This Homemade Gingerbread Cookie Recipe shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #BakingMadeEasier #CollectiveBias
The smell of a great homemade gingerbread cookie recipe wafting through my kitchen brings up so many beautiful Christmas memories! And nothing dashes that amazing baking experience faster than your gingerbread man cookies bloating into large blobs in the oven. Today I’m going to share my no-spread homemade gingerbread cookie recipe!
Not only are we going to talk gingerbread men, but we’re going to talk about hosting an easy and well organized cookie exchange party!
Let’s start with our gingerbread recipe and then I’ll share my tips on the cookie swap!
No-Spread Homemade Gingerbread Cookie Recipe
Let’s talk about how to make delicious baking easier! Who else never remembers to lay the butter out early so that it’s room temp and ready to go? I knew I wasn’t alone. Well, I’m using Country Crock® Baking Sticks and unlike regular butter, there’s no softening needed. Yay! Country Crock Baking Sticks are creamy and soft straight out of the fridge so they’re ready to bake when you are. And it’s a one for one substitution so no math required either! ;)
No-Spread Gingerbread Cookie Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) Country Crock Unsalted Baking Sticks
- 1/3 cup molasses
- 1/3 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (reserve another 1/4 cup and add slowly if dough is tacky. Humidity can affect the dough.)
- 2 tbsp corn starch
- 2 1/2 tbsp ground cinnamon (or to taste)
- 2 tbsp ground ginger (or to taste)
- 1/2 tsp ground cloves (or to taste)
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Beat the Country Crock Baking Stick and sugar on low speed until fully blended.
- Add molasses, mixing on low, until well mixed.
- Add egg. Mix slowly until incorporated.
- Loosely mix dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Add to mixture slowly until solid dough forms. It should be moist, but not overly tacky.
- Place dough on wax paper and roll to 3/16-inch. You may need a small amount of flour on your roller, but be careful not to add much. You don't want to add flour to your cookies.
- Cut shapes using a cookie cutter, and place on parchment lined baking sheets or a silicone baking mat.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes for soft but well shaped cookies.
- Allow cookies to cool completely and ice.
Notes
Best Tips For Hosting A Cookie Exchange
Hosting an organized and festive cookie exchange is possible and without all the stress.
My no-spread gingerbread cookie recipe will be the star of the table, but there are just a few things you need to keep in mind.
Here are my best tips for hosting a cookie exchange:
- Invite Early – Invite your guests early in the season. This party is so much fun, but takes a bit of prep on the part of the hostess and the guest.
- RSVPs Two Weeks Out – Ask for RSVPs two weeks before your event so you can make sure you have enough packaging and serving dishes.
- How Many – Guests will need to bake a half dozen cookies per guest (plus one or two per guest for sampling). So if you have seven friends coming, each guest will need to bake four dozen cookies. Don’t forget to count yourself! :)
- No Duplicates – Use your electronic invite platform, or a Google Doc if you’re sending paper invitations, to ask guests to share their cookie choice so that you have no duplicates. This will allow all the guests to see at the same time so you don’t have to mediate.
- Recipe Ask – If guests will provide you with the recipe in advance, you can print them up and make them available with each of the take home packages.
- Gather Packaging – Consider all the cookie types and then choose packaging that works best. Wax paper is a great way to separate messy cookies.
- Plan Table – Make sure that you have enough platters, bowls and cake plates to accommodate all your guest sweets. No cupcake carriers allowed on your beautiful table!
- Sweet & Salty – Plan treats and beverages to balance the sweet. I would suggest a nice veggie tray, chips & savory dip, coffee, and lots of water bottles.
Printables For Hosting A Cookie Exchange
Have you seen this month’s issue of Better Housekeeping? They and Country Crock have the most beautiful printables to help you host the perfect cookie swap!
— DOWNLOAD FREE COOKIE EXCHANGE PRINTABLES —
You’ll find an invitation, recipe card and gift tags in lovely red and green. Enjoy!
Take Home Packaging For Cookie Exchange
And last but not least, you have to have pretty packaging for guests to carry their treats home in. As I mentioned above, this will really depend on how many guests, how many cookies, etc. I like bags with wax paper dividers, but I have used cupcake boxes before when there were a lot of guests!
Country Crock Baking Sticks
I hope you loved my no-spread gingerbread cookie recipe! I shopped for my salted Country Crock Baking Sticks and unsalted Country Crock Baking Sticks at Walmart.
You simply must have a look at all the amazing Christmas cookie recipes available on the Country Crock site and social media:
More Christmas Ideas
I have so many more Christmas crafts and ideas to share with you. Here are just a few that I think you’ll love:
As always, I hope you’re inspired to craft, bake, create and celebrate!
INSTAGRAM | FACEBOOK | PINTEREST | GOOGLE+ | TWITTER | YOUTUBE | BLOGLOVIN
This post may contains affiliate links, which means if you purchase something through this post I will earn a small fee from the retailer at absolutely no cost to you. They pay me for bringing you to them and I use it to keep the craft room stocked and the coffee pot working! Don’t worry. All content, ideas, photography and opinions are that of my own and I’d have it no other way!
This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone.