Cookie Swap: Gingerbread Sandwich Cookies

gingerbread cookies with icing

I love gingerbread. As I was making this recipe over the weekend, I started thinking about why, and could pinpoint a multitude of reasons. The Pepperidge Farm Gingerbread Men I would snack on at my grandmother’s house as a kid. The boxed mix of gingerbread I would make with my mom. The gingerbread houses we’d make in school each year, from kindergarten to fifth grade. While I don’t know exactly when the love affair began, I do know that I’ve always loved the peppery, lightly sweet, delightful crunch of a good gingerbread cookie.

So, when I decided to participate in a cookie recipe swap with a bunch of other fab bloggers (more on that in a second!), gingerbread was the first thing that came to mind. But I wanted to give it a little twist — something beyond the basic and expected gingerbread man. I love the way ginger and orange tastes together, so I came up with a gingerbread sandwich cookie (think of it like a holiday Oreo). The filling? A fresh, citrusy homemade orange buttercream frosting. The nice thing about this recipe is if you don’t want to make sandwich cookies, the gingerbread is awesome on its own; you could also use the frosting to decorate the cookies along with other items, like sprinkles or candied orange zest.

Today, ten bloggers (me included!) are sharing our favorite holiday cookie recipes, so if gingerbread isn’t your thing (um, what?), here are lots of other recipes you can bookmark. Happy baking!

Peppermint Bark Cookies from Lemon Stripes
Molasses Crinkle Cookies from The Average Girl’s Guide
Red Velvet Cookies from Savor Home
Brown Butter Snickerdoodles from Clara Persis
Chocolate Dipped Lemon Shortbread from House of Earnest
Dark Chocolate Orange Almond Biscotti from Cupcakes for Breakfast
Almond Sugar Cookies from Lark & Linen
Chocolate Espresso Cookies with Spiced Whipped Mascarpone from Julip Made
Brown Butter Thumbprint Cookies from Fleur de Sel

And here’s my recipe for Gingerbread Sandwich Cookies

gingerbread sandwich cookies - holiday cookie recipe

GINGERBREAD SANDWICH COOKIES WITH ORANGE BUTTERCREAM FILLING

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen
Makes 35 sandwiches, or 50 regular cookies

3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoons ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon finely ground black pepper
3/4 teaspoons coarse salt (I used sea salt)
1/2 cup (1 sticks or 1/4 pound) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup packed dark brown sugar (see note)
1 large egg
1/2 cup unsulfured molasses (see note)
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Orange Buttercream Filling

Adapted from Bon Appetit

1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
zest of 1 orange
1 tablespoon orange juice
pinch of sea salt

For the cookies: In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, spices and salt until well combined. Set aside. In a separate large bowl or in the bowl of your stand mixer, beat together the butter and brown sugar, until the sugar is well incorporated and the mixture has increased in volume (it’ll look much fluffier). Add in the egg, molasses, and vanilla extract, and continue beating until well combined.

With the mixer or your electric beaters on low, add in a third of the flour mixture, and slowly mix until just combined into the wet ingredients. If you are using a stand mixer, continue mixing on low and slowly add the remaining flower until the cookie dough just comes together. If you are using electric beaters, use a wooden spoon to incorporate the remaining flour in two more batches (this will take a little elbow grease; your reward is cookies!). Once the dough has come together, divide it into two, and shape it into flat disks. Wrap the disks in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least an hour.

When you’re ready to roll out the cookies, heat your oven to 350. Lightly flour your work surface and your rolling pin. Roll out the first disk of dough; if you are making sandwiches, make them between 1/8 and 1/4 inch; if you’re making plain cookies, between 1/4 to a 1/2 inch is great. Using the cutter of your choice, cut the cookies out, and transfer them to a parchment lined baking sheet. Gather up any scraps, then continue rolling out and cutting cookies until you have used all the dough. If you want to make all the cookies at once, repeat with the second disk of dough; however, this can be refrigerated for a few days if you’d rather save it.

Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes (10 minutes if the cookies are thinner; 12 for thicker). Remove from the oven and let cool. I don’t personally like to move the cookies to a rack, because when hot, I feel like this can easily warp their perfect shape. Once cool, the cookies can be served as is, or made into sandwiches!

For the filling: Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl until well blended and very smooth, like frosting. Using a whisk and beating the mixture will increase the volume and airiness.

To assemble the cookies: Once the cookies are completely cool, dollop a small amount of the frosting directly into the center of a cookie. Do not spread it out. With another cookie half, lightly press down. The filling should smush out towards the side. To disperse it, lightly twist the cookies in opposite directions (this will help move the frosting around without you having to mess with a knife).

To store and serve: Keep the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. They’ll keep longer in the fridge, but be sure to let them come back to room temperature (or close to it), so that the frosting is soft! Also note that when you first create the sandwiches, the cookies will be crisper. After letting them sit covered overnight, they’ll soften slightly, as the cookies will absorb some of the moisture in the frosting. If you like a crisper cookie, don’t make them ahead; if you like a softer, chewier cookie, do.

Recipe notes: If you don’t have dark brown sugar, or can’t find it in your store, you can make your own. I used light brown sugar and added 1 tbsp of molasses to it. Mix together in a separate bowl until the molasses is well incorporated. After all, brown sugar is just granulated sugar + molasses, so no need to spend extra money on dark brown sugar if you don’t want to! Also, a tip for working with molasses: coat your measuring instruments with oil or cooking spray before pouring molasses into them. This will ensure that the molasses slides right out of them, and you want have to wait so long for it to drip drip drip out. This tip works perfectly for anything viscous and sticky, like honey or corn syrup!

 

Holiday Cookie Swap!

Don’t forget, these lovely bloggers are all sharing their favorite holiday cookie recipe today too! Pin away:

Peppermint Bark Cookies from Lemon Stripes
Molasses Crinkle Cookies from The Average Girl’s Guide
Red Velvet Cookies from Savor Home
Brown Butter Snickerdoodles from Clara Persis
Chocolate Dipped Lemon Shortbread from House of Earnest
Dark Chocolate Orange Almond Biscotti from Cupcakes for Breakfast
Almond Sugar Cookies from Lark & Linen
Chocolate Espresso Cookies with Spiced Whipped Mascarpone from Julip Made
Brown Butter Thumbprint Cookies from Fleur de Sel

 

26 Comments

  1. 12.12.13
    jillian said:

    these look so good! great photos too :) xo jillian – cornflake dreams

  2. 12.12.13
    Meg said:

    YUMMMY!!! You had me at ginger! :)

    http://happinessiscreating.com/

  3. 12.12.13
    christin said:

    stop it.

  4. 12.12.13

    These look so good! Beautiful pictures too. I’ve never actually had gingerbread or gingerbread cookies in my life-guess I should try!

  5. 12.12.13

    So many delicious sounding cookies! I did a blogger cookie swap this year too and it’s such a fun way to try out new recipes!

  6. 12.12.13
    Alyssa said:

    These look delicious–almost like homemade oreos!

  7. 12.12.13

    Drooling! These look amazing– your photography is always so spot-on, and I especially love these with the flowers in the background!
    xox

    • 12.12.13
      Victoria McGinley said:

      Wow, thank you Monica! :)

  8. 12.12.13

    I love gingerbread cookies, too! That frosting looks and sounds delish! I agree that your photography is always beautiful. Thanks again for hosting this. So fun!

  9. 12.12.13

    Love gingerbread cookies, and these look delicious!

  10. 12.12.13
    Dana said:

    Gingerbread is my favorite! These look so delicious :)

  11. 12.12.13

    These look amazing Victoria! Matt is a sucker for all ginger flavored baked goods, so I know he will love these! Thanks again for organizing! xoxo

  12. 12.12.13
    Nina said:

    Those look so yummy!

  13. 12.12.13

    thanks again for organizing this! So fun! And your recipe sounds ridiculous!

  14. 12.13.13

    So funny that you mentioned the Pepperidge Farm Ginger Men– I used to eat those at my Grandma’s (Oma’s) house too!

    • 12.13.13
      Victoria McGinley said:

      The best. Especially with a glass of lemonade.

Comments are closed.