This is THE gingerbread recipe. I substituted molasses like others said and it turned out great. I worked with about a quarter of the dough at a time and rolled it out between two sheets of wax paper; some of the dough I rolled out three times and it was still just as good as the first. This cookie was very forgiving and I will be making it every Christmas. I have been looking for a good gingerbread recipe and I have found it! One note: my mom didn't like the orange flavor (though the rest of us did). If you want a very traditional recipe substitute molasses for the corn syrup and omit the orange zest.

Pretty, and much lighter in color than my usual gingerbread recipe. Very tasty, the orange flavor is surprisingly strong but pleasant. Cookies were fairly easy to roll out, even without chilling. (I always roll dough between two sheets of wax paper. I hate scraping.) NOTE: For the folks who are having problems with cookies spreading too much, you may be using eggs that are too large. I bake constantly and I only use large--never extra large. And with cut-out cookies, sometimes I discard just a little bit of the eggwhite, so that the dough is a little bit drier and easier to roll out. Hope this helps, because this really is a terrific gingerbread recipe.

Melt in your mouth good! I made some substitutions: molasses for dark corn syrup and lemon zest for orange, and I added a little more ginger. I read previous reveiws re: the difficulty stirring in the flour so I cut the dry ingredients in with a pastry blender, kneaded it into a ball and it was a breeze. The kids helped decorate and we shared with neighbours. These cookies will become a Christmas tradition.

Really like the orange zest, subtle and special! I found that if the dough was rolled to 1/4", I got the aforementioned puffy and delightfully chewy gingerbread boys. We love cookies moist, so hooray for that! Then I experimented and rolled the dough thinner, to about 1/8". These cutouts stayed more true to size, and produced a crispy cookie, suitable for hanging (remember to poke out a hole w/ a straw before baking). Other notes: paddle attachment on the Kitchen Aid had no problem mixing everything together. After only 6 hours chilling in a bowl covered tight with plastic wrap, the dough was rather stiff coming out of the fridge, but that was solved by breaking off chunks, then kneading till pliable. My first time rolling dough between wax paper... how smart is that (thanks SUGARPLUMSCOOKIES)! The fourth reroll is good as the first! Our family doesn't care for icing, but melted white chocolate pipes well for decorating! MMMmmmm... Enjoy!

I am not that fond of gingerbread cookies but my son insisted that we make some. I searched for a good recipe and thought this one sounded good, so we tried it. It was wonderful!! I could have just eaten the dough. But...I did bake them up and every night my two kids decorate one to eat. However, I prefer my cookies a little chewy so I baked them for only 8 minutes (for a 3"x4" man). Give it a try. You'll love the orange zest in them!

These were great. I cut the sugar down to 1 cup of brown sugar. The cookies were plenty sweet so I will probably cut more out next time. I also subbed in molasses for corn syrup. Those of you with spreading cookie problems - make sure the dough is cold before you pop them in the oven. That means once you take the dough out of the fridge - work fast and get them in the oven pronto.

I thought I'd try something different this year, since not everyone is crazy about gingerbread men and I feel compelled to make them each Christmas. This recipe was fantastic! The dough worked up as easy or easier than regular gingerbread, they baked light and crispy/chewy, had a beautiful color and a wonderfully light orange taste. Everyone who tried them loved them. I highly recommend them to anyone who marginally likes gingerbread men!

EXCELLENT gingerbread cookies! My whole family, from 5 yr old to my teenager, to my husband LOVED them! I did find chilling them for 2 hrs was NOT enough, as the dough was too soft and they fell apart during transfer to cookie sheet. I also discovered, through trial and error, that 1/4 inch thick was the best thickness for keeping their shape before baking and still looking like gingerbread boys after baking. I think rolling them in wax paper is great, but it took me a few times to get the hand of knowing the thickness of the dough while it was between the wax paper. I'm used to the old flour/rolling pin method and it was a little hard to judge thickness at first, but I do like the wax paper much better. I found rolling it out THEN refridgerating made the cookie cutter process go much smoother. All in all, I will HANG ON to this recipe to make again...and again...and again!

These were great! Per others' suggestions, I replaced the corn syrup with 3 Tbsp. molasses for a bit stronger taste. Delicious! I also used melted white chips to frost, rather than royal icing -- much easier and tastier! This is a great recipe for GOOD TASTING gingerbread. So many out there focus on the way they look. These look good, too, but they taste GREAT. Thanks for posting this recipe!

So yummy, very light and tasty with great orange flavor. I did add some orange juice (about 1/4- 1/2 cup) to the dough during mixing, since it was a little dry for me.. this punched up the orange flavor more than the original recipe. I also substituted maple syrup for the corn syrup. These guys did spread out a lot during baking, but the result was a cute, chubby gingerbread man the kids loved decorating. Too soft to hang on the tree.. just right for eating! Fine by me!