How to Replicate This Historic Golf Club’s Famous Gingerbread

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While there’s never a bad time for a well-made gingerbread cookie, fall seems to be more about those savory, sweet, baking spice flavors. Coincidentally, Florida’s Mountain Lakes Golf Club reopens in the fall after a 26-week hiatus in late spring and summer, and the historic club is almost as famous for its enviable Seth Raynor-designed courses as it is for its gingerbread courses. Seriously, the pro shop even sells golf belts embroidered with whimsical woven patterns of these cookies.

Naturally, I contacted the club to learn the ropes of making a batch of gingerbread. Unsurprisingly, the club is reluctant to share the exact recipe it uses — and I can’t blame them for that — but the club’s assistant general manager Aaron Langley did reveal some very important tips. He even shared the club’s secret ingredient – high-quality, freshly grated ginger. He just didn’t specify how much to use.

So, while I can’t give you a step-by-step guide to making the gingerbread cookies Mountain Lake offers, I can offer the next best thing: expert guidance on making your own unique batch of gingerbread cookies — cookies that may become famous in their own right.

golden ratio

Mountain Lake may be tight-lipped about its own recipes, but the club is happy to help amateur bakers evaluate more accessible recipes out there. As Langley admits, cookie recipes are all based on proportions, and for gingerbread, the most critical ingredients work out like this: 1 part butter, 1.5 parts sugar, 2.5 parts flour, and 1 part molasses (flavored and refined with baking soda and ginger). Langley says that using this ratio, if a recipe looks noticeably unbalanced, “that might be a sign to steer clear.”

Still, he’s quick to point out that there really isn’t a universal red flag when evaluating a formula’s supposed efficacy. “The success of baking depends largely on how the recipe is executed,” he explains. “A good recipe can become ineffective in one person’s hands if not followed carefully.”

prudent approach

Even if you have reliable ingredient ratios, your baking can go wrong depending on how you measure those ingredients. “The U.S. system of using cups and teaspoons may lead to variations in results,” Langley acknowledged. “For consistent roasting results, measuring in grams is much more accurate and helps avoid over- or under-measurement of key ingredients.”

Molasses makes a difference

“Generally speaking, you want a dark, unsulfurized molasses that brings crunch, color and warmth without making your cookies bitter,” says Langley, who likes Grandma’s Original Unsulfurized Molasses, Brer Rabbit Full Flavor Molasses and Golden Barrel Unsulfurized Baking Molasses. “But avoid Blackstrap [style molasses],” he adds, “unless you want a rich, earthy flavor. If you do this, Langley warns, you’ll need to add more sugar to maintain balance.

Don’t overwork the dough

According to Mountain Lake’s assistant general manager, a common mistake home bakers make when baking cookies is overworking the dough, which can cause the cookies to become rubbery or dry. “The more you knead the dough, the more gluten it gets,” he explains. “Generally speaking, minimize gluten in cookies because it can make cookies tough instead of soft, dense instead of crispy and chewy, and fluffy instead of evenly distributed.”

What are warning signs, you ask? The dough will feel elastic or elastic to the touch. The dough looks shiny, mushy, or sticky. (It should have a matte-like finish.) If your cookies don’t spread much in the oven, there’s a good chance you’re overworking the dough.

Chewy or crispy?

Not everyone likes the same cookie, especially when it comes to how to eat it. Soft and chewy, it suits some; others prefer a crunchier texture. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to easily achieve either outcome.

For crispy gingerbread cookies, Langley likes to use butter instead of shortening. “This will have a big impact on flavor and spread,” he said. Likewise, replace the baking powder with baking soda. “It helps spread and causes cracks and a dark color on the surface.” Finally, set the oven to 325 degrees and bake the dough for 14 to 17 minutes.

If you like a soft chew, Langley encourages using brown sugar in addition to granulated sugar, going a little heavier on molasses, reducing the amount of flour, and adding an egg. Counterintuitively, soft and chewy gingerbread cookies should also be baked at a slightly higher temperature than crispy cookies, just for a shorter time. Langley bakes at 350 degrees for only 9 to 11 minutes.