I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas, and are just taking a little time to relax and chill out now that the big day is over. I know I am, and helping me do that are these Soft Baked Gingerbread Cookies with Orange Frosting, seriously they are so moreish I just can’t stop eating them. Bad TV and a naughty treat equals a little slice of heaven!

 

 

Soft baked large dark gingerbread cookies smothered with a soft fluffy frosting flavoured with a freshly zest’ed and juiced orange. And a few festive sprinkles for a little colour because after all lets face it sprinkles make everything so much better. But they can be omitted or the colours changed with the seasons.

 

I love the combination of ginger and orange they compliment each other so well. Ginger is a lovely deep warming flavour and orange is such a fresh flavour cutting through anything to shine just as equally as the ginger.

 

 

Another flavour layer these cookies have is molasses. Who doesn’t love ginger and molasses cookies? Don’t worry if you can’t get hold of molasses especially if you are in the UK, you can use black treacle instead. I made a batch with molasses and another batch with black treacle and they were virtually identical. So no worries I have you covered!

 

 

Now if you are not a frosting fan (I know weird right?) these cookies are just great without it. But they do become extra special when it is smothered on top of them. But just as wonderful without. So the choice it totally up to you to make. With or without you won’t be disappointed by these cookies.

 

 

Because it is just after Christmas I don’t want to get too geeky and technical about cookie dough with you but I do want to mention a few things. When it comes to adding the flour mix the dough until it is just combined. You want your cookies to be soft and a little crumbly not tough and hard. Over mixing the flour into the dough will cause this to happen.

 

And this cookie dough needs to go in the fridge for a minimum of 2 hours so the dough can rest and allow the gluten to settle down a bit. And it will also give the flavours a chance to mingle and become a little bit more pronounced. Ideally if you can leave it in the fridge for at least 24 hours and up to a maximum of 3 days. This will also make the dough easier to handle when it comes to rolling it out. Weird cookie dough geekiness is now over!!!

 

So how do you spend the days following Christmas? Relaxing with family? Vegging out in front of the TV or by continuing to party? However you spend these days make sure that you have a plate of these Soft Baked Gingerbread Cookies with Orange Frosting in front of you because they will make you very happy.