Name: Gingerbread cookies
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 12 min
Total time: 32 min
Yield: Makes 20 cookies
Ingredients: 120g unsalted butter softened; 1½ tbsp black treacle; 170g soft light brown sugar; ½ tsp fine sea salt; 1 medium egg; 200g plain flour; ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda; ¼ tsp ground cloves; 1½ tsp ground ginger; ½ tsp ground cinnamon; 60g golden caster sugar

Gingerbread cookies served on a wire tray

120g unsalted butter
softened
1½ tbsp black treacle
170g soft light brown sugar
½ tsp fine sea salt
1 medium egg
200g plain flour
¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda
¼ tsp ground cloves
1½ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp ground cinnamon
60g golden caster sugar

Method

step 1
Beat together the butter, treacle, brown sugar and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add the egg, then beat through all of the remaining dry ingredients apart from the caster sugar. Chill the mixture in the fridge for 1 hr.
step 2
Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 4. Line two baking sheets with baking parchment. Roll the mixture into 20 even-sized balls (weighing for accuracy, if you like). Tip the caster sugar onto a small plate, then add each ball and roll around to coat. Space each ball out on the baking sheets. Bake for 9-10 mins until golden brown. Leave to cool completely on a wire rack.

What are the main ingredients in gingerbread?

The key ingredients in these cookies are flour, butter, eggs, sugar (brown for the dough mixture and caster for rolling the balls in before baking), black treacle and spices.

Should gingerbread cookies be hard or soft?

Ideally gingerbread cookies should be soft in texture if you cook them for 9-10 minutes, but you can bake them for a few extra minutes if you prefer more of a crunchy biscuit.

Tips for making gingerbread cookies

Chill the dough: After the cookie dough has been mixed it will have quite a sticky texture so it’s important to chill for at least an hour to allow it to firm up. This will make the dough more manageable to work with and allow the cookies to hold their shape when baking.
Flattening the dough into a disc shape before chilling will mean it’s easier to roll it out once out of the fridge.
When rolling out the dough, sprinkling your hands and the rolling pin with flour as well as the worktop will all help to prevent it from sticking.
Weigh the dough balls on digital scales to make them more even in size.
Leave at least a few centimetres of space around each cookie dough ball on the baking tray to allow for them spreading whilst baking.
To flatten the cookies slightly, tap the baking tray on the worktop when you take it out of the oven

How to shape gingerbread cookies

We’ve gone for a simple round shape, but you can get creative with cutters and make them into gingerbread men, stars, trees and plenty more. See our guide to the best ever gingerbread recipes for shape inspiration.

How to flavour gingerbread biscuits

Whilst ground ginger is of course the predominant flavour this recipe also includes a pinch of ground cloves and cinnamon for extra spice. You can also add additional spices such as nutmeg, cardamom and allspice, or even grate in some orange or lemon zest for a hint of citrus. Adding black treacle to the dough also gives the cookies a deep caramel flavour.

If you have any stem ginger, grate and put into the mixture for a stronger ginger kick.

How to freeze gingerbread cookies

You can freeze these gingerbread cookies in balls in an airtight container and then bake them from frozen, adding an extra 5 minutes to the cooking time.