Gingerbread Shortbread Cookies

The delicious, spice-forward flavour of scratch-made gingerbread combined with the buttery richness of shortbread!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American, Canadian, European, North American

Keyword christmas cookie recipe, gingerbread variation, shortbread variation

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 15

Cooling/Setting Time 12

Total Time 12 30

Servings cookies

Calories 137kcal

Equipment

2 baking sheets
1 spice grinder (if using whole spices for the gingerbread)
1 piping bag (if desired, for royal icing)

Ingredients

Cookie Dough

4 cups flour
2 cups butter at room temperature
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar lightly packed
1/2 cup molasses
1/8 tsp salt
3 tbsp gingerbread spice mix (see below)

Gingerbread Spice Mix (makes a little extra)

2 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp cinnamon
2 cloves ground (or ~1/4 tsp pre-ground)
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cardamom
1 blade mace (optional)
2-3 black peppercorns ground (optional)

To Decorate

1 cup royal icing (optional - see note)

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Prepare and combine the gingerbread spices. If you're using any whole spices, be sure to grind them thoroughly. Set aside.
Position two racks in the center of your oven (or one, if you're doing a half recipe). Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, thoroughly combine the butter, sugar, molasses, salt, and gingerbread spices.
Add flour to the butter mixture a little at a time, mixing until a malleable dough is formed. It should have a consistency rather like playdough.
Add flour to the butter mixture a little at a time, mixing until a malleable dough is formed. It should have a consistency rather like playdough.
Form the dough into small circles and flatten into patties by hand or, for a more uniform appearance, by pressing them into a small measuring cup or circular cookie cutter.
Space the cookies out by about 5 cm (2 inches) on a cookie-sheet. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the flaky 'baked' look extends from the edges to the center. Because of the darker colour of the shortbread, it can be difficult to see when they start to brown, so don't rely too heavily on that metric.
Baking time can vary depending on your oven and the colour/composition of your baking sheet, so keep an eye on the cookies.
Set the cookies aside to cool.
Prepare the royal icing (if using). Once the cookies are cool to the touch, decorate with royal icing, then set aside to harden - preferably overnight.

Notes

Volume vs. Weight Measurements

The actual weight of a given volume of flour or powdered sugar can vary quite a bit depending on a variety of factors. The weights given for the metric conversion are based on my actual measurements, rather than 'standard' conversions.

Gingerbread Spice Notes

This gingerbread spice mix is fairly intense and spice forward. If you want to make a slightly milder cookie, consider using less of the spice mix (2-2.5 tbsp), and/or consider omitting the black pepper and mace, as these two ingredients tend to contribute the most to the pungent 'kick' of the finished cookies.

Basic Royal Icing

I recommend doing a bit of reading on various recipes to find one you like, but I used this basic format small-batch recipe:

1 cup (130 g) powdered sugar
1.5 tbsp meringue powder
pinch of gingerbread spice
1/4 cup water

Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Using a stand mixer or hand mixer with a whisk attachment, slowly add the water until the icing reaches the desired consistency. Place the icing in a piping bag, then decorate your cookies!

Nutrition