Whether you’re digging out a recipe card from the family archives or turning to Google for a quick and easy sugar cookie recipe, there’s something so satisfying about mixing together dough, cutting it into festive shapes and dancing along to Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas” all the while.
If you’re planning on making gingerbread this season ― either decorating gingerbread cookies or constructing a gingerbread house ― there are a few things to keep in mind to ensure it looks and tastes as amazing as it should. To that end, we’ve tapped the expertise of some professional chefs, who have graciously shared their secrets to making perfect gingerbread.Advertisement
First things first, what makes the perfect gingerbread? For Jürgen David, director of pastry research and development at the Institute of Culinary Education in New York, gingerbread that you’re planning on eating should have risen in the oven and have rounded edges. “It shouldn’t look flat or dry,” he said. “There are some gingerbread recipes that are hard right after baking and need to sit for a few days to soften. Molasses and honey hardens gingerbread, but as the sugar absorbs moisture, it will get softer.”
Cookbook author and ”Great American Baking Show” winner Vallery Lomas likes a gingerbread cookie that’s packed with flavor. “I want to taste a lot of the spices ― especially ginger,” she said. “The texture can run the gamut from cake-like to crispy.” Advertisement
The cookies should still be slightly soft when you take them out of the oven. Most regular-sized gingerbread cookies will take 9-10 minutes, but you might need a little more or less time depending on whether your cookie cutters are small or extra large.
Mistake #2: Not resting your dough
Resting your gingerbread dough does two key things: develops flavor and keeps the cookies from spreading too much in the oven.
“The flavors need time to mature, preferably overnight,” said Axel Jörgensen, general manager of Göteborgs Pepparkaksbageri, a Swedish bakery in Gothenburg that’s been open since 1924 and specializes in gingerbread biscuits. At the bakery, the dough is stored in plastic containers with lids and rests in a cool room for several hours before it’s cut into shapes.
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. “You should chill the dough both before rolling and cutting and after,” she said.
Which brings me to yesterday: When I go to a local bakery, I expect them to know how gingerbread cookies should be made. I expect my bakers to be forward thinking and not stuck in butter ration times. They asked if I wanted one for $2 or two for $3, and I am a mathematician. Don’t screw me over. Of course I’ll take two.
Anyhow, there are two ways you can cook gingerbread, but there is only one right answer. Gingerbread cookies should be soft. They should be supple. They should bend to your teeth before the cookie skin breaks and the crumbs fall all over you. They should retain a bit of elasticity, and maybe you can even leave your fingerprints on the cookie if you hold them too hard because you’re just that excited.
I recovered from the shock and loss of $3 by buying a pint of Halo Top Gingerbread House ice cream. And this, like it should be, was soft and OMG the best. Once I locate some soft gingerbread cookies, I will be making gingerbread ice cream sandwiches on soft gingerbread cookies and buying a Trenta iced coffee, light ice, light soy, four pumps gingerbread syrup.
While I wish he hadn’t informed me of this (sometimes I return from visiting my parents and just think the air is more caloric in Virginia Beach), I told him we sometimes have to accept the worst qualities of the things we love. Marilyn Monroe is famous for reminding us of this.
I polled my Instagram followers on their thoughts. Only two people claimed belief in a hard gingerbread deity. One is a troll, so I’m not sure he’s being truthful, and the other is part Irish, and maybe she comes from a lineage of butter rationing after that potato famine. But this is 2017. We need to worry about our healthcare and tax cuts and the education of our citizens, not bloody butter and whether our gingerbread cookies are soft enough to roll with the punches!
Why is my gingerbread so hard?
FAQ
Is gingerbread supposed to be hard or soft?
How do you know if gingerbread is cooked?
Why did my gingerbread go hard?
Do gingerbread men harden when they cool?
Does gingerbread harden when cooled?
Always remember that the gingerbread you bake will harden when it comes out of the oven. As in, if you bake it until dry and crispy, ti will be very brittle when it’s cooled. If it’s just a little soft, it will continue cooking even after placing them on a cooling rack.
How to cook ginger?
For the tea, cut ginger into pieces of approximately two centimeters and place with water in the fire. Let it boil for eight to ten minutes. The proportion varies, but you can use 5 grams for each liter.
What temperature should gingerbread be baked at?
If you’re looking for a chewy texture, bake your gingerbread or cookies at 325℉ (162.8℃) but if you like them crispy, bake them at 350℉ (176.7℃). If your gingerbread spreads in the oven, you can try increasing the oven temperature to higher than the recommended temperature.
Why does my gingerbread take so long to bake?
This means that your gingerbread might overbake and burn on some parts of the sheet, while on the cooler sides, the gingerbread will take too long to set and then spread. The color of the sheet is also important. A dull color prevents your gingerbread from overgrowing and helps the gingerbread to bake evenly.