Gingerbread Cookies I Recipes

GINGERBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• For the cookies: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, white pepper, salt, baking soda, nutmeg and cloves. Set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter, brown sugar and barley malt syrup until smooth. Scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl. Add the egg and continue to mix until completely incorporated. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl again and add the vanilla, fresh ginger and orange zest.
• Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in the mixer. Mix until just combined. Then, turn the dough out onto a sheet of plastic wrap and press into a disk. Cover completely in the plastic wrap and chill for 20 minutes.
• Roll the dough out about 1/4 inch thick between 2 pieces of lightly floured parchment paper. Place the rolled out dough onto parchment on a cookie sheet in the freezer for 15 minutes.
• Cut the dough with cookie cutters and place onto parchment-lined cookie sheets. You can gather scraps together and reroll the dough 1 additional time.
• Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until just beginning to brown around the edges. Allow the cookies to cool completely before decorating.
• For the royal icing: In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (see Cook's Note), add the confectioners' sugar and meringue powder and beat to combine. Add 4 tablespoons of warm water and beat to combine. Raise the paddle head to check the consistency of the icing; the icing should be thick and smooth, but not dripping from the paddle. Add more water until the desired consistency is reached. (You can add slightly more water to achieve a flooding consistency to completely cover the cookies; use a stiffer consistency to pipe decorations and details.) Immediately transfer the icing to a pastry bag fitted with a small open tip. Decorate the gingerbread cookies.

CLASSIC GINGERBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line 3 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
• Beat sugar and butter together in a bowl using an electric mixer until fluffy. Beat in molasses and egg until combined.
• Whisk flour, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and salt together in a separate bowl. Stir into butter mixture until just combined.
• Roll dough into teaspoon-sized balls and place 2 inches apart onto the prepared cookie sheets.
• Bake 1 sheet at a time in the preheated oven until edges of cookies are firm, 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

GINGERBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease one cookie sheet.
• Mix together the molasses, brown sugar, water and shortening.
• Sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, allspice, ginger, cloves and cinnamon. Add to sugar mixture and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.
• Roll dough 1/4 inch thick on floured board. Cut with floured gingerbread cutter. Place about 2 inches apart on cookie sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Cool and decorate with frosting.

GINGERBREAD COOKIES 101

Steps:

• Position the racks in the top and bottom thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.
• Sift the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, cloves, salt and pepper through a wire sieve into a medium bowl. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, using a hand-held electric mixer at high speed, beat the butter and vegetable shortening until well-combined, about 1 minute. Add the brown sugar and beat until the mixture is light in texture and color, about 2 minutes. Beat in the molasses and egg. Using a wooden spoon, gradually mix in the flour mixture to make a stiff dough. Divide the dough into two thick disks and wrap each disk in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until chilled, about 3 hours. (The dough can be prepared up to 2 days ahead.)
• To roll out the cookies, work with one disk at a time, keeping the other disk refrigerated. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let stand at room temperature until just warm enough to roll out without cracking, about 10 minutes. (If the dough has been chilled for longer than 3 hours, it may need a few more minutes.) Place the dough on a lightly floured work surface and sprinkle the top of the dough with flour. Roll out the dough 1/8 inch thick, being sure that the dough isn't sticking to the work surface (run a long meal spatula or knife under the dough occasionally just to be sure, and dust the surface with more flour, if needed). For softer cookies, roll out slightly thicker. Using cookie cutters, cut out the cookies and transfer to nonstick cookie sheets, placing the cookies 1 inch apart. Gently knead the scraps together and form into another disk. Wrap and chill for 5 minutes before rolling out again to cut out more cookies.
• Bake, switching the positions of the cookies from top to bottom and back to front halfway through baking, until the edges of the cookies are set and crisp, 10 to 12 minutes. Cool on the sheets for 2 minutes, then transfer to wire cake racks to cool completely. Decorate with Royal Icing. (The cookies can be prepared up to 1 week ahead, stored in airtight containers at room temperature.)
• Make ahead: The icing can prepared up to 2 days ahead, stored in an airtight container with a moist paper towel pressed directly on the icing surface, and refrigerated.
• This icing hardens into shiny white lines, and is used for piping decorations on gingerbread people or other cookies. Traditional royal icing uses raw egg whites, but I prefer dried egg-white powder, available at most supermarkets, to avoid any concern about uncooked egg whites.
• When using a pastry bag, practice your decorating skills before you ice the cookies. Just do a few trial runs to get the feel of the icing and the bag, piping the icing onto aluminum foil or wax paper. If you work quickly, you can use a metal spatula to scrape the test icing back into the batch.
• Dried egg-white powder is also available by mail order from The Baker's Catalogue, 1-800-827-6836. Meringue powder, which is dehydrated egg whites with sugar already added, also makes excellent royal icing; just follow the directions on the package. However, the plain unsweetened dried egg whites are more versatile, as they can be used in savory dishes, too. Meringue powder is available from Adventures in Cooking (1-800-305-1114) and The Baker's Catalogue.
• In a medium bowl, using a hand-held electric mixer at low speed, beat the confectioners' sugar, egg-white powder and water until combined. Increase the speed to high and beat, scraping down the sides of the bowl often, until very stiff, shiny and thick enough to pipe; 3 to 5 minutes. (The icing can be prepared up to 2 days ahead, stored in an airtight container with a moist paper towel pressed directly on the icing surface, and refrigerated.)
• To pipe line decorations, use a pastry bag fitted with a tube with a small writing tip about 1/8-inch wide, such as Ateco No. 7; it may be too difficult to squeeze the icing out of smaller tips. If necessary, thin the icing with a little warm water. To fill the pastry bag, fit it with the tube. Fold the top of the bag back to form a cuff and hold it in one hand. (Or, place the bag in a tall glass and fold the top back to form a cuff.) Using a rubber spatula, scoop the icing into the bag. Unfold the cuff and twist the top of the bag closed. Squeeze the icing down to fill the tube. Always practice first on a sheet of wax paper or aluminum foil to check the flow and consistency of the icing.
• Traditional Royal Icing: Substitute 3 large egg whites for the powder and water.

THE MOST WONDERFUL GINGERBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves until well blended.
• In a large bowl (KitchenAid's great for this) beat butter, brown sugar, and egg on medium speed until well blended.
• Add molasses, vanilla, and lemon zest and continue to mix until well blended.
• Gradually stir in dry ingredients until blended and smooth.
• Divide dough in half and wrap each half in plastic and let stand at room temperature for at least 2 hours or up to 8 hours.
• Preheat oven to 375 deg. Prepare baking sheets by lining with parchment paper.
• (Dough can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 4 days, but in this case it should be refrigerated. Return to room temp before using.) Preheat oven to 375°.
• Grease or line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
• Place 1 portion of the dough on a lightly floured surface.
• Sprinkle flour over dough and rolling pin.
• Roll dough to a scant 1/4-inch thick.
• Use additional flour to avoid sticking.
• Cut out cookies with desired cutter-- the ginger bread man is our favorite of course.
• Space cookies 1 1/2-inches apart.
• Bake 1 sheet at a time for 7-10 minutes (the lower time will give you softer cookies-- very good!).
• Remove cookie sheet from oven and allow the cookies to stand until the cookies are firm enough to move to a wire rack.
• After cookies are cool you may decorate them any way you like.
• I usually brush them with a powdered sugar glaze when I am in a hurry, but they look wonderful decorated with Royal icing.

GINGERBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, spices, baking soda, and salt; set aside. With an electric mixer, beat butter and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in molasses and egg. With mixer on low, add dry ingredients; mix just until a dough forms. Place dough on floured plastic wrap; pat into an 8-inch square. Wrap well; chill until firm, 1 to 2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Divide dough in half. Working with one half at a time (rewrap and refrigerate other half), place dough on floured parchment or waxed paper; roll out 1/8 inch thick, turning, lifting, and flouring dough (and rolling pin) as needed. Freeze dough (on paper) until firm, about 20 minutes.
• Loosen dough from paper. Cut out shapes, and transfer to baking sheets. Decorate with sugar or sprinkles, as desired.
• Bake until firm and edges just begin to darken, 10 to 18 minutes, depending on size. Cool completely on baking sheets.

GINGERBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, combine brown sugar, molasses and shortening. Place over medium-low heat and stir just until mixture is melted and smooth. Remove from heat and mix in baking soda and 1/4 cup cold water. Set aside and allow to cool to room temperature.
• Add egg, salt, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon and cloves; stir to mix well. Add 4 cups flour and mix well, adding up to 1/2 cup more if dough seems sticky. Shape into a ball, cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, up to 24 hours.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/4-inch thickness, and cut into gingerbread boy shapes with a 5-inch-long cookie cutter. Arrange on baking sheets 1 1/2 inches apart, and bake until risen and no longer shiny, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and allow cookies to cool. If desired, decorate with royal icing and cinnamon candies. Store in an airtight container.

GINGERBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• Beat together the butter, treacle, brown sugar and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add the egg, then beat through all of the remaining dry ingredients apart from the caster sugar. Chill the mixture in the fridge for 1 hr.
• Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 4. Line two baking sheets with baking parchment. Roll the mixture into 20 even-sized balls (weighing for accuracy, if you like). Tip the caster sugar onto a small plate, then add each ball and roll around to coat. Space each ball out on the baking sheets. Bake for 9-10 mins until golden brown. Leave to cool completely on a wire rack.

EILEEN'S SPICY GINGERBREAD MEN

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream together the margarine and sugar until smooth. Stir in molasses and egg yolk. Combine the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and nutmeg; blend into the molasses mixture until smooth. Cover, and chill for at least one hour.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters. Place cookies 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
• Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until firm. Remove from cookie sheets to cool on wire racks. Frost or decorate when cool.