1-First Step: Preheat and Prepare Start by preheating your oven to 350°F and lining two cookie sheets with parchment paper. This step takes just a minute or two and ensures even baking without sticking. For dietary preferences, use gluten-free parchment if needed to keep things adaptable.

2-Second Step: Cream the Butter Beat the 1 cup (226g) softened butter with an electric mixer until it’s fluffy, which should take about 20 seconds. Make sure your butter is softened but not melted for the best results this helps create a light dough. If you’re vegan, swap in plant-based butter here to maintain the texture.

3-Third Step: Mix in the Sweeteners and Spices Add ½ cup (57g) powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, ½ teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon ground ginger, ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon ground allspice, ¼ teaspoon ground cloves, and 1 tablespoon molasses to the butter mixture. Mix everything until it’s smooth and well combined, about 1 minute. This is where the gingerbread magic happens, and you can adjust spices for a milder flavor if you’re cooking for kids.

4-Fourth Step: Incorporate the Flour Gradually add 2 ¼ cups (279g) all-purpose flour to the mixture and keep mixing until a dough forms it might look crumbly at first, but that’s normal. Use a spoon to stir initially, then switch to the mixer; this usually takes another minute. For gluten-free options, substitute with a 1:1 gluten-free flour to keep the cookies tender.

5-Fifth Step: Shape the Cookies Scoop out 1 tablespoon of dough for each cookie and place them on the prepared cookie sheets, spacing them about 1 inch apart. This portion size yields around 48 cookies, but you can make them smaller for more pieces or larger for heartier treats. If you’re watching calories, smaller sizes help control portions.

6-Sixth Step: Bake the Cookies Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes until the bottoms are just lightly browned. Keep an eye on them to avoid overbaking, as this can dry them out they’re done when the edges are set but the centers are still soft. For low-calorie adaptations, you might reduce baking time slightly, but test one first.

7-Seventh Step: Cool and Coat Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool for about one minute until they’re easy to handle. Roll each warm cookie in powdered sugar to coat evenly, which helps the sugar stick and gives that snowy look. You can roll them again after full cooling for a thicker coating, and this step works well with sugar alternatives for dietary needs.

8-Final Step: Finishing Touches and Serving Place the coated cookies on a wire rack to cool completely, which takes about 10-15 minutes. Once ready, serve them as a festive snack or dessert they’re perfect for holiday gatherings. This recipe’s quick total time of 30 minutes makes it ideal for busy parents or students, and you can store extras for later as discussed in the next section.