Chewy Ginger-Cardamom Cookies

This post contains affiliate links.

For the past 6 months, give or take, I have been doing Bible Study with the youth in my local congregation. They have taught me so much. I hope I can be like many of them when I grow up. In truth, I feel like it has been so good for my heart to connect with some of these teens and to see their strength. I have gained so much from their love and I will love them forever. 

Before we adjourned for Winter Break, I wanted to do something for them. While my husband is in recovery from a bad car accident, we have very little wiggle room to breathe, but one thing I can always do is bake. I wrote them a letter and made them each a cute little Nativity cookie to remind them how special they are. 

This is the recipe I used, although I cannot promise I will not make minor adjustments to it here or there as the season goes along. Also, HERE is the adorable cookie cutter I used. I found that, while they could be iced by a talented cookie artist, time is a precious commodity during the holidays, so I designed this recipe to be beautiful and flavorful without needing a sugary slick of icing to cover it up. 

Print Recipe

Chewy Ginger-Cardamom Cookies

These are a slightly chewy gingerbread-style cookie. Treat them like your favorite sugar cookie dough and they'll cut out and bake wonderfully. They're lighter on the spices than typical gingerbread cookies, which makes some kids happier. The best part is that they stand alone happily without the need for icing.

Prep Time20 minutes mins

Cook Time15 minutes mins

Chill Time1 hour hr

Total Time1 hour hr 35 minutes mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: cardamom, ginger, gingerbread, molasses, nativity, stencil cutter, sugarcookie

Servings: 24 cookies

Author: Heather I. Scott

Equipment

• 3 cookie sheets
• 3 silpat or nonstick baking mats or parchment paper

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup unsulfured molasses preferably not black-strap (If you're not a fan of molasses, you can use honey.)
• 2 large eggs room temperature
• 3 tsp orange juice
• 1 tbsp orange zest
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract or 1 tsp vanilla powder
• 1 tsp ground cardamom
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 4-1/2 cups all-purpose flour plus more for dusting, rolling, & cutting

Instructions

• Cream butter with granulated and brown sugar.
• Add molasses and keep beating to fluffy consistency.
• Add eggs, one at time, and beat until smooth. Add vanilla, orange zest and juice, and spices and mix until smooth. Scrape the bowl with a silicone spatula to make sure everything in the bottom is evenly incorporated.
• Gently mix in salt and baking soda, then sift in 4 cups of flour and mix gently.

  Dough should just come together, but not be too sticky to handle. If it is still sticky, add the remaining half cup of flour, one quarter cup at a time. Be careful to not cause it to get too dry and crumbly.
• Divide the dough in half and scoop the dough onto two sheets of wax paper and chill for at 30 minutes to an hour.
• Roll the dough to 3/8" thickness and cut with a cutter. Chill the dough again if it begins to feel too warm. You'll want your dough to be slightly cold or else it will spread and not keep shape as well. (You can even go up to 1/2" if necessary but adjust baking times accordingly.)
• Bake at 350F for 10-12 minutes (increase time by a minute or two if the cookies are thicker). Remove when the edges are lightly browned.