How to Make The Best Gingerbread Cookie?
Tips For Dough:
- When preparing the gingerbread cookies dough, you should not mix the ingredients too much. This can cause the dough to have a sticky consistency.
- If the consistency of the dough is too soft and it does not take any shape, apply cooling.
- The dough cooling step should be repeated 2 times. After the dough is prepared and after it is shaped, it should be kept in the fridge.
- After the dough is prepared, it can be kept in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours. Thus, the ingredients penetrate the dough better.
- After shaping the dough, leave it in the refrigerator for 1 hour so that it does not spread and does not spoil its shape.
Tips For Baking:
- Preheat the oven for 15 minutes. A cold oven can cause dough to spread.
- Pay attention to the cooking time. If the cookie is over cooked, it will become tough.
- Check the oven temperature with a thermometer.
- After you take the cookies from the oven, leave them on the tray for 5 minutes. It will continue to cook for a while in this way.
- After removing it from the oven tray, let it cool.
Should Gingerbread Cookies Be Hard or Soft?
Gingerbread Cookies should be soft, chewy and non-dispersible. This situation may vary according to your taste. In addition, ginger and molasses keep the cookie dough soft. However, as the cookie cools, it hardens.
So How To Make Soft Gingerbread Cookies?
Tips for making the cookie softer:
- Add more brown sugar.
- Add to the cornstarch.
- Add cream cheese.
- Add cake flour or cake flour.
- Reduce the oven temperature.
How Long Should Gingerbread Cookies Be Cooked?
Your cookies are ready in approximately 25 minutes. Bake the cookies in the oven until golden brown for 12–15 minutes. After you take it out of the oven, leave it on the tray for 10 minutes, then remove it from the tray to cool.
How Do You Know When Gingerbread Cookies are Done?
Since Ginger Cookies are dark in color, it may be difficult to tell from the color of their baking. Instead of this, you can press the edges of the cookie gently with your spatula or finger. If your finger does not leave any traces on the cookie, it is cooked. Or dip a toothpick into the center of the cookie. If there is residue of dough, it means it is not cooked.
Also you can check your cookie for the time specified in the recipe. Be careful not to pass the time. Remember, your cookies will continue to cook for a while after you take them from the oven.
How to Decorate Gingerbread Cookies?
Photo By CanvaDecorate with cream. One of the most preferred methods of decorating gingerbread is to use cream. You can choose this unique cream made of egg whites, powdered sugar and water to decorate your cookies.
Decorate with candies. You can give your cookies different shapes with your favorite candies. You can also color your cookies by melting candies.
Use cookie cutters. You can prepare gingerbread cookies suitable for the concept on special occasions such as Thanksgiving and New Year, with patterns and prints in different shapes.
Decorate with icing. Here the recipe for decorating your gingerbread man cookies with royal icing.
How to Store Gingerbread Cookies?
Gingerbread cookies have a long shelf life. Store in an airtight container in a cool and dry environment. You can keep it in the refrigerator for 4-6 weeks.
Can you freeze homemade gingerbread cookies? How Long Can Gingerbread Cookies be frozen? You can keep the cookie in an airtight container for 4-6 months in the freezer.
Can you freeze the gingerbread dough? Yes, you can store it in zip lock bags or a piece of parchment paper. Take the dough out of the freezer the night before you use it. Melt in the fridge.
How to Keep Gingerbread Cookies from Spreading?
Points to pay attention to prevent your cookies from spreading:
- Amount of Ingredients: The amount of products you use affects the consistency. For example, using too much sugar can cause the dough to become liquid. Add ingredients in the proportions specified in the recipe.
- Oven Temperature: When the oven is not hot enough or opening the door of the oven may cause the cookies to disperse. So make sure that the oven is at the temperature specified in the recipe. The temperature setting may vary depending on the oven. In this case, you can adjust the oven 10-25 degrees higher than specified.
- Mixing Ingredients: Do not mix butter and sugar too much. Over mixing can cause ingredients to breathe and spread cookies.
- Thickness of Cookies: The thicker you make the cookies, the longer it takes to bake. This causes them to spread. Make sure that it is 1 cm thick on average.
- Cooling the Dough: After preparing the dough, let it rest for at least 1 hour. After shaping the cookies, let them sit in the refrigerator for about 1 hour before baking.
- Baking Paper: You can reduce the spread of cookies by using baking paper instead of greasing the baking tray.
How to Make Gingerbread Cookies without Molasses?
What can be used instead of molasses in gingerbread cookies?
Honey: Since it is sweeter than molasses, you should use less. You can obtain the taste of molasses with dark and dense honey.
Maple Syrup: You can use the same proportion of maple syrup instead of molasses.
Corn Syrup: You can use the same amount of corn syrup instead of molasses in your recipes. You can also choose it to make the cookie taste lighter.
Brown Sugar: It is a sugar containing molasses. You can use ¾ cups of brown sugar instead of 1 cup of molasses.
How to Make Eggless Gingerbread Cookies?
What can be used instead of eggs in cookies? Eggs are used in pastry recipes to bind ingredients. It also ensures that the cookie dough is moist and viscous. Here are the ingredients you can use instead of eggs when making gingerbread cookies:
Banana: You can crush bananas and use them in your recipe. For 1 egg, add the half-crushed banana to the dough mixture.
Apple: Another ingredient you can use instead of eggs for cookie dough is apple puree. You can use ¼ cup of apple puree instead of 1 egg.
Oil and Water: Instead of eggs, you can add 1 tablespoon of oil and 2 tablespoons of water.
Cornstarch and Water: 2 tablespoons of water and 1 tablespoon of cornstarch can be used instead of eggs.
How to Make Vegan and Gluten-free Gingerbread Cookies?
Eggs and similar animal products should not be used to make vegan cookies.
Flour: You can choose gluten-free flour.
Sugar: You can make healthy and delicious vegan gingerbread cookies with coconut sugar.
Egg: You can choose either flax eggs or chia eggs in the recipe. Add 1 tablespoon of chia or flax seeds to 3 tablespoons of hot water. Use after keeping it in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.
Oil: You can use vegan butter or coconut oil.
How to Make Keto Gingerbread Cookies?
Products you can use to make low-calorie keto recipes:
Flour: Almond flour or coconut flour is low in calories and adds texture to the cookies.
Sugar: You can choose lower-calorie brown sugar instead of white sugar.
Oil: You can choose coconut oil or butter. Both fats are foods that are not very low in calories. You should pay attention to the amount when using it.
You can also add baking powder, baking soda and vanilla extract your low calorie cookie recipe.
Can You Use Fresh Ginger instead of Ground Ginger in Cookies?
If you don't have ginger powder, you can also use fresh ginger. Their amount will differ. You should use 4 teaspoons of fresh grated ginger instead of 1 teaspoon of powdered ginger.
