1: Prep Your Baking Station

First things first: preheat your oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Trust me, it’ll make cleanup a breeze.

Also, make certain your butter is softened. If you forgot to take it out of the fridge, no concerns—just pop it in the microwave for 10-15 seconds. (Don’t soften it, although. Soft is the intention here!)

2: Mix the Wet Ingredients

In a large mixing bowl, cream together the softened butter and brown sugar. You want this mixture to be light and fluffy—it should almost look whipped. If you’ve got a stand mixer, now’s the time to use it. Otherwise, a hand mixer will do the trick.

Once your butter-sugar mixture is ready, add the honey (or maple syrup), egg, and vanilla extract. Beat the entirety collectively till smooth. The honey offers the dough that slightly sticky, rich texture that’s best for gingerbread.

3: Combine the Dry Ingredients

In a separate bowl, whisk collectively the flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves. Whisking facilitates distribute the spices lightly, so every bite of cookie is packed with flavor.

Now, slowly add the dry elements to the wet ingredients. Mix on low velocity to keep away from a flour explosion throughout your kitchen (been there, accomplished that). Once the dough starts offevolved coming together, transfer to mixing by way of hand. It’ll be a little sticky, however that’s totally everyday.

4: Chill the Dough

Here’s the deal: chilling the dough is a need to. Not most effective does it make the dough easier to address, however it also allows the cookies preserve their shape while baking. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and pop it inside the refrigerator for as a minimum 30 minutes. If you’re in a rush, 15 minutes within the freezer works too.

5: Roll and Cut the Dough

Once your dough is chilled, roll it out on a floured surface. Aim for about 1/4-inch thickness—this gives you cookies that are perfectly soft in the middle with just a touch of crispness around the edges.

Use your favorite cookie cutters to cut out shapes. Gingerbread people, stars, trees—go wild! Gather up the scraps, re-roll, and keep cutting until you’ve used up all the dough.

6: Bake to Perfection

Place your cookie shapes on the prepared baking sheets, leaving a little area between them. Bake for 8-10 mins, relying on how smooth or crisp you like your cookies. I suggest pulling them out when the rims are just beginning to firm up. They’ll preserve to set as they cool.

7: Cool and Decorate

Transfer the cookies to a wire rack and let them cool completely before decorating. (I know, the waiting is the hardest part!) Once they’re cool, grab some icing, sprinkles, or even melted chocolate, and let your creativity shine.