A wonderful perfectly spiced, glazed soft gingerbread adapted from Tartine Bakery. Don’t worry if you don’t have a special patterned rolling pin – grab some Legos or other fun textured tools you have at home to create charming patterns on these beautiful cookies.
Get the backstory to this recipe by listening to Tagan Engel describe her holiday cookie traditions on a recent episode of Seasoned.
Soft Glazed Gingerbread
Adapted From Tartine
Ingredients
For the Dough:
- 3-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
- 4 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1-1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1-1/4 teaspoons black pepper, freshly ground
- 1 cup (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup and 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup blackstrap or other dark molasses
- 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
For the Glaze:
- 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
- 2 tablespoons water (you can also substitute this with rum or orange juice or other flavoring)
Instructions
To Make the Dough:
- Stir together the flour, cocoa powder, ginger, cloves, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, and pepper in a mixing bowl. Set aside.
- Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-high speed until creamy. Slowly add the granulated sugar and mix on medium speed until the mixture is completely smooth and soft. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add the egg and mix well. Add the molasses and corn syrup and beat until incorporated. Stop the mixer again and scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Add the flour mixture and beat on low speed until a dough forms that pulls away from the sides of the bowl and all the ingredients are well incorporated. Remove the dough from the bowl, flatten it on a large piece of plastic wrap into a rectangle about 1 inch thick, cover the dough with the plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight. The dough can also be wrapped well and frozen at this stage to thaw and roll out at a later date.
To Shape:
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick liner.
- Unwrap the dough and place on a floured work surface. Roll out the dough to 1/2-inch thickness. If you have a patterned rolling pin, lightly dust the top of dough with flour and roll the pin across the dough until it is fully covered with the pattern. To use cookie stamps or legos, press them onto the dough in a repeating pattern, pressing the legos or stamps into some flour periodically to keep them from sticking to the dough. Cut the dough into shapes and place on a baking sheet 1 inch apart. I like to cut them into 1x3 inch rectangles.
- Bake the cookies until lightly golden along the sides but still soft to the touch in the centers, 7 to 15 minutes. The timing will depend on the size of the individual cookies.
- While the cookies are baking, prepare the glaze. In a small bowl, whisk together the confectioners’ sugar and water until smooth.
- When the cookies are ready, remove from the oven and let cool on the pan on a wire rack for about 10 minutes. Then, while the cookies are still warm, using even strokes, brush a light coat of glaze on the top of each cookie, evenly coating it. Let the cookies cool completely. When the glaze dries, it should leave a shiny opaque finish. The cookies will keep in an airtight container in a cool place for about 2 weeks.
Notes
Tagan Engel is the creator and host of The Table Underground and a contributor and producer of Seasoned.