gingerbread cookies

Making a batch of gingerbread cookies is an essential for the holiday season: not only are they tasty, but your house is bound to smell like Christmas as they bake. These cookies are crisp on the outside and chewy in the center, perfect with a hot cup of tea and a roaring fire. The extent that you decorate these cookies is up to you. Maybe you want to use a small straw and poke a hole in each cookie so they can be strung onto the tree with a little bit of ribbon. Alternatively, pull out those cookie cutters, and let the family go wild with their decorations.

Or keep it really simple like I did here and use a drinking glass to make perfect circles and sprinkle the cookies with sugar before baking. It isn't too late to get into the holiday mood, so keep reading for the recipe.

Now that Thanksgiving is behind us, it's time to turn our attention to the remaining Winter holidays! A recipe that you'll want to have on hand is this one for classic gingerbread cookies. These crowd-pleasing cookies are chewy, moist, and delicious. Thanks to freshly grated ginger, they have a rich and intense ginger flavor.

The simplest way to make them is to shape the dough into balls, dunk in sugar, and bake. However, feel free to roll the batter out, cut it into festive shapes, and decorate after baking. My favorite use of these cookies is to turn them into an ice cream sandwich with vanilla ice cream — or for a Christmasy twist, egg nog ice cream. To enjoy these cookies, get the recipe.

I believe little indulgences are a part of life, and cookies are one of mine. While a cookie will always be a cookie, made with sugar, butter, and eggs, all cookies are not on equal standing. Some of these sweet treats contain less butter, sugar, and eggs than others, and this ginger molasses cookie falls into the healthier category. I know it's still just a cookie, but since it's packed with a spicy flavor and a snappy crunch, one cookie easily satisfies your sweet craving. Plus it makes a great dessert with sliced pear. Make these for the big game tomorrow or for your sweetheart and friends for Valentine's Day.

Check out the recipe and see how I tweaked it when you read more.