Description
Homemade gingerbread crinkle cookie sandwiches blend classic holiday warmth with creamy spiced filling. Delicate cookies promise festive cheer and sweet comfort for winter gatherings you’ll savor.
Ingredients
Scale
- 0.5 cup (170 grams) unsulphured molasses
- 0.5 cup plus 1 tbsp (127 grams) cold, unsalted butter, cubed
- 2 tbsps (30 milliliters) milk
- 2.25 cups (270 grams) all-purpose flour
- 0.67 cup (133 grams) firmly packed brown sugar
- 2 tsps ground cinnamon
- 2 tsps ground ginger
- 0.5 tsp salt
- 0.5 tsp baking soda
- 0.5 tsp ground cloves
- granulated sugar for rolling
- powdered sugar for rolling
- 4 oz (113 grams) cream cheese, room temperature
- 0.25 cup (57 grams) unsalted butter, softened
- 2 cups (240 grams) powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
Instructions
- Dry Ingredient Fusion: Whisk flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, salt, baking soda, and cloves in a large mixing bowl until thoroughly combined.
- Butter Integration: Incorporate cold butter into dry ingredients using pastry cutter or fingertips until mixture resembles coarse, crumbly sand.
- Moisture Binding: Add molasses and milk, stirring gently to create a cohesive dough without overmixing.
- Dough Preparation: Form dough into a compact disk, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for 1-2 hours to enhance flavor and texture.
- Oven Preparation: Preheat oven to 350°F and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Cookie Shaping: Roll chilled dough into 1-inch balls, first coating in granulated sugar, then generously dusting with powdered sugar to create crinkled exterior.
- Baking Process: Arrange sugar-coated balls on prepared sheets, spacing 2 inches apart, and bake for 10-12 minutes until edges set and surfaces develop characteristic cracked patterns.
- Cooling Stage: Let cookies rest on baking sheets for 3 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.
- Frosting Creation: Blend room temperature cream cheese and butter until smooth, gradually adding powdered sugar and vanilla bean paste, whipping at high speed until light and fluffy.
- Assembly: Once cookies are cooled, spread cream cheese frosting on one cookie surface and sandwich with another, gently pressing to distribute frosting evenly.
Notes
- Chill for Flavor Boost: Refrigerate dough for at least 1 hour to deepen gingerbread spice notes and improve cookie texture.
- Sugar Coating Technique: Roll dough balls first in granulated sugar, then heavily dust with powdered sugar to achieve signature crinkled look.
- Perfect Baking Window: Watch cookies closely between 10-12 minutes; edges should set while centers remain soft for optimal moisture.
- Frosting Smoothness Tip: Ensure cream cheese and butter are room temperature and beat thoroughly to prevent lumpy sandwich filling.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Category: Desserts
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 13
- Calories: 245
- Sugar: 20 g
- Sodium: 150 mg
- Fat: 10 g
- Saturated Fat: 6 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 4 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 36 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 2 g
- Cholesterol: 30 mg