Spicy Gingerbread Sticks

It just wouldn’t be Christmas if gingerbread didn’t make an appearance, would it? Every year I try to think of some new method that I can try out outside of just making the typical pan of gingerbread, but still come out with a treat that tastes like the original. You may be surprised by just how many different options there are out there.

This year, I decided to take inspiration from a past recipe I did for the 12 Days of Christmas back in 2017, Crinkle Cut Cookie Fries. They were a riff on a mass produced sugar cookie in the form of little sticks that was sold back in the 90’s that I absolutely loved. To this day, they’re one of the favorite recipes I’ve made for Christmas, and just in general.

Today’s recipe is made pretty much the same way that those were, except it’s a gingerbread dough. As I did before, I cut the dough into strips using a pastry wheel that had a fluted edge to give the sticks an extra decorative ‘flair’, but it’s fine if you don’t have one of those and just cut them into straight straws. So long as you give them the freezer time before baking, I promise they’ll still hold their shape just fine.

Do make sure you add a little sprinkles or sanding sugar to them, though. They just look more festive that way. If you do choose to add the cayenne pepper, these are going to have that real spicy gingerbread kick to them, which I love. But if you’re trying to serve them to kids or just aren’t overly fond of spicy flavors yourself, feel free to leave it out. Texturally speaking, these are rather crisp cookie that I think would be great eaten and dunked in coffee or tea. Because they’re crunchy, they last longer and also hold up pretty well in transport if you want to make them gifts. Enjoy, guys.

We’re almost halfway through the 12 Days of Christmas! Be sure to check out the other recipes shared so far for this year, and stay tuned for more….

Day 1: Orange Cranberry Buns

Day 2: Sausage Bread Pudding & Cranberry Sauce

Day 3: Sugar & Spice Crackers

Day 4: Cranberry Cookie Tart

Day 5: Spicy Gingerbread Sticks

Spicy Gingerbread Sticks

Recipe Adapted from She Paused For Thought

Ingredients

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
⅓ cup packed dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground ginger
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon ground allspice
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional
⅓ cup unsalted butter melted and cooled
⅓ cup mild or medium molasses not blackstrap
¼ cup brewed coffee cooled
nonpareil sprinkles

Special Equipment: Fluted pie cutter wheel, optional

Directions

In a large bowl combine the flour, brown sugar, spices, and the salt. Stir together with a fork until well combined, using the back of the fork to get the lumps out.

In a small bowl whisk together butter, molasses, and coffee until very well blended. Immediately, add butter mixture to flour mixture, stirring vigorously, until evenly incorporated.

Turn dough onto floured surface. Knead with your hands for 30 seconds to make it smoother and more malleable. If dough is too dry or crumbly to roll out, work in a few drops of water until it holds together; if too wet, thoroughly knead in 1 to 2 tablespoons more flour.

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight, or at least for a couple of hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Set aside two large baking sheets and two sheets of parchment paper.

Divide dough in half. Roll each portion out onto a well floured surface into a 6×12-inch rectangle. If necessary, cut and patch to make the sides roughly even. (Don’t worry about making it perfect.) Using a fluted pie cutter wheel (or a sharp knife) cut dough lengthwise into 3/4″-1″ thick strips (varies depending on how thin or thick you want them; you can also cut the dough crosswise first to make these shorter too). Spray lightly with cooking spray, sprinkle with nonpareils, and transfer cookie sticks to baking sheets.

Freeze cut out cookie dough for 15-30 minutes.Working with one rectangle batch of dough at a time, bake on the middle rack for 13 to 16 minutes or until just firm. Allow to set on sheets for about 60 seconds before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. Serve cookie sticks with frosting, Nutella or fruit jam for dipping. (Note: No one oven is the same, & different baking sheets bake cookies differently. Keeping this in mind, I will ALWAYS test bake one cookie before baking entire sheets of the whole batch, just to get a good idea of how long they should be in the oven and if I need to adjust the way I’ve cut, rolled them out, etc. I highly recommend that you do the same.)