I love these ginger shortbread cookies! They are a mix of gingerbread and shortbread cookies and taste delicious! They are crisp, buttery and spiced. They are a Christmas must at my house.
I love all the spices of gingerbread and these will make your house smell so festive and delicious!
We use them to make out gingerbread houses and they work really well structurally!
I like to make sheet pan gingerbread houses using the template below. All you have to do is roll the dough out into 2 large rectangles and place them on 2 cookie sheets lined with parchment paper. Then bake and cut out the cookies after they have baked and while they are cooling on the pan.
Assemble, decorate and enjoy! The leftover pieces work for little add on’s like a chimney, a few logs or just for snacking.
What you need to make these ginger shortbread cookies or houses: (printable recipe below)
Makes ~30 gingerbread men, or enough dough to fill 2 full cookie sheets rolled out or make 3 medium ginger bread houses or 1 very large ginger bread house
- 2 cups Salted Butter or Vegan Butter Substitute – softened
- 1 1/2 cups Sugar
- 1/3 cup Molasses
- 1 tablespoon Vanilla Extract
- 1 Tablespoon Ground Cinnamon
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Ground Ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon Ground Cloves
- 1/8 teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
- 4 cups Flour
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 F.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar together until it’s a pale yellow. Add the molasses, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and nutmeg and stir. Add the Flour and mix until a soft dough forms.
- Refrigerate for 10 minutes.
- Roll out into desired shapes and place on a parchment paper lined or greased cookie sheet.
- If you are building a ginger bread house, pieces can be cut out before or just after baking. The dough will be soft just after baking and cutting will be more accurate because the dough will not move or change shape, so if you want sharper lines then cut after baking.
- Bake for 15-18 minutes.
Wanting some yummy frosting for the tops? Check out my Best ever Buttercream frosting (RECIPE HERE)!
Ginger Shortbread
Ingredients
- 2 cups Salted Butter softened
- 1 1/2 cups Sugar
- 1/3 cup Molasses
- 1 tablespoon Vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon Ground Cinnamon
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Ground Ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon Ground Cloves
- 1/8 teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
- 4 cups Flour
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 F.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar together until it’s a pale yellow. Add the molasses, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and nutmeg and stir. Add the Flour and mix until a soft dough forms.
- Refrigerate for 10 minutes.
- Roll out into desired shapes and place on a parchment paper lined or greased cookie sheet. If you are building a ginger bread house, pieces can be cut out before or just after baking. The dough will be soft just after baking and cutting will be more accurate because the dough will not move or change shape, so if you want sharper lines then cut after baking.
- Bake for 15-18 minutes.