This Small Batch Gingerbread Friends recipe makes a dozen delicious, soft in the middle, crispy on the edges, perfect gingerbread cookies!
No matter if it is decorating a gingerbread house or making gingerbread cookies, gingerbread is a fun family activity and holiday tradition that many families share. Unfortunately, a lot of gingerbread cookie recipes make just way too many cookies!
This recipe for Small Batch Gingerbread Friends makes just twelve 4 inch cookies – the perfect amount of cookies if you aren’t making them to share – just the right number for a fun day with family decorating (and eating) delicious gingerbread cookies.
How to Make Small Batch Gingerbread Friends
I love gingerbread cookies and am happy to make a full batch or even a double batch if I am making them to share with friends and neighbors throughout the holiday season. During the peak of Covid, everyone got masked gingerbread friends!
This year, I don’t need to make 72 gingerbread cookies but I do still want to have some gingerbread cookies to decorate with the family. I decided that creating a small batch recipe, based on a delicious recipe that my Mother-in-Law has been using since my husband was a kid, was the way to go.
The cookies are delicious and they roll out so nicely! This recipe makes just twelve 4 inch cookies.
In the bowl of a stand mixer combine sugar, butter, molasses, milk and egg. Mix on medium speed until the wet ingredients are well blended.
In a separate medium bowl combine flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger and cloves. Mix together with a whisk or a fork until combined.
Switch to a paddle attachment on the stand mixer and on low speed slowly add the dry mixture to the wet mixture, scraping the sides of the bowl a couple of times until the dough forms.
Remove the dough from the bowl and form into a disk shape. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap.
Put into the refrigerator and chill for a minimum of three hours.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Remove the dough from the refrigerator onto a generously floured surface.
Roll out the dough using a floured rolling pin and your hands until it is 1/4 inch thickness. Using cookie cutters in whatever shape you like, cut out the cookies.
Re-roll the scraps of dough to make additional cookies. Repeat until the dough is all used up. Place onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper or silicone baking pads, spaced about an inch apart.
Bake 8-11 minutes until lightly browned on the edges. Cooking time depends on the size of your cookies!
Remove from oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before moving to wire racks to finish cooling.
Once the cookies have cooled completely, decorate however you like!
These cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week. Enjoy!
Other Holiday Recipes You May Like
Christmas Pretzel M&M Hugs – brighten up any table or holiday tray!
Christmas Pretzel Candy – pretzel and toffee covered in a thin layer of chocolate. Yum!
Rolo Turtles – salty pretzel, sweet caramel, and buttery pecan in one delicious bite!
Brown Sugar Candy – Chocolate covered or not, this old fashioned treat is amazing!
Cookie Dough Truffles – chocolate covered, safe to eat cookie dough truffles!
Small Batch Gingerbread Friends
Ingredients
Wet Ingredients
- 3/4 cups sugar
- 1/2 cup butter softened (1 stick)
- 1 1/2 tbsp molasses
- 1 tbsp milk
- 1 egg
Dry Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer combine sugar, butter, molasses, milk and egg. Mix on medium speed until the wet ingredients are well blended.
- In a separate medium bowl combine flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger and cloves. Mix together with a whisk or a fork until combined.
- Switch to a paddle attachment on the stand mixer and on low speed slowly add the dry mixture to the wet mixture, scraping the sides of the bowl a couple of times until the dough forms.
- Remove the dough from the bowl and form into a disk shape. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill for a minimum of three hours.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Remove the dough from the refrigerator onto a generously floured surface. Roll out the dough using a floured rolling pin and your hands until it is 1/4 inch thickness.
- Using cookie cutters in whatever shape you like, cut out the cookies. Re-roll the scraps of dough to make additional cookies. Repeat until the dough is all used up.
- Place onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper or silicone baking pads, spaced about an inch apart.
- Bake 8-11 minutes until lightly browned on the edges. Cooking time depends on the size of your cookies!
- Remove from oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before moving to wire racks to finish cooling.
- Once cookies have cooled completely, decorate however you like!
- These cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week. Enjoy!
Nutrition *
* The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator.
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