Description
These Gingerbread Yule Log Cookies are a festive holiday treat featuring spiced gingerbread dough rolled with a zesty lime and Nutella filling. Soft, aromatic, and beautifully decorated with etched bark-like details, these cookies bring a charming twist to traditional gingerbread with a delicious hazelnut chocolate spread and a hint of lime zest.
Ingredients
Scale
Dry Ingredients
- 3 ⅓ cups flour
- ½ tablespoon cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon ginger
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
Wet Ingredients
- ¾ cups light corn syrup
- ⅔ cups packed light brown sugar
- ½ cup margarine
- ½ cup cream cheese
Filling
- 1 lime (juice and zest)
- ½ cup Nutella (hazelnut and chocolate spread)
- ¾ cups powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat and Prepare: Heat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a standard baking sheet with parchment paper to prevent sticking.
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a large bowl, stir together the flour, cinnamon, ginger, salt, and baking powder until well combined.
- Heat Wet Ingredients: In a large saucepan over low heat, combine light corn syrup, light brown sugar, and margarine. Stir constantly until the margarine is fully melted.
- Combine Mixtures: Pour the warm liquid mixture into the flour mixture. Add the cream cheese and mix thoroughly with a spoon, then use your hands as the dough becomes stiff to ensure everything is incorporated.
- Chill Dough: Chill the dough for about 10-15 minutes until it is firm enough to handle easily.
- Roll Out Dough: On parchment paper, roll the dough out to ⅛ inch thickness into a large rectangle approximately 10 by 5 or 6 inches. Trim edges to form clean straight sides. Repeat to get three rectangles total.
- Prepare Filling: Squeeze juice from the lime and set aside. Finely grate the lime zest and mix it into the Nutella until evenly combined.
- Spread Filling: Evenly spread the lime-zested Nutella mixture onto each dough rectangle, applying thinner layers toward the edges to prevent filling from oozing out.
- Roll Logs: Starting at the long edge, roll each rectangle tightly like a jelly roll. The dough may crack slightly, which adds to the log effect. Keep the seam side down to help maintain shape.
- Cut Logs: Slice each large log into about 4 smaller logs using a sharp, non-serrated knife to avoid squishing the dough.
- Decorate Logs: Use the front and back of a butter knife to etch bark-like lines onto the surface of each cookie log for a natural log appearance.
- Bake Cookies: Bake the cookie logs for about 18 minutes or until the bottoms are lightly browned, keeping the cookies soft and tender.
- Cool: Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack. Let the cookies cool for 5 to 10 minutes before handling or decorating further.
Notes
- Chill the dough just long enough; 10-15 minutes prevents excessive cracking or stickiness.
- Roll dough on parchment paper only; wax paper can melt and stick.
- Trim rectangles carefully for clean, even logs, which help rolling and slicing.
- Spread Nutella thinner at edges to prevent filling from escaping during rolling.
- Roll slowly and gently from the long side to minimize cracking and keep logs tight.
- Keep rolled logs seam side down to prevent unraveling during baking and cutting.
- Use a sharp, non-serrated knife for cutting to maintain cookie shape.
- Etch bark lines before baking for better definition and texture.
- Do not overbake; a lightly golden bottom keeps the cookies soft and moist.
- For decoration, add holly sprinkles only after glaze has set to avoid color bleeding.
- Freeze undecorated cookies for best storage; decorate after thawing to keep them fresh-looking.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 220 kcal
- Sugar: 18 g
- Sodium: 150 mg
- Fat: 10 g
- Saturated Fat: 3 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 30 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 2 g
- Cholesterol: 10 mg
