in the baking aisle of the grocery store and thinking they were a good idea. Clearly, they were not. The second mistake was using icing instead of frosting, as mentioned above. The third mistake was trying to use cinnamon imperials and silver candy balls to dress them up - it just made them worse.
Decorating cut-out cookies isn’t easy for me - I’m much better at the baking part than the cookie decorating part. Therefore, I often just cover my entire cut-out cookie with buttercream frosting, which is what I want you to do here. Just dip a knife into your frosting, put a small amount on the cookie, and schmear it around. Boom, done - simple, frosted gingerbread cookies that are pretty and delicious. Do they have eyes and smiles and pretty clothes? No. But that’s okay, they don’t need to be perfect. If you want them to be perfect, you’ll need to delve into the world of Royal icing and the required techniques. I just don’t have that in me. I’m more of a schmear the frosting on top and move on kinda gal.
For your entertainment, I now give you close-up examples of exactly HOW bad my cookies looked…
I.
Just.
Can’t.
Even.
Mistakes Made…
So. Many. Mistakes. They’ve already been spelled out above. Let’s go back and remember how great my cookies looked coming out of the oven… they had so much potential!
Honestly, I hope you try this gingerbread cookie recipe. It truly is delicious - and your cookies don’t have to look as awful as mine did :).
Enjoy, my friends!