Hello lovelies,
If you’ve been around for a while, you’ll know that every Christmas I do a ‘5 Easy Christmas Cookie Recipes’ post which has always been a hit with you guys. It’s essentially 5 different festive themed cookies that are quick, easy and you’re guaranteed to find one you absolutely love.
It’s my favourite post to write each year!
And you’ll know by now if you’re an regular reader than I’m cookie obsessed! Therefore, much to my delight, I’m back again today with my ‘5 Easy Christmas Cookie Recipes’ only this time… rather than making them all very different, i’ve decided to do 5 gingerbread themed cookies!
If you were to ask me one thing that reminded me of Christmas as a baker, it’s the flavour, smell and taste of gingerbread!
Ginger is almost like marmite, you either absolutely love it or you’re not keen, there’s no in between but for me, I’ve always loved it and so does my family. So, when scrolling for inspiration, I kept coming across gingerbread themed cookies and it inspired me to get creative.
Gingerbread doesn’t just have to be in the form of little men and women, it can be a very versatile flavour, it works so beautifully with many different types of cookies and that’s exactly why I wanted to share these with you today!
So, if you like the sound of trying some different types of gingerbread cookies, you know the drill. Keep on scrolling below and you’ll find today’s 5 recipes.
Ginger & White Chocolate Cookies
Ingredients You Need:
- 125g Of Unsalted Butter / Stork
- 175g Of Dark Brown Sugar
- 1 Egg, Beaten
- 2tsp Of Vanilla Bean Paste / Extract
- 280g Of Plain Flour
- 1.5tsp Of Ground Ginger
- 0.5tsp Of Ground Cinnamon
- 0.5tsp Of Ground Nutmeg
- 1.5tsp Of Baking Powder
- 0.5tsp Of Bicarbonate Of Soda
- 300g Of White Chocolate Chips
How To Make:
- Firstly, gather together your equipment and ingredients and line two baking trays with parchment paper.
- Secondly, in a large bowl, using an electric whisk, beat together the 125g of unsalted butter with the 175g of dark brown sugar until light and fluffy.
- Next, beat in the 1 large egg and the 2tsp of vanilla extract until combined.
- Now, fold through the 300g of white chocolate chips.
- Add in the 280g of plain flour, 1.5tsp of ground ginger, 0.5tsp of ground cinnamon, 0.5tsp of ground nutmeg, 1.5tsp of baking powder and 0.5tsp of bicarbonate of soda and beat again until a cookie dough forms (TIP: if the dough isn’t coming together easily, I’d recommend adding 1-2tsp of milk to make the dough more ‘moist’).
- Wrap the cookie dough in clingfilm and place into the fridge to chill for 1 hour.
- As the hour is coming to an end, preheat the oven to 200C / 180C Fan / Gas Mark 5.
- After 1 hour, remove the dough from the fridge and using a 4’ cookie scoop, scoop your cookie dough and between the palm of your hands, roll the cookie dough into 16-18 balls.
- Place 6 cookie dough balls on each of the prepared baking trays and place into the oven to bake for 10-12 minutes.
- Finally, once baked, remove from the oven and leave on the baking trays to cool for 5-10 minutes before transferring onto a wire rack to cool completely.
That’s your Ginger & White Chocolate Cookies prepared, chilled and baked, ready for you to enjoy this Christmas!
Vegan Gingerbread Men
Ingredients You Need:
- 150g Of Plain Flour
- 150g Of Wholemeal Flour
- 150g Of Light Brown Sugar
- 1tsp Of Ground Cinnamon
- 2tsp Of Ground Ginger
- 1tsp Of Bicarbonate Of Soda
- 60ml Of Golden Syrup
- 0.5tsp Of Black Treacle
- 140g Of Dairy-Free Butter / Margarine
- White Decorating Icing Pen
How To Make & Decorate:
- Firstly, gather together your equipment and ingredients, line two baking trays with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 180C / 160C Fan / Gas Mark 4.
- Secondly, in a large bowl, add 150g of plain flour, 150g of wholemeal flour, 150g of light brown sugar, 1tsp of ground cinnamon, 2tsp of ground ginger and 1tsp of bicarbonate of soda and stir together until combined. Then, set to one side.
- Next, in a saucepan, over a very low heat, melt together the 140g of dairy-free butter, 60ml of golden syrup and 0.5tsp of black treacle.
- Now, pour the melted wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and combine with a wooden spoon until a dough forms.
- Wrap the gingerbread dough in clingfilm and chill in the fridge for 1 hour.
- After one hour, remove the gingerbread dough from the fridge and turn out onto a floured surface.
- Flour the rolling pin and roll out the gingerbread dough.
- Using a gingerbread man/woman cutter, cut out the dough and place it straight onto the pre-lined baking trays. Continue to cut and re-roll the dough until you’ve used every last piece.
- Place the baking trays into the freezer for 10 minutes to help the gingerbread keep its shape whilst cooking.
- After 10 minutes, remove from the freezer and place into the oven to bake for 8-10 minutes.
- Once baked, remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking trays for 5-10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool down completely.
- Finally, when cooled, using the decorating icing pen, pipe some faces, squiggles and buttons to decorate (you can of course leave them plain).
That’s your Vegan Gingerbread Men prepared, chilled, rolled and baked, ready for you to enjoy this Christmas!
Gingerbread Biscotti
Ingredients You Need:
- 300g Of Plain Flour
- 2tsp Of Ground Ginger
- 100g Of Caster Sugar
- 50g Of Light Brown Sugar
- 1.5tsp Of Baking Powder
- 80g Of Vegetable Oil
- 1 Large Egg
- 2tsp Of Vanilla Bean Paste / Extract
- 100g Of White Chocolate
How To Make & Decorate:
- Firstly, gather together your equipment and ingredients, line two baking trays with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 180C / 160C Fan / Gas Mark 4.
- Secondly, in a large bowl, mix together the 300g of plain flour, 2tsp of ground ginger, 100g of caster sugar, 50g of light brown sugar and 1.5tsp of baking powder.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the 80g of vegetable oil, 1 large egg, 2tsp of vanilla extract and 3tbsp of hot water.
- Gradually mix the wet ingredients into the dry until the mixture comes together into a dough.
- Gently knead the dough until smooth (TIP: the dough is quite dry but if you’re finding it extremely hard to knead together after a few minutes, I’d recommend adding 1tbsp more of water until smooth).
- Divide the dough equally into two pieces shaping both pieces into a 25cmx8cm log.
- Place both logs onto the pre-lined baking trays and bake for 25-30 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and leave to cool on the baking tray for 15 minutes.
- After 15 minutes, using a sharp knife, cut the cooled logs into 1-2cm thick slices crosswise. Place the slices back onto the pre-lined baking tray.
- Then, return the slices back into the oven to bake for a further 15-20 minutes (the oven should still be at 180C / 160C Fan / Gas Mark 4).
- Once baked, remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly on the baking trays before transferring onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- When cooled, melt the 100g of white chocolate in a microwavable bowl and dip one end of the biscotti into the melted chocolate.
- Finally, leave the chocolate dipped biscotti on a piece of parchment paper to set before serving.
That’s your Gingerbread Biscotti prepared, baked and cut, ready for you to enjoy this Christmas!
Gingerbread Crinkle Cookies
Ingredients You Need:
- 375g Of Plain Flour
- 150g Of Dark Brown Sugar
- 0.75tsp Of Bicarbonate Of Soda
- 1tsp Of Ground Ginger
- 1tsp Of Ground Cinnamon
- 170g Of Unsalted Butter, Cut Into Cubes & Must Be Cold
- 180ml Of Black Treacle
- 2tsp Of Milk
- 100g Of Granulated Sugar
- 60g Of Icing Sugar
How To Make:
- Firstly, gather together your equipment and ingredients and line two baking trays with parchment paper.
- Secondly, using an electric mixer, stir together the 375g of plain flour, 150g of dark brown sugar, 0.75tsp of bicarbonate of soda, 1tsp of ground ginger and 1tsp of ground cinnamon until combined.
- Next, stop the mixer and add the 170g of cubed and cold unsalted butter. Then mix at a low/medium speed until the mixture is sandy and resembles a fine meal (this could also be done with your fingertips).
- Reduce the speed of the mixer to low and with the mixer still running, gradually add the 2tsp of milk and 180ml of black treacle and continue mixing until the dough is evenly moistened.
- Now, increase the speed of the mixture and give the dough one last mix until throughly combined, around 10-20 seconds.
- Scrape the dough onto a work surface and divide the dough into two equal pieces.
- Working with one portion at a time, shape the two pieces of dough into two round disks and cover in clingfilm.
- Place the two pieces of wrapped up dough into the freezer for 20-30 minutes and freeze until firm. Alternatively, you could place the two pieces of dough into the fridge for 2 hours or overnight.
- Whilst the dough is in the freezer, preheat the oven to 180C / 160C Fan / Gas Mark 4.
- After 30 minutes, remove the dough from the freezer and using a 4” cookie scoop, scoop the dough and roll each piece into a ball.
- Next, roll each ball into the 100g of granulated sugar until fully coated, then, transfer into the 60g of icing sugar and roll again until each ball is evenly coated.
- Place the coated balls onto the pre-lined baking trays, making sure they’re 1 inch apart from each other (I recommend 6 balls per tray).
- When done, place the baking trays in the oven and bake the cookies for 12-15 minutes, until set in the centre.
- Finally, once baked, remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking trays for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
That’s your Gingerbread Crinkle Cookies prepared, chilled, rolled and baked, ready for you to enjoy this Christmas!
Gingerbread Latte Cookies
Ingredients You Need For The Cookies:
- 170g Of Unsalted Butter
- 165g Of Dark Or Light Brown Sugar
- 2tbsp Of Espresso Powder Or Instant Coffee Powder
- 2tsp Of Vanilla Bean Paste / Extract
- 1 Large Egg
- 112ml Of Black Treacle
- 300g Of Plain Flour
- 1.25tsp Of Bicarbonate Of Soda
- 2tsp Of Ground Ginger
- 1tsp Of Ground Cinnamon
- 50g Of Granulated Sugar, For Rolling
Ingredients You Need For The Frosting:
- 113g Of Salted Butter
- 195g Of Icing Sugar
- 2tsp Of Milk
- 1tsp Of Vanilla Bean Paste
How To Make & Decorate:
- Firstly, gather together your equipment and ingredients, line two baking trays with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 180C / 160C Fan / Gas Mark 4.
- Secondly, in a mixing bowl, using an electric mixer, beat together the 170g of unsalted butter, 165g of light / dark brown sugar, 2tbsp of instant coffee powder and 2tsp of vanilla extract until light and fluffy.
- Next, beat in the 1 large egg until combined.
- Now, add in the 112ml of black treacle and mix until combined.
- Add in the 300g of plain flour, 1.25tsp of bicarbonate of soda, 2tsp of ground ginger and 1tsp of ground cinnamon and continue beating until combined.
- In a small bowl, add the 50g of granulated sugar.
- Using a 4” cookie scoop, scoop the cookie dough and roll into balls (if you’re finding the dough too sticky, add 2-4tbsp of flour).
- Roll the balls into the small bowl of granulated sugar until each ball is fully coated.
- Place the balls onto a baking tray ( I recommend 6 balls per tray) and place into the oven to bake for 8-10 minutes or until the cookies are starting to set around the edges and the centres are a little doughy.
- Once baked, remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking trays for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Now that the cookies are completely cool, it’s time to decorate.
- In a saucepan set over a medium heat, add the 113g of salted butter and brown the butter (once browned, it should have a nutty aroma and have turned slightly brown in colour).
- Once browned, remove from the heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes.
- When cooled, whisk in the 195g of icing sugar, 2tsp of milk and 1tsp of vanilla extract until a thick icing has formed.
- Finally, immediately spread/drizzle the icing across the cookies (as the icing will set very quickly).
That’s your Gingerbread Latte Cookies prepared, baked and decorated, ready for you to enjoy this Christmas!
See, I told you! Gingerbread really is so versatile and works beautifully in many different types of cookies and pairs beautifully with many different flavours.
I’m honestly so chuffed with how today’s recipes have turned out. They’ve gone down an absolute treat with my loved ones and I can guarantee they will with you and yours too.
Let me know in the comments below if you make any of today’s 5 recipes and if so, what your thoughts are on them. Are you a gingerbread lover? Which of these are your favourite?
If you’ve made it this far, you’re a real one and I appreciate it. This is a long read but I hope you loved today’s recipes as much as I do and you found inspiration to bake a batch of gingerbread cookies of your own.
Sending you all tons of love & hugs as always,
Elle xo
