Frosted Gingerbread Cookies
Soft Gingerbread Cookies topped with a sweet and creamy Lemon Buttercream Frosting.
Countdown to Christmas Cookies — Week 5
Now that Thanksgiving is behind us, the holiday season is in full swing. Over the Thanksgiving weekend I unplugged from social media including my personal Facebook and it was nice. Taking time to step away from the vast world of social media from time to time is refreshing. It gave me time to enjoy Thanksgiving with my family, decorate the house for Christmas and do one of my favorite things, bake cookies!Â
Over the past five weeks I have been sharing with you some of my favorite classic Christmas cookie recipes. These have to be on the top of my list of favorites. If you like soft Lofthouse style cookies or have tried my Lofthouse Sugar Cookies, Lemon Sugar Cookies or Pumpkin Spice Sugar Cookies, meet the holiday version with these Frosted Gingerbread Cookies. They are topped with a creamy Lemon Buttercream Frosting. I love the combination of the gingerbread with lemon, however you could use a plain buttercream frosting as well. These cookies are great even without frosting, or you could simply dust with confectioners sugar for a soft Gingerbread Cookie that you will absolutely love!Â
Miss a week of the 2013Â Countdown to Christmas Cookies?
Week 1 — Iced Oatmeal Cookies
Week 2 — Pecan Sandies
Week 3 — Coconut Cherry Drops
Week 4 — Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies
Frosted Gingerbread Cookies
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 2 dozen
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1/3 cup molasses
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Lemon Buttercream Frosting
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
- 3 cups confectioners sugar
- Zest and juice of one lemon
Instructions
- In a medium bowl mix flour, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon, salt, cloves and nutmeg.
- Using an electric mixer cream butter and sugars.
- Add eggs one at a time then molasses and vanilla.
- Gradually stir in dry ingredients until combined.
- Wrap dough in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least an hour.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray baking sheets with cooking spray or line with parchment paper.
- Roll dough into 2 tablespoon size balls and flatten slightly with the palm of your hand or the back of a drinking glass. Place on baking sheet 2 inches apart.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes until bottoms begin to brown. Cool on baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Lemon Buttercream Frosting
- Using an electric mixer beat butter until fluffy.
- Mix in confectioners sugar until combined.
- Stir in lemon zest and juice until creamy. If consistency is too thick, add in a little more lemon juice, water or milk until desired consistency.
- Frost cookies and store in an airtight container.
I really like the combination of lemon and gingerbread together. Another great recipe for the holidays! You’ve posted a nice array of cookies for gift giving.
These cookies are the best of all worlds. Perfect even!
These are beautiful! I love the idea of putting lemon in with the gingerbread. Yum!
Soft, pillowy gingerbread cookies? with frosting? Totally love these!
Gingerbread are my absolute favourite, in fact I’m making up a batch today to give as favours at my baby shower on Saturday. I’ve never thought of buttercream icing through. Boy does that sound good!
Nothing beats a simple soft christmas cookie with frosting!
how long can you leave the dough in the fridge? over night
I made these today, but since I didn’t have a lemon on hand, I just zested an orange and squeezed it for juice instead for the frosting-
They turned out awesome! I love finding new variations to try out for cookies, thanks for providing me with my first batch o’cookies for 2015! Happy New Year!
So glad you enjoyed these! Thanks so much for letting me know! 🙂