Gingerbread Cut-Outs

These gingerbread cut-outs are the classic roll-and-cut holiday cookies built for decorating. The dough is rich with butter, molasses, and a warm spice trio of ginger, cinnamon, and cloves. A splash of vinegar in the dough might seem odd, but it reacts with the baking soda to give the cookies a slight lift while keeping them firm enough to hold their cut shapes.

Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy, beat in the egg, molasses, and vinegar, then blend in the sifted dry ingredients. The dough needs to chill before rolling. Warm dough sticks to everything and loses its shape the second it hits the cookie sheet.

Roll between ⅛ and ¼ inch thick on a well-floured surface. Thinner cookies bake crispier and snap cleanly. Thicker ones stay soft and chewy in the center. Pick your preference and stay consistent across the batch so they all finish at the same time.

The decorating frosting is an egg white royal icing. Beat the whites to soft peaks, add the powdered sugar gradually, then finish with corn syrup for a slight sheen. Divide into portions and tint with food coloring for as many colors as you need.

Kitchen Tips

• Bake time varies widely (5 to 15 minutes) depending on cookie size and thickness. Watch the first batch closely to calibrate your timing.
• Keep the frosting covered with a damp cloth when not piping. It dries and crusts over fast.
• Let cookies cool completely before frosting. Warm cookies melt the icing into a runny mess.

Variations

• Add ½ teaspoon of allspice or nutmeg to the dough for a more complex spice profile.
• Use a simple powdered sugar and milk glaze instead of royal icing for easier decorating with small children.
• Press raisins, cinnamon candies, or sprinkles into the dough before baking instead of frosting after.