Description
Soft, cakey gingerbread cookies topped with bright, zesty orange buttercream—an irresistible holiday treat packed with warm spices and citrus flavor.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 cup butter
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 cup molasses
- 1 egg
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 3 tsp baking soda, divided
- 1 tsp vinegar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground cloves
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 4 cups all-purpose flour (or more as needed)
- 3 cups powdered sugar (or more as needed)
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 2 oranges, zested and juiced
Instructions
- In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar until smooth and creamy. Mix in the molasses and egg.
- In one small bowl, combine buttermilk with 2 tsp baking soda. In another bowl, combine vinegar with the remaining 1 tsp baking soda.
- Add the buttermilk mixture and vinegar mixture to the molasses mixture. Stir in cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg, and salt.
- Add flour gradually until dough forms. Shape into a ball, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Roll chilled dough to 1/2-inch thickness on a floured surface and cut out shapes. Place on ungreased baking sheets.
- Bake for about 10 minutes, until edges are golden. Cool on the sheet for 1 minute, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- For frosting, beat powdered sugar, softened butter, orange zest, and 1/3 cup orange juice until smooth and thick. Add more powdered sugar if needed.
- Frost cookies once completely cooled.
Notes
- Store cookies in an airtight container.
- Use additional flour if dough is too sticky.
- Experiment with different cookie shapes.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 210
- Sugar: 15g
- Sodium: 120mg
- Fat: 9g
- Saturated Fat: 5g
- Unsaturated Fat: 3g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 32g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 2g
- Cholesterol: 30mg