There’s just something about gingerbread, the heady, rich, spicy scent, the dense chewy texture and the way that it fills your mouth and senses with that first bite.

Whether they’re decorated or plain, round cookies, shapes or in the shape of houses, gingerbread cookies are fairly synonymous with Christmas.

One of our very own editors, Sarah, did a weekend of taste testing different gingerbread cookie recipes to find her favorite one. (tough job, Sarah)

This recipe from Cooking Light was her hands down winner.

COOKIES:

• 2 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves (I don’t love cloves – I left them out)
• 3/4 Cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 Cup butter, softened
• 1/2 Cup molasses
• 1 large egg

ICING:

• 1 1/4 Cups powdered sugar
• 2 Tbsp 2% milk
• 1/4 Cup colored sugar sprinkles

1. To prepare cookies: Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups. Combine dry ingredients (flour through cloves) in a large bowl, stirring with a large mixing spoon.

2. Mix granulated sugar and butter in large bowl with a mixer at medium speed until smooth and well blended. Add molasses and egg – beat until well blended. Stir flour mixture into sugar mixture until well blended. Divide dough in half; shape each dough into a flat disk. Wrap dough portions in plastic wrap and chill an hour or until firm.

3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

4. Remove one bundle of dough from the fridge and remove plastic wrap. Roll dough to 1/8-inch thickness on floured surface (I work on my Silpat 11.5 x 16.5-in. Silpat Baking Sheet- easier cleanup!). Cut with cookie cutters and place cookies 1/2 inch apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Repeat until all the dough is gone.

5. Bake at 350 degrees for 11 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Remove from pans to cool on wire racks.

6. For icing, mix powdered sugar and milk and stir until smooth. Spoon into heavy zip top plastic bag, snip tiny hole in one corner of the bag. Pipe icing onto cookies and decorate as desired.

ENJOY!

Sarah talks often of her love of cookies on This Mom’s Wired

This cookie recipe is a part of Blissfully Domestic’s 12 Days of Cookies.

You can see all the recipes and link your own, here