It's always the right time to learn how to make gingerbread cookies! These classic holiday cookies are soft, moist, and hold a perfect shape! I'm sharing my tips and tricks on making homemade, deliciously spiced, brown sugar and molasses-flavored cookies ready to be decorated and enjoyed all season long!
In a large mixing bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the shortening, sugar, and salt on medium speed until smooth. Add in the egg, molasses, and white vinegar; beat well.
In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, ground cinnamon, ground cloves, and ground ginger.
A little at a time, add the dry ingredients into the bowl with the wet ingredients and mix until well combined. The dough will be thick.
Cover and chill for at least 2 hours. The dough needs to be cold to properly roll out.
Preheat oven to 375°F and line baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
Remove the dough from the refrigerator and keep the dough in 1 big pile. Cut out 2 sheets of parchment paper, at least 1 inch bigger than the cookie cutter. On one of the pieces of parchment paper, take a 1-inch ball of dough and roll it out to be ⅛ inch thick (add flour to the rolling pin if it’s sticking). Press the cookie cutter into the flattened dough and remove the excess around the edge and add it back to the big ball of dough. Remove the cookie cutter. Take the other piece of parchment paper and place it on top of the cut out dough and flip it over. Gently peel the top piece of paper off (the cookie will now be upside down). Then gently flip the dough back over onto the parchment lined baking sheet (spacing the cookies 1-inch apart) and peel the top paper off (the cookie will now be right-side up again). This ensures a perfect shape!
Bake for 5-6 minutes or until just firm. Do not overbake or they will become crunchy.
Decorate with your icing and candies of choice and serve!
Notes
Using 3" cookie cutters, this will make approximately 45 cookies.