Stamped cookies are a beautiful alternative to making cutout cookies. Soft, perfectly spiced gingerbread cookies are stamped with a decorative shaped outline. They're an easy cookie to make for the holidays and are perfect for gift giving.
I have been obsessed with stamped gingerbread cookies for a while now. I mean, how cool are they?!? Their shape and history is so intriguing and have been around at least since the 1600s in Bavaria. Plus, they are so lovely to look at!
Gingerbread stamp cookies are perfect to cozy up with on the couch with a delicious mug of hot cocoa, coffee or hot tea. I love to use my Keurig machine to make the perfect mug of hot cocoa.
When it comes to gingerbread, I just can't get enough especially around the holidays. Gingerbread truffles, gingerbread donuts, and a gingerbread pie crust are just a few ways to enjoy these flavors.
Why Make These Gingerbread Cookies?
- They represent flavor of the holiday season with plenty of warming spices and flavors in gingerbread.
- Stamped cookies are simply beautiful. Whether you are keeping them for yourself or gifting them, these are so pretty.
- Not that hard to make. If you have ever made cut sugar cookies, these are not any harder to make than those are. Roll, cut, and stamp. That's it!
What are Cookie Stamps?
A cookie stamp is a decorative baking tool that's usually round or square shaped that's used to imprint a design on the top of cookies. German immigrants to Texas brought it along with them in the late 1800's.
There are a ton of cookie stamps out there with all types of designs. They are usually made of glass, ceramic or wood. You can find some really cool versions in antique stores and on eBay while more modern ones are available on different baking websites.
I was looking for some winter shapes for mine, so I used Nordicware's Frozen Collection. They worked perfectly! Look around though, I am sure you can find ones you will love as well!
Ingredients
Let's take a look at what goes into making these tasty gingerbread cookies.
- All-purpose flour: Use your favorite baking flour.
- Cocoa powder: Just a touch to add a bit of flavor that really enhances the spices used in gingerbread.
- Spices: Gingerbread blends together cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg.
- Butter: Gives the cookies rich flavor and moisture from the fat.
- Sweetener: This recipe uses a combination of brown sugar, molasses, and karo syrup.
- Egg: Stabilizes the texture of the cookies.
- Maple glaze: A simple combination of powdered sugar, maple extract, maple syrup and a bit of milk to get the glaze to the consistency you want in the glaze.
How To Make Gingerbread Stamped Cookies
Let's look at the highlights of what goes into making stamped cookies. Be sure to check the recipe card for the detailed instructions. First we're going to start with the gingerbread dough for the stamped cookies.
- Combine the flour, cinnamon, cocoa, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, and salt in a small bowl and stir them together.
- In a medium-sized bowl, mix the butter, brown sugar, molasses, and karo syrup on medium speed until they are well blended. Add the egg and mix again.
- Next, add the flour mixture and mix again only to combine the ingredients.
- Chill the dough for at least one hour but two hours is preferable.
- When the dough is ready, preheat the oven to 350 degrees while you form and stamp the cookies.
- Lightly flour your work surface and place the cookie dough on top. Then roll out the dough until it’s about one-quarter-inch thick. Use a round cookie cutter to shape the cookies into circles.
TOP TIP: Another option is rolling your dough on a piece of parchment. It is a little tough to roll on the parchment, but it makes transferring the cookies after rolling and cutting to the baking sheet so much easier!
- Sprinkle the top with sugar and stamp the cookies by pressing firmly, but quickly on the cookie top. The sugar helps the stamp to not stick to the cookie top.
- Place the stamped cookies in the freezer for 5-10 minutes. Once they are set in the freezer, transfer to the oven and bake for about 12 minutes. You want the edges to be set a bit, but not overdone.
- While the cookies bake, mix together the maple glaze.
- Remove the cookies from the oven and allow them to cool. Then brush the tops with the maple glaze.
How to Use Cookie Stamps
There are two different ways to use cookie stamps and shape these cookies. Both work and there are advantages of each so you can decide what works best for you!
- Roll the dough into a ball, about the size of a golf ball. Place the dough ball on the floured work surface and press with the cookie stamp. This will flatten the cookie and leave the imprint on top. It's simpler, but it doesn't give you a clean edge.
- Roll out the dough, cut them out with a biscuit cutter, then press them with the cookie stamp. This makes much cleaner edges on your cookies but requires more steps to shape the cookies.
Honestly, it depends on how picky you are about the perfection of the stamped cookie!
You can see in the image below, these stamped cookies were made using the ball method and have edges that are a little jagged and not quite as clean-looking as they are in the image at the top of the post.
If you want to try making more stamped cookies, I love these stamped lemon shortbread cookies.
Expert Tips
- Chilling the dough twice is critical for stamped cookies. Don't skip it after mixing the dough and then again after pressing with the stamp. You will get much better details if the dough is chilled.
- Don't over mix the dough. If you incorporate too much air, the cookies will puff up too much.
- Skip the glaze if you want. I love the maple glaze. Gingerbread, and maple pair so well together, but it isn't a must for sure.
- Aim for a thin glaze to keep the stamped look of the cookies.
FAQs
This is an entirely personal choice. I really like a soft cookies, but if you like them more crispy, just bake a little longer!
Always make sure and stamp before. This will give you the best detail.
Each stamp has a unique design. When pressed on the raw cookie dough, it will stamp that image onto the cookie which then baked into the finished cookie.
There three methods to keep the stamps from sticking to the cookie dough, freezing the stamps, sprinkling the dough with flour, or sprinkling with sugar. I've tried all three and the sugar is the best option!! It is simple and if there is still some sticking to the cookie, it crystallizes on the surface and gives the cookie great flavor!
More Cookie Recipes
If cookies are your thing, let me give you some more ideas!!
Gingerbread Stamp Cookies
Ingredients
- 3 ¾ cups all-purpose flour plus more to flour your surface for rolling.
- 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 cup butter softened
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ½ cup molasses
- 1 tablespoon karo syrup
- 1 egg
Maple Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon maple extract
- 2 teaspoons pure maple syrup
- milk this amount is variable, depending on how much you need to get it to the consistency you are looking for.
Instructions
- Combine flour, cinnamon, cocoa, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, and salt to a small bowl. Mix and set aside.
- In a medium-sized bowl, mix butter, brown sugar, molasses, and karo syrup on medium speed until they are well blended. Add egg and mix again. Now, add in your flour mixture and mix again, this time only to combine.
- Cover bowl with plastic wrap and chill at least 1 hour, preferably at least 2.
- Now, preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Lightly flour your work surface. Or you can roll your dough on a piece of parchment. It is kind of tough to roll on the parchment, but it so much easier than transferring the cookies after rolling and cutting. So, roll your cookies to about ¼ inch thick. Sprinkle the top with sugar and stamp the cookies by pressing firmly, but quickly on the cookie top. The sugar helps the stamp to not stick to the cookie top.
- Place the stamped cookies in the freezer for 5-10 minutes.
- Once they are set in the freezer, place in the oven. Bake for about 12 minutes. You want the edges to be set a bit, but not overdone.
- Remove from the oven. Allow them to cool about 3-5 minutes on the cookies sheet, then carefully transfer to a cooling rack.
- Once they are fairly cool, brush the maple glaze over the top. We like a lot of glaze, so I am generous on this step.
- These cookies are best the day you bake them. You can also bake the cookies and freeze them, don't glaze them before freezing. When you are ready for them, bring them to room temp and glaze. They are also really good a day later, after that, they aren't so good!
- Now, sit back and enjoy. You deserve it!!
Maple Glaze
- Add powdered sugar, maple extract, maple syrup and 1 tablespoon milk to a medium-sized bowl. Mix well with a hand mixer or whisk. Now, add more milk as needed.The glaze needs to be pretty thin, otherwise you lose the stamped look on the cookies. So, add as much milk as you need, in small amounts at a time.
Notes
- Chilling the dough twice is critical. Don't skip it after mixing the dough and then again after pressing with the stamp. You will get much better details if the dough is chilled.
- Don't over mix the dough. If you incorporate too much air, the cookies will puff up too much.
- Skip the glaze if you want. I love the maple glaze. Gingerbread, and maple pair so well together, but it isn't a must for sure.
- Aim for a thin glaze to keep the stamped look of the cookies.
This post was originally published November 2020 and has been updated for content.