My children grew up in a bake-from-scratch household and have been introduced to more cookies than we can possibly count! My youngest son, now in college, loves anything with ginger or molasses, so when I made these cookies for him, they became his all-time favorite cookie. We are fortunate that we use the zest from oranges grown in our back yard which bears its sweet fruit every winter, just in time for the holiday baking. These are a spicy, classic Gingerbread cookie with a hint of orange zest and glazed with a spicy dark rum glaze.
Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
Place brown sugar and zest in the bowl of a food processor, process together until combined, about 30 seconds. Remove the cover of the food processor and add flour, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, baking soda, and salt; process until combined.
Sprinkle the butter evenly over the dry ingredients and process until sandy; about 15 seconds. Add molasses and two tablespoons of milk;
Process dough until it comes together and is evenly moistened.
Divide dough in half and roll into two logs approximately 2 1/2 inches in diameter. Place logs in the freezer until firm. Slice logs into 1/4″ thick cookies and place on prepared baking sheets, 1 inch apart.
Bake until centers are just set, 8 to 11 minutes. Cool on baking sheets about 3 minutes. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack and cool completely.
In a medium bowl, whisk together confectioners sugar, rum, and remaining 2 tablespoons milk until smooth. With a small offset spatula or butter knife, spread a heaping teaspoon of glaze on each cookie; let dry 30 minutes before serving.
- 3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons grated zest from 1 orange
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 12 tablespoons (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 12 pieces, softened
- 3/4 cup molasses
- 2 tablespoons milk (for cookie dough)
- 2 tablespoons milk (for rum glaze)
- 2 cups confectioner’s sugar
- 2 tablespoons dark rum
- Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Place brown sugar and zest in the bowl of a food processor, process together until combined, about 30 seconds.
- Remove <g class=”gr_ gr_82 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_run_anim Grammar only-ins replaceWithoutSep” id=”82″ data-gr-id=”82″><g class=”gr_ gr_248 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_disable_anim_appear Grammar only-ins replaceWithoutSep” id=”248″ data-gr-id=”248″><g class=”gr_ gr_396 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_disable_anim_appear Grammar only-ins replaceWithoutSep” id=”396″ data-gr-id=”396″>cover</g></g></g> of food processor and add flour, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, baking soda, and salt; process until combined.
- Sprinkle the butter evenly over the dry ingredients and process until sandy; about 15 seconds. Add molasses and two tablespoons of milk; process dough until it comes together and is evenly moistened.
- Divide dough in half and roll into two logs, about 2 1/2 inches in diameter. Place in freezer until firm. Slice logs 1/4 inch thick and <g class=”gr_ gr_90 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_run_anim Grammar multiReplace” id=”90″ data-gr-id=”90″><g class=”gr_ gr_250 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_disable_anim_appear Grammar multiReplace” id=”250″ data-gr-id=”250″><g class=”gr_ gr_399 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_disable_anim_appear Grammar multiReplace” id=”399″ data-gr-id=”399″>place</g></g></g> 1 inch apart on prepared baking sheets.
- Bake until centers are just set, 8 to 11 minutes.<g class=”gr_ gr_100 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_run_anim Punctuation only-ins replaceWithoutSep” id=”100″ data-gr-id=”100″><g class=”gr_ gr_254 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_disable_anim_appear Punctuation only-ins replaceWithoutSep” id=”254″ data-gr-id=”254″><g class=”gr_ gr_404 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_disable_anim_appear Punctuation only-ins replaceWithoutSep” id=”404″ data-gr-id=”404″>Cool</g></g></g> the cookies on the baking sheets about 3 minutes. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack and cool completely.
- In a small bowl, whisk together confectioners sugar, rum, and remaining 2 tablespoons milk until smooth. With a small offset spatula or a butter knife, spread a heaping teaspoon of glaze on each cookie; let dry 30 minutes before serving.
- (Adapted from America’s Test Kitchen’s Holiday Cookies 2010)