Traditions are what make the holidays magical in my opinion. Whether your traditions are cutting down a tree every year or baking with friends and family, it’s those very memories that you likely hold onto and look forward to all year round. It’s probably no surprise to you that one of our traditions is a day spend baking Christmas treats. Everyone contributes some ingredients and we get to work rolling, cutting, mixing, baking and decorating. It’s a full day with all hands on deck from littles to adults.
From sipping coffee to sampling cookies, it always brings me back to baking in my grandma’s small apple studded kitchen in North Minneapolis. The laughter was loud, the coffee was hot and the conversation never lulled. I can still remember her buckets of homemade frosting and the way she would tip her head back when in full laughter mode. Those very memories are ones I cherish and am trying to recreate for my girls.
These cookies were always a part of the Christmas baking repertoire – and while you can certainly enjoy them year round, to me they’ll always represent Christmas. I encourage you to invite some loved ones over, put on a pot of coffee and bake together!
Recipe yields 2 dozen cookies.
Ingredients:
- 12 tablespoons room temperature butter
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup molasses
- 2 1/4 cup flour (gluten-free? Sub a 1:1 GF flour!)
- 2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. cloves
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ginger
Method:
- Preheat oven to 375 and line two baking sheets with parchment paper
- Mix the first 4 ingredients until smooth
- Add remaining ingredients and mix until combined
- Roll the dough into even sized balls (I use a cookie scoop for consistency) and roll them in sugar
- Place the sugared dough balls onto the lined baking sheets and using your finger, drop one drop of water onto the tops of every cookie
- Bake 10-12 minutes
- Wait 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack, then cool for 15 minutes
- Store in a cool, dry place or freeze
