Stamped Gingerbread Cookies
Soft gingerbread cookies pressed with cookie stamps and glazed with vanilla icing.
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Equipment
- Food Processor or Pastry Cutter
- Rolling Pin and Cookie Cutters
Ingredients
Cookies
- 3 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- ⅔ cup powdered sugar
- ⅓ cup dark brown sugar, loosely packed
- ½ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- ½ tsp ground cloves
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into 16 pieces
- 2 tbsp whole milk
- 1 tsp instant espresso powder or instant coffee
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp dark molasses (or blackstrap)
Icing
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- ¼ tsp cream of tartar
- ⅛ tsp coarse Kosher salt
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 2 ½ - 3 tbsp whole milk
Instructions
Cookies
- In your food processor, pulse the flour, powdered sugar, brown sugar, salt and spices until combined.With the processor running, drop in the pieces of butter, one at at time, pulsing a few times until the butter is evenly distributed, and the dough is moistened and crumbly.Stir together the milk and espresso powder, then add it to the dough along with the vanilla and molasses. Process until the dough starts to stick together.
- Dump the dough out onto a clean counter and use your hands to finish bringing the dough together, kneading in any stray bits of flour. The dough should be soft, smooth and supple.
- Shape the dough into a flat disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 20 minutes.Prepare two baking sheets by lining them with sheets of parchment paper.
- For cutout cookies, roll the dough out to 1/4 inch thick, dip your cookie cutters in flour, and cut as many cookies as you can. Gather the scraps, re-roll the dough, and continue cutting cookies.
- For stamped cookies, use a medium cookie scoop (about 2 tablespoons) with a release lever to scoop balls of dough, then roll the balls smooth between your hands. Lightly dust the balls of dough with flour, and dip your cookie stamps in flour, too.Press the cookie stamp straight down onto the dough until the dough squishes just past the edges of the stamp. Lift the stamp off, then use a round cutter to trim the uneven edge. Place the cookies on the baking sheet.
- Place the baking sheets with the cut cookies in the refrigerator and chill for 1 hour - chilling the cut cookies helps to ensure they don't spread and hold their shape perfectly while baking.
- Preheat the oven to 350F.Bake the chilled cookies on the center oven rack for about 11 1/2 - 12 minutes (for 2 1/2 - 3 inch cookies) or about 9-10 minutes for smaller cookies. The tops should be a very pale golden with no dark browning, and you should see tiny flaky layers around the edges.
- Cool the cookies for 5 minutes on the pan, then very gently transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely.Sugar cookies are delicate when warm, so handle with care.
Icing
- In a bowl, stir together the icing ingredients until smooth.
- Use a pastry brush to generously brush the icing over the cookies while they're warm or at room temperature. Let the icing set before storing the cookies.
Notes
- Making the Dough without a Food Processor: If you don't have a food processor, you'll need a large bowl and a pastry cutter. In the bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Scatter with the cold butter pieces and use the pastry cutter to cut the butter in until very finely cut and evenly distributed. Drizzle with the liquid ingredients, then use your hands to work the liquid into the dry ingredients until it forms into a soft dough.
- Freezing the Dough: To make the dough in advance, wrap the disks of dough in plastic wrap, label them, and refrigerate for up to 5 days, or freeze for 3-6 months. Frozen dough should be thawed overnight in the refrigerator. Then take the dough out of the fridge about 1 hour before you're ready to roll out the dough. It should still be cool to the touch when you roll it out, but pliable enough to roll without too much difficulty.
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