With Christmas quickly approaching, holiday baking recipes are flooding the media. Christmas cookies are a delicious treat, but with so many varieties, which recipes are worth making? Of course, don’t skip your great-grandma’s recipes—you can’t beat those. But here’s one to try . . .

Gingerbread cookies are a versatile classic. You can make them into people, circles, houses, or whatever shape you want. They can crunchy, firm, or chewy, and even sweet or spicy. Their powerful notes of molasses and ginger are the epitome of warm holiday flavors.

I enjoy all kinds of gingerbread cookies, but my favorite is a chewy and spicier one.

For this gingerbread cookie recipe from Dessert Person, you’ll need:

3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking soda

2 teaspoons ground ginger and 2 teaspoons fresh finely grated ginger

1/2 teaspoon finely ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (my favorite brand is Diamond Crystal)

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter (melted and cooled)

1 1/2 cups packed dark brown sugar

2 large eggs (room temperature)

1 1/2 cups molasses

2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 cup Demerara sugar

In a large bowl, whisk together all dry ingredients—flour, baking soda, ground ginger, pepper, allspice, cloves, and salt.

In another large bowl or a stand mixer, beat the brown sugar and butter for 1 minute. Next, add one egg at a time into the butter/sugar mixture and beat until fluffy. Add in the molasses, fresh ginger, vinegar, and vanilla until combined. Then add the dry ingredients mixture slowly until all of it has been incorporated.

Separate the dough in half and wrap it in plastic and press the halves into 6x6 inch squares. The dough will be sticky, so it’s important to chill it in the refrigerator for at least an hour.

While the dough chills, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place the oven racks on the upper and lower two thirds of the oven.

After the dough has chilled, cut the squares into 1 1/2 inch pieces to roll into a ball, then roll the balls in the Demerara sugar. Place the balls onto the parchment lined baking sheets spacing them about 3 inches apart.

Bake the cookies on the upper and lower racks switching and rotating the sheets half way through (6-8 minutes in) for a total bake time of about 15 minutes. The centers will still be soft and may look undercooked, but they will harden as they cool. Repeat this process until all the cookies are baked. Enjoy!