Quick-Chill Gingerbread Cookies - A Book Inspired Recipe
Are you looking for a 'Quick-Chill" Gingerbread Cookie Recipe?
I found one, tested it out and guess what? It does work! Chilling for 5-10 minutes helps with the flavor, but you can also get away with not chilling it at all if you need too! This recipe does not include baking soda, which helps in the fact that if and when you chill your dough, it will not make your cookies puff up too much, which helps your cookies keep their shape nicely. If you have been following us on Instagram, you may have seen us bake up these yummy cookies! They turned out pretty good and we iced them with a simple vanilla buttercream icing. We also paired them with two of our favorite Gingerbread Cookie books...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAbDQgxK_nA&feature=youtu.be
Quick-Chill Gingerbread Cookie Recipe
If you don't have the time, you can still roll out this dough without chilling at all!
Ingredients Needed:
- 1 cup of butter
- 1 1/2 cups of packed brown sugar
- 1/3 cup of molasses
- 2 Large eggs
- 1 TBSP of ground cinnamon
- 2 tsp of ground allspice
- 1 tsp of ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp of salt
- 3 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour (some climates may need more flour)
Method for making your own No-Chill Gingerbread Cookies with your kids:
- Cream together your butter and sugar.
- Adding in your eggs, one at a time, scraping the edges of your bowl with a spatula if needed. Continue to mix well until fluffy and light.
- Mix in your spices.
- Finally, add in your flour, 1 cup at a time. Doing so will help the micing process and allow you time to make sure you do not add too much flour. Different climates may need more or less flour. (I live in a very dry climate this time of year, and 3 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour were all I needed.)
- Tip out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead your dough, allowing it to come together.
- Now, you can scrape the surface clean with a bench knife, and wrap your dough in plastic wrap, and chill for about 10 minutes (like I still did) OR, you can SKIP the CHILL and jump straight into the next step!
- Scrape the table clean, and re-flour it, then roll out your dough to begin cutting out your cookies.
- Roll out your dough, on a clean and floured surface, and begin cutting out your cookies. The thickness of your cookie really depends on how you like it.
- Bake in a pre-heated oven for 6 to 9 minutes, depending on the size, shape, and thickness, but you want the cookies to be soft.
- Allow to cool on the cookie sheet, and then transfer to a cooling rack. From there you can continue to ice your cookies with your favorite icing.
Buttercream Icing Recipe:
- 1/2 cup salted butter, softened
- 2 cups powdered sugar, divided
- 2-4 tablespoons cream or whole milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Gingerbread Cookie Books We Love
You know me, I love a good book to go with a recipe, it's my thing! And we love reading these two books during this time of year. My kids love them.
A Cookie for Santa by Stephanie Shaw and Bruno Robert was a gift we gave the kids last Christmas, and it's an adorable story, that is a fun twist on the "The Night Before Christmas". It is about a cute gingerbread boy who was made for Santa by the children. He did not want to be eaten at all. When Santa comes to deliver the presents, the gingerbread boy soon sees that not only might Santa want to eat him but so do these two little puppies who are very excited with play with all the Christmas decorations.The Gingerbread Boy realizes they are having too much of the wrong kind of fun, and soon creates a distraction for them, in hopes that he can save Christmas from being horribly ruined by these naughty puppies. Once Santa comes, he explains that he knew there was trouble and saw that this little cookie had talents he could put to good use up at the north pole! This fun rhyming tale is fun to read with kids and has a lovely lesson to share, that of being helpful, despite your preconceived notions of what may come.
A Gingerbread Girl by Lisa Campbell Ernst is our all-time favorite gingerbread cookie book, and all my children become obsessed with it every Christmas. We usually read it every time we bake gingerbread cookies, for the last few years now. I see it continuing to be a thing they enjoy for a few more. The gingerbread girl learns from her poor brother, whom the old woman and old man are still heartbroken over losing, one year ago. The little girl they hope will stay and not run away, still jumps out of the oven and runs out the door, to their total dismay. But she has a plan, and there is no stopping this little gingerbread girl! With licorice whips and candy on her dress, she runs past the entire town, leading them along to witness the moment we have all been waiting for! Alas, the fox doesn't see it coming but she lassos his snout shut and leads him back to her home, singing, "You can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread girl!" and proceeds to bakes cookies for the whole town. She then trains this devilish fox, and he soon knows his place in the world. Let me know in the comments below if you gave these cookies a try! Did you chill or not? Also, what do you think of our favorite Gingerbread Cookie Children's Books?Til next time,Breathe deeply and enjoy building your masterpiece with scissors and glue and gingerbread too!~Alexandra