Gingerbread cookies are a Christmas classic and a favorite in our house. Okay, so all cookies are loved in our house, but cookies with spice are our absolute favs. I like my cookies to be soft, it doesn’t matter what kind. If crumbs are ricocheting off of the cookie and I had really engage my jaw to get a bite, I want no part of it. This probably makes me a horrible person, I know. I went about this recipe combining my awesome soft molasses recipe with a classic gingerbread recipe, and mmm, they’re soft and spicy and yummy. In this recipe whole wheat flour shines, it adds a lovely nutty flavor that accentuates the spices. In order to get what I think of as “authentic” gingerbread flavor, the secret is to add just a pinch of white pepper. Yep, white pepper provides the bite that you taste in old-school gingerbread. This recipe is also egg free and a one bowl-er. No messing with creaming butter and mixing dry ingredients in a separate bowl and adding in batches. Nope. It’s not high-maintenance like that.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups dark molasses
• 1 cup brown sugar (organic, should be 1 ingredient – cane sugar)
• 1/3 cup butter, softened
• 2/3 cup cold water
• 6 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp allspice
• 2 tsp ginger
• 1 tsp ground cloves
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp salt
• pinch of white pepper

Directions

I’ll say it again, this recipe is a one bowl-er. So awesome. We’ll start by mixing the wet ingredients and sugar, and then add in the dry ingredients one by one.

1. Add molasses, brown sugar, softened (not melted) butter and cold water to your mixing bowl. With the paddle attachment, mix on low-medium speed until just combined. Your butter will be in small floating pieces at this point. DO NOT WORRY!
2. Add flour to the mixing bowl 1 cup at a time allowing time for the flour to be incorporated into the dough.
3. Add baking soda and remaining spices by sprinkling evenly over the surface of the dough in the bowl. Mix 2-3 minutes on low-medium. Taste. Yes, no eggs in this batter mean that you can safely taste-test this to see if the spice level is right for your lovely taste buds.
4. At this point the dough will be a crumbly moon sand type texture. Use your hands to form it into a ball in the bowl and then wrap the ball in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
5. Next day, remove dough from the refrigerator and allow to warm up on the counter top for 30 minutes or so.
6. Preheat oven to 350f.
7. Breaking dough into two pieces, kneed 1 piece of dough with your hands until pliable. Roll to 1/4″ thickness on a lightly floured surface and cut with cookie cutters. Err on the side of too thick. If too thin these cookies will come out crispy instead of soft.
8. Bake cookies (3″ apart) for 10 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack to cool.