These gingerbread cookies are packed with ginger spice but aren’t too spicy or overwhelming in flavor. The cute ornaments are just M&M candies pressed into the cookie before they are baked, making them the perfect cookie to make with your kids or for those folks who are decorating challenged. Feel free to re-roll the scraps as much as you want as this dough is pretty forgiving. If you use a more intricate cookie cutter, to dip the cutter in flour every time you use it, to help keep the dough from sticking. And remember that the dough needs at least 2 hours (or overnight) in the refrigerator to firm up before rolling out.
Prep time: PT15M
Cook time: PT10M
Total time: PT25M
Rating
3.5 stars (20 reviews)
Ingredients
3/4 cup unsalted butter (170 g or 1 1/2 sticks )
1 cup packed brown sugar (220 g )
1 large egg
3/4 cup molasses (not blackstrap) (230 g )
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
1 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
4 cups all-purpose flour (560 g )
10 ounces M&M candies (1 small bag)
Categories
Dessert
Cuisine
American
Steps
Place the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Cream together until the sugar clings to the side of the bowl about 2 minutes.
Add the egg and molasses and mix until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the spices, salt and baking soda. Mix to incorporate and scraped down the side of the bowl again.
Add the flour and slowly mix until the dry ingredients are absorbed, then increase the speed until the dough forms and pulls away from the side of the bowl, about 2 minutes. Lay out a piece of plastic wrap and dump the dough onto the middle of the plastic wrap. Flatten the dough until it is 1-inch thick and then tightly wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.
Once the dough has chilled, preheat the oven to 325°F. Line a baking sheet with a silicon baking sheet or parchment paper. Dust a clean surface with flour then roll out about half the dough until it is about 1/4-inch thick. Dip a cookie cutter in flour, then cut out cookie from the dough. Move cookie to the prepared baking sheet then repeat until the baking sheet is full of cookies, making sure the cookies are 1 inch apart.
Remove any flour on the edges of the cookie with a soft pastry brush. Press M&M candies into the Christmas cookie. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until the edges and top of the cookie look dry and the edges are stiff. Let cool on the baking sheet for 10 minute before moving to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Gather any scraps and massage together, then re-roll on a clean surface, dusting above and below the cookie dough with flour if it starts to stick. Once you’ve finished with the first half of the dough, repeat with the remaining dough.
Nutitrion
Serving Size: 1 serving
Calories: 138 kcal
Reviews
NANCY on 2024-12-24 (1 stars): This is terrible dough to work with.Don't frustrate yourself.
Mary on 2017-12-11 (3 stars): The dough was very wet so I needed more flour to get it to form a ball and pull away from the bowl. I let it rest overnight and then made the cookies the next day. The first batch spread so I refrigerated each successive cookie sheet. The M&Ms cracked so the appearance isn't as pretty as what is pictured but they are still very cute and the flavor is very good. I would make again.
Joyce Mack on 2017-12-09 (5 stars): Where did you get that awesome cookie cutter?
Kelli on 2017-12-09 (5 stars): These are awesome!! So fun! Would love to know where you got the cookie cutter!
Nio on 2017-12-04 (5 stars): Awesome idea and good tips on dough - soon I will make for my kinds.
- Mary Christmas
Claudia on 2017-12-04 (5 stars): Love this! And that chilling the dough thing? It's supposed to make almost any cookie dough better - a tip that goes back at least as far as the original toll house cookies. Happy holidays to you and AJ!
