I’ve never been a massive fan of gingerbread cookies, for two main reasons.
1) Most of them, like classic gingerbread men, are crunchy. Who wants a crunchy cookie?!
2) I was raised on Lebkuchen, which are soft gingerbread cookies that taste more complex than the crunchy American kind. And they often have glaze or chocolate on them. That kind of thing raises a girl’s standards, sorry!
So for these gingerbread cookies, I knew they had to be chewy. And I wanted them to have a little bit more to them than just gingerbread. Gingerbread has been done before! Let’s add some coffee!
These were definitely better than any plain old gingerbread, if you like coffee. I made them with both vanilla and coffee glaze.
These were also another one of my attempts to pawn my baked goods off at the office so that I have more excuses to bake. Christmas
People in corporate offices like coffee, right? That’s the shtick? You’re allowed to say stuff like, “let’s circle back on that after I’ve had my coffee!” And people (supposedly) chat in the breakroom while they get their third coffee of the day? Even if it tastes like swill? It’s an acceptable 15 minute break to take? Am I just a kid playing pretend trying to imagine what adults behave like in an office? Possibly yes.
I swear sometimes I feel like an alien who was plopped into a corporate office after just seeing stock images of people in an office place.
Regardless, I figured that adding some coffee to a seasonal cookie certainly wouldn’t prevent them from getting eaten in the office! And I was right. The box was finished up by the time I went back to check on it in the afternoon.
It’s always fun to try out a new Christmas cookie recipe. I have a few more planned for this month – lots to fit in to a single month of cookies!
I’ve also included a recipe for some gingerbread syrup, if you want to make an actual gingerbread latte.
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PinIngredients
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar
- 1/3 cup molasses
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 1/2 tsp instant coffee or espresso powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
For the icing:
- 1/3 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a stand mixer fit with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
- Add the molasses and vanilla extract and mix until combined.
- Add the egg. Beat well.
- Add the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking powder, coffee powder, 2 teaspoons of the cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg and salt) to the wet and beat until combined and no streaks of flour remain.
- Use a medium size cookie scoop to scoop out rounded cookies and place two inches apart onto the prepared cookie sheets.
- Bake for 12 minutes, or until the cookies have puffed up and crinkled and are set on the edges but still gooey in the middle. Allow to cool completely before using a spatula to transfer to a wire rack. Enjoy!
- Whisk together all the icing ingredients until they come together into a think consistency. (You can add a 1/2 tsp of coffee powder if you want a bit more coffee taste.) Transfer the icing to a piping bag or use a spoon to drizzle it on top of the cookies.
Notes
Inspired by Teak and Thyme and Broma Bakery
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp white sugar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
- 1 1/2 tablespoons molasses
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanila extract
- 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp water
- Pinch kosher salt
Instructions
In a medium saucepan, over medium heat, combine all of the ingredients. Warm until everything has dissolved and there are no lumps of spices, about 3 to 4 minutes.
Transfer to a jar or glass Tuppeware to keep in the fridge.
To make a gingerbread latte, simply combine a few teaspoons (depending on how sweet you like your coffee) with your espresso shot, whisking together to incorporate the syrup, before adding in your frothed milk. I also like using this to make iced lattes!
Notes
From A Cozy Kitchen