German Gingerbread Spiced Sugar Cookies

These little gingerbread spiced sugar cookies are wonderful! They have a mild gingerbread flavor rolled up in a sugar cookie. How perfect is that? I’m not a fan of Gingerbread cookies – as a child I found their flavors too strong, almost medicinal (I feel the same way about root beer) so I stayed away from it. This is the first gingerbread cookie I really like and I think it is perfectly balanced because I customized the spices instead of buying one already made. Like sugar cookies, these are easy to make, they roll out well and bake beautifully. This recipe is a keeper and makes a great addition to your Christmas cookie tray or cookie swap party! I also like to serve these cookies as chips with a sweet holiday dessert dip. I’ll post a recipe for that later.

• 

• 

Whisk together the flour and gingerbread spice mix, set aside. Cream together the butter for a few minutes until fluffy. Add the sugar and beat for about 3 minutes over medium speed. Scrape down the sides to ensure all the ingredients get creamed. Add the egg and vanilla paste/extract and beat for two minutes.

• 

• 

With the mixer on low, slowly add the dry ingredients to ensure they blend well and to avoid a flour cloud while mixing. Mix just to combine. If you can still see a little flour, use a wooden spoon to combine. Dump the dough onto your board, pat down and shape into a flat disc or square and tightly wrap in plastic wrap. Chill overnight, minimum 2 hours.

When ready to bake, roll the dough between two sheets of parchment paper until the dough is 1/8 inch thick. By using the parchment paper, I don’t need to add more flour and the dough doesn’t stick to the rolling pin or the parchment paper. I peel back the top sheet of parchment and just start cutting my cookies out.
Note: You can also freeze the dough for up to three months, just thaw overnight in the refrigerator.

• 

• 

Preheat your oven to 350°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Flour your cookie cutters before you start cutting your cookies and continue to flour the cutters as you go to prevent sticking.
Note: The flour not only helps prevent the dough from sticking, it will also help the cookie release from the cutter.
Using Stamp Cookie Cutters: Press firmly to cut through the dough, then press down on the top button to “stamp” the cookie. Lift the cookie cutter and use the button to eject the cookie onto the tray lined with parchment paper. If the cookie separates from the cutter, use an offset spatula to transfer the cookie to the baking sheet.
Using Standard Cookie Cutters: Press firmly to cut through the dough and slide an offset spatula under the cookie to remove and place on the baking sheet.
Note: Don’t use your hands to handle the cookies once cut, you’ll dent them. Using an offset spatula works best.
I bought a few fall and Christmas stamped cookie cutters and I love them! Here is the link to the mini 1 1/2 inch snowflakes cookie stamps I found on Amazon. They are so much fun to use. The mug hugger gingerbread men are from a set I bought at Sur la Table years ago. While that set is discontinued, you can find others online.

Chill the cookies for 30 minutes before baking. This will help solidify the butter fat and helps the cookies keep their shape, otherwise they could spread out and become unrecognizable.

• 

• 

Bake for 7-9 minutes or until the edges and tops are barely golden. Remove from the oven and allow them to rest on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a baking rack to cool completely. Once cooled, I like to dust with powdered sugar. You can also decorate them with icing and sprinkles, if you prefer.
Note: Recipe yields about 80 1-1/2 inch cookies. If your cookie cutters are larger, the recipe will yield less cookies and you may need to bake them a few minutes longer.