Gingerbread Boy And Girl Cakes Recipes

GINGERBREAD BOYS AND GIRLS

Steps:

• Using an electric mixer at low speed, cream the sugar and butter until thoroughly combined. Add the eggs and molasses and mix until combined. Sift together the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and combine with a spoon or spatula.
• Remove the dough from the bowl and wrap in plastic wrap; place in the refrigerator until firm, about 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 350 °F.
• Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Allow the dough to sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes, until pliable. Take about 1/2 cup of dough at a time and roll onto a floured board until about 1/8 inch thick. Cut out with gingerbread boy and girl cookie cutters. You can reroll the scraps. Using a spatula, transfer the cookies from the board to the prepared cookie sheets.
• Bake for 10 minutes, until just beginning to brown at the edges. Transfer to wire racks to cool.
• To make the icing, combine the confectioner's sugar and milk. Divide the mixture into thirds; leave one-third white, and color one-third green and the final third red. Decorate piping eyes, mouths, buttons, and bow ties. Makes between 18-24 cookies.

GINGERBREAD BOYS

Steps:

• Cream the butter and the sugar together. Add the egg and mix well. Mix in the orange peel and dark corn syrup. Add the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, ground cloves and salt, mixing until well combined. Chill dough for at least 2 hours, I like to chill overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough out to 1/4 inch thick. Cut into desired shapes using cookie cutters. Place cookies 1 inch apart on the prepared cookie sheets.
• Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven, until cookies are firm and lightly toasted on the edges.

HERE'S MY HEART GINGERBREAD PALS

Steps:

• In 3-quart saucepan, cook and stir molasses and water over medium heat until hot; remove from heat. Stir in butter and brown sugar until smooth. Stir in remaining ingredients except candy coating and decorating sugar. Divide dough in half; shape into 2 disks. Wrap each in plastic wrap; refrigerate 1 hour.
• Heat oven to 350°F. On floured surface, roll 1 disk of dough 1/8 inch thick. Cut with floured 3- to 3 1/2-inch gingerbread boy and girl cookie cutters. With 1-inch heart-shaped cutter, cut out small heart in center of each cookie. On 1 ungreased cookie sheet, place gingerbread cutouts. On second ungreased cookie sheet, place hearts. Repeat with second disk.
• Bake hearts 5 to 7 minutes, gingerbread cookies 7 to 9 minutes, or until set. Remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks.
• In small microwavable bowl, microwave candy coating on High 1 minute; stir until smooth. Frost each heart with coating; immediately sprinkle with red sugar. Place dot of melted coating on back of heart; place on hand of each gingerbread cookie or near cutout heart on body of cookie. Decorate as desired.