Gingerbread Stars

These gingerbread cookies are one of my favorite cookies. My daughters love them, and I have never seen them enjoying my cookies as much as these cute gingerbread stars. They are very flavorful, can be made in various shapes, and decorated any way you like.

The dough is easy to work with and behaves well to re-rolling and shaping. You can create crispier or softer cookies depending on your preference. Roll the dough thin if you want them crispy or roll it out thicker to make soft cookies. It is very simple. This is a recipe you can easily make with kids’ help. They simply adore cutting the dough.

These gingerbread stars are always a big hit in our family. Hope you will try them out for the holidays as I am sure everybody will love them.

How to make gingerbread stars

Begin with creaming together the butter, sugar, honey, and vanilla extract until well combined and creamy. Then, add the egg to the mixture and mix until fully incorporated.

In another bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, salt, spices, and baking soda until evenly combined.

Gradually incorporate the dry ingredients into the butter mixture, stirring until a dough forms and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Once the dough comes together into a ball, cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes to allow it to firm up.

Preheat your oven to 350°F (180°C) and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Roll out the chilled dough between two sheets of plastic wrap to a thickness of about 1/8 inch (2-3 mm). Adjust the thickness based on whether you prefer your gingerbread stars to be crispy or soft.

Using star-shaped cookie cutters, cut out the dough into star shapes. If desired, use a fork to remove the excess dough between the star shapes and re-roll the remaining dough to cut out more stars.

Place the cut-out stars onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving some space between each one.

Bake the gingerbread stars in the preheated oven for 7 to 10 minutes, depending on the size of the cookies, or until they are set and lightly golden around the edges.

Allow the baked cookies to cool on the baking sheets for 2 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.

How to prepare the icing

Combine powdered sugar with milk and vanilla extract, if using, until smooth. Transfer the icing to a piping bag and decorate the cooled gingerbread stars as desired. Allow the icing to set before serving.

Hope you will give these Gingerbread Stars a try, tag me on Instagram if you do, and enjoy! For more cookie ideas check the full collection of Cookie Recipes.

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Gingerbread Stars

5 from 1 vote

These Gingerbread Stars are flavorful cookies, that can be made in various shapes. The dough is easy to work with and behaves well with re-rolling and shaping.

Servings 24 cookies

Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 45 minutes mins

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Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 2 ½ cups (315g) flour
• 1/2 cup (100g) dark brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp (3g) salt
• 1/2 tsp (2g) ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp (2g) ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp (1g) ground cloves
• 1 tsp (6g) baking soda
• 1 stick (110g) butter
• 1/4 cup (80g) honey
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp (5g) vanilla extract

Sugar Icing

• 1 cup (120g) powdered sugar
• 1-2 tbsp (15-30ml) milk
• 1/2 tsp (3g) vanilla extract , optional

Instructions

 

• In a large bowl cream butter with sugar, honey and vanilla extract. Add the egg and mix well.
  
• In another bowl whisk dry ingredients together: flour, salt, spices and baking soda.
  
• Incorporate dry ingredients to the butter mixture and stir until the dough comes together to form a ball. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
  
• Preheat oven to 350 F(180C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Roll the dough between two layers of plastic wrap, 1/8 inch (2, 3 mm) thickness. If you want them crispy roll the dough very thin. If you want them softer roll it out thicker.
  
• Cut the dough into star shapes using the cookie cutters. I used 2 star shapes, a smaller and a bigger one.   Re-roll the remaining dough  and cut more stars. I use a fork to remove the dough between the star shapes. Place the stars onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving a little space between them.
  
• Bake for 7 to 10 minutes (depending on the cookie size). Allow to cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
• To make the icing simply combine powdered sugar with milk and vanilla extract if used. Spoon the icing into the piping bag and decorate the gingerbread stars. Allow to set.
  

Nutrition

Serving: 1cookie out of 25Calories: 57kcalCarbohydrates: 8.5gProtein: 0.9gFat: 2.2gSaturated Fat: 1.3gCholesterol: 9mgSugar: 3.1g

Calories: 57kcal

Course: Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: American

Keyword: gingerbread cookies, gingerbread recipe, gingerbread stars, gingerbread with honey