Gingerbread cookies scream Christmas to me, but I’m not a fan of rolling out cookie dough and cutting out gingerbread men, although I love to eat them 🙂 This is a simple, drop cookie recipe that is enhanced with orange zest and topped with a vanilla bean glaze. Molasses gives gingerbread its distinct flavor and unlike white sugar, it provides some nutritional value in the form of essential minerals and trace amounts of vitamins. Using a mini ice cream scoop, these come out uniform and puff up into perfect rounds. Spread the holiday cheer!

Ingredients

Cookies:
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup unsulfured molasses
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
Zest of 1 cara cara or navel orange
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

Glaze:
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
2 large egg whites
1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped out

(Special equipment: a piping bag or squeeze bottle)

Procedure:

1. Whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, allspice and ginger in a medium bowl and set aside.

2. Beat the butter, brown sugar and molasses together in a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the vanilla, eggs and orange zest. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix until incorporated. Add the spiced flour mixture and beat until the dough just comes together. Fold in the chocolate chips. Scoop the dough into 1-inch balls and refrigerate on baking sheets, lined with parchment paper, until firm, about 1 hour.

3. Meanwhile, adjust the oven racks to the top and lower third of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees F.

4. Bake until the tops of the cookies are no longer glossy and the edges are firm, 12 to 14 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheets for a few minutes and then transfer to a rack to cool completely.

5. While the cookies cool, mix the confectioners’ sugar, egg whites and vanilla seeds in a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment until smooth and shiny.

6. Transfer the glaze to a piping bag or squeeze bottle and pipe stripes onto the cooled cookies. Store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

*Adapted from Geoffrey Zakarian’s Hermit Cookies