Butterscotch Gingerbread Cookies Recipe {Merry Christmas} (2024)

FAQs

What makes gingerbread cookies crack on top? ›

You have a few things that can go wrong: The oven isn't hot enough. (it needs to set the top before the middle's fully risen) Not enough leavening (it needs to be strong enough to crack the top once it's set)

After the gingerbread is cut out, Lomas recommends putting it into the fridge for at least 30 minutes and up to three days. Chilling the dough before it goes into a hot oven gives the butter a chance to firm up and reduces how much it spreads when baking.

Divide the dough into two thick disks and wrap each disk in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until chilled, about 3 hours. (The dough can be prepared up to 2 days ahead.) To roll out the cookies, work with one disk at a time, keeping the other disk refrigerated.

Should gingerbread cookies be hard or soft? Soft gingerbread biscuits are ideal. They ought to be flexible. However, they should still be somewhat elastic, and if you hold them too firmly because you're so excited to eat them, you might even be able to leave your fingerprints on the cookie!

Forgetting to chill the dough.

It's tempting to want to roll out the dough as soon as it comes together, but let it have a little time to rest. Chilling it for at least two hours or overnight gives the ingredients a chance to absorb one another, making it a whole lot easier to roll out the dough without it cracking.

An excessive amount of butter makes it where the flour is unable to absorb the combined fat, which causes the cookie to spread too widely and the sugar to carbonize more easily because it's surrounded by too buttery a dough.

Not enough liquid

There are a few things you can do if your cookie dough is too dry and crumbly. First, try adding more liquid to the dough. This could be milk, water, or even just additional eggs. If that doesn't work, you could also try melting some butter and adding it to the dough.

Chill. This gingerbread cookie recipe needs at least two hours of chill time, or this step can be done up to a few days in advance. Cut out. Use whatever cutters you feel like to make gingerbread cookies - either something seasonal, or just simple geometric shapes.

If you like, decorate as desired with royal icing, and dry completely before storage (this can take 12-24 hours depending on thickness of design, ambient humidity, and air flow). With or without frosting, the gingerbread cookies will last up to 3 weeks at cool room temperature in an airtight container.

What causes gingerbread to sink in the middle? ›

If you try to roll out the dough right after removing it from the fridge, it will be too stiff to work with. Instead, take it out of the refrigerator and allow it to sit at room temperature for 5 to 10 minutes until it's warm enough to roll without tearing or cracking.

Golden syrup, or light treacle, is a thick sugar syrup. With its golden, amber color, it is lighter than molasses, though the two are similar in their thickness. Golden syrup also a liquid sweetener, so 1 cup of golden syrup can replace 1 cup of molasses.

Factor in two days when making the gingerbread dough as it needs to chill overnight. To get ahead though, the dough can be made up to two weeks in advance and kept in the fridge, just remember to take it out of the fridge half an hour or so before rolling out!

Ideally gingerbread cookies should be soft in texture if you cook them for 9-10 minutes, but you can bake them for a few extra minutes if you prefer more of a crunchy biscuit.

Don't overcook the cookies!

They should still be soft when removed from the oven but will firm up on cooling. Don't be tempted to cook them until firm as they will be very hard and dense!

If the dough is shiny as it bakes (thanks to the butter or other fat in it), that shine will significantly reduce or go away once the cookies are set. As soon as they reach that stage, remove them from the oven. Even if they don't feel firm yet, they'll continue to set and harden as they cool.

Keep in mind that the longer the cookies bake, the harder and crunchier they'll be. For soft gingerbread cookies, follow my suggested bake times. Allow cookies to cool for 5 minutes on the cookie sheet.