Classic Light Gingerbread Dough
- Prep: 10 minutes, plus 1 hour and 15 minutes of chilling
- Cook: 5 minutes
Ingredients
- 1/2cup light molasses, golden syrup, or honey
- 1cup light brown sugar
- 14tablespoons (1 stick + 6 tablespoons) unsalted butter
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 4teaspoons ground ginger
- 2teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4teaspoon ground cloves
- 1teaspoon baking soda
- 4cups all-purpose flour
- 1teaspoon salt
- 1 lightly beaten large free-range egg
Instructions
- Pour the light molasses into a large saucepan with the sugar, butter, zest, and spices and melt over low/medium heat, stirring frequently until the sugar has dissolved.
- Increase the heat to bring the mixture to boiling point. Remove from the heat and beat in the baking soda. The mixture will froth up at this point as the baking soda reacts—mix briefly until combined, then let cool for 15 minutes.
- Sift the flour and salt, then fold into the mixture in batches, using a wooden spoon or a stand mixer. Beat in the egg using a wooden spoon or a stand mixer, until just combined. Do not overwork the mixture, or the cookies will spread during baking.
- The dough will be very sticky to begin with, but do not add any flour. Scrape out of the bowl onto a clean surface and knead together until just smooth. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 1 hour. Makes 2 1/4 pounds of dough.
This recipe was republished with permission from Gingerbread Wonderland by Mima Sinclair (Kyle Books, 2016).