Ginger All The Way! Chef Rodney Bowers and Meredith Shaw Dash into the Holiday Season with this Gingerbread Cookie Recipe

Kicking off the holiday season with the gift of gingerbread, hosts of CTV Life Channel series DOUBLE YOUR DISH, chef Rodney Bowers and radio and television personality Meredith Shaw share Bowers’ classic gingerbread cookie recipe in the all-new, two-episode holiday special, DOUBLE YOUR DISH: HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS, premiering on Monday, Dec. 14, beginning at 10 p.m. ET. In the new special, Bowers uses the recipe to transform one batch of gingerbread cookies into a chilly gingerbread semifreddo, and a warm, gingerbread sticky toffee pudding. Here is the gingerbread cookie recipe by chef Bowers: Ingredients 10 tablespoons (2/3 cup) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature 3/4 cup packed light or dark brown sugar 2/3 cup molasses 1 large egg, at room temperature 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 3 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spoon & leveled) 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon ground ginger (yes, 1 full tablespoon!) 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves Instructions In a large bowl using a hand-held mixer or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter for one minute on medium speed until completely smooth and creamy. Add the brown sugar and molasses and beat on medium high speed until combined and creamy-looking. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Next, beat in egg and vanilla on high speed for two full minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. The butter may separate; that’s ok. In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, and cloves together until combined. On low speed, slowly mix into the wet ingredients until combined. The cookie dough will be quite thick and slightly sticky. Divide dough in half and place each onto a large piece of plastic wrap. Wrap each up tightly and pat down to create a disc shape. Chill discs for at least three hours and up to three days. Chilling is mandatory for this cookie dough. I always chill mine overnight. Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line two to three large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. (Always recommended for cookies). Set aside. Remove one disc of chilled cookie dough from the refrigerator. Generously flour a work surface, as well as your hands and the rolling pin. Don’t be afraid to continually flour the work surface as needed – this dough can be sticky. Roll out disc until 1/4-inch thick. Cut into shapes. Place shapes one inch apart on prepared baking sheets. Re-roll dough scraps until all the dough is shaped. Repeat with remaining disc of dough. Bake cookies for about nine to 10 minutes. If your cookie cutters are smaller than four inches, bake for about eight minutes. If your cookie cutters are larger than four inches, bake for about 11 minutes. My oven has hot spots and yours may too – so be sure to rotate the pan once during bake time. Allow cookies to cool for five minutes on the cookie sheet. Transfer to cooling rack to cool completely.