The combination of lemon rind, candied ginger, molasses, and cloves ensures these easy-to-make cookies are requested for every holiday dessert bar. The sparkly sugar coating balances the spice from ginger in these little gems. Make the dough weeks in advance and freeze it. Then slice and bake as you need them!

Like many butter-based cookies, icebox cookies start by creaming butter and sugar together, adding egg and then flour, along with any spices or flavorings. Instead of dropping the dough onto cookie sheets, you form it into cylinders and refrigerate or freeze them until firm. Truth be told, many drop cookies can be turned into slice-and-bakes, including chocolate chip cookies!

Keep Your Dough Cold

Icebox cookies need to be cold when you slice them. Cold dough tends to spread very little in the oven, which means your cookies retain their shape once baked. I prefer to put them directly into the freezer. This not only shortens the time it takes them to become firm enough to slice but also, if you don’t plan to bake them all at once, they are already in the right place to store. If the dough hardens too much in the freezer, just leave it out at room temperature for about 10 minutes before slicing.

Tips To Maintain the Shape

These cookies are really tiny! Only 1 1/2 inches after baking. You can easily make the rolls larger, up to two or even three inches wide. You will end up with fewer cookies but there will still be plenty to go around. Since the dough is soft to begin with, the log often flattens on the bottom as it chills. Roll the log back and forth to reform it into a round shape before slicing. Then, as you slice the cookies, roll the log a quarter-turn away from you after you slice each cookie to prevent the bottoms from flattening too much. On the other hand, you could just make the roll into a square shape. They won’t look like pennies, but no one will be the wiser!

The Best Sugar Coating

For these shiny pennies, I used coarse natural cane sugar. It’s light brown and is sometimes called turbinado or demerara sugar. Granulated sugar would work fine, too; it’s just not as dramatic looking. Place a shallow bowl of sugar next to the work area, and drop the cookies into it as you slice them. Then transfer them to baking sheets. You can dip them into the sugar on one or both sides, you decide. More sugar makes the cookies sweeter.

Ways To Adapt This Recipe

Finely chopped candied ginger produces minute, peppery little pops in the cookies, barely noticeable, but enough to add some je-ne-sais-quoi mystery! You could use candied orange or lemon peel instead if you like, and in place of the lemon zest, use orange or lime zest. I like the perkiness of the lemon and ginger in these, but you should make yours according to what you might have on hand and what you like.

How To Store and Freeze Icebox Cookies

The rolls of dough, double wrapped in plastic, will keep in the freezer for up to three months, after which the cookies will lose some of their zest but will still be fine. Once the cookies are baked, they will keep well for up to a couple of weeks in an airtight tin. The baked cookies can also be stored in the freezer in heavy-duty freezer zipper bags for several months.

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With the mixer still on medium to low speed, add the molasses, egg, vanilla, lemon zest, and candied ginger, beating until well combined, about 1 to 2 minutes. Gradually add the dry ingredients, mixing on low speed until the dough comes together and is well combined. Scrape down the bowl as necessary. Encase the dough in the plastic wrap and roll it back and forth to form it into a roll. Repeat with the remaining dough. Place the logs on a baking sheet or tray that will fit in your freezer, and chill for 1 to 2 hours, or overnight. The dough will keep in the freezer for 3 months or longer.