Gingerbread cookies
Ingredients
- 1.5 Cups Flour
- 1 tsp Ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp Ground cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp Ground nutmeg
- 1/8 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp Baking soda
- 1/3 cup Softened butter
- 1/3 cup Packed brown sugar ( or make your own - see below )
- 1/4 cup Molasses
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- 1.5 tsp Orange zest or 1/2 tsp orange extract ( optional - mix in with wet ingredients )
Instructions
- Whisk all the dry ingredients in a bowl, and set aside.
- On medium-low speed in a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Keep mixing and slowly add the wet ingredients.
- On low speed, slowly add the dry ingredients until mixed.
- Flatten the dough into a 1.5" thick disc and chill for 4-12 hours.
- Preheat oven to 350F
- Roll out dough to 1/4" thickness.
- Use a cookie cutter, or freehand something fun.
- Place on parchment paper on a baking sheet.
- Bake 8-10 minutes, or until the edges start turning brown.
- Let cool on the sheet for 2 minutes then move to wire racks.
- Decorate once cooled completely.
Notes
To make brown sugar, 1 cup + 1 tbsp molasses = 1 cup brown sugar. Whisk it until the molasses is completely incorporated.
To make a gingerbread house, use half the butter , half the egg, and a quarter of the baking soda. Cut into the shapes you want, likely need to double the base recipe, so the math for adjusting the butter, baking soda, and egg is easier (don’t change the butter and egg, and use 1/4 tsp baking soda) You’ll want a front and back in the classic house shape, 2 rectangles to connect the front and back, and 2 slightly longer and wider rectangles for the roof – make sure there’s an overhang on all sides. Glue it together with Royal Icing (below). Divide the dough into 2 discs before chilling, and sandwich between parchment paper when you roll it out to 1/4″ thickness.
Royal Icing
Ingredients
- 3 whites from large eggs
- 4 cups confectioner's sugar (1 pound), sifted The sifting is important here!
Instructions
- Using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites until frothy.
- Slowly add 1/4 cup of the sugar, and mix well.
- Keep beating on low speed, and slowly add the rest of the sugar, scraping the sides every 20 seconds.
Notes
- Room temperature whites are easier to work with, but cold eggs are easier to separate. If you have time, separate the eggs while cold, and let the whites sit at room temp for 30-60 minutes.
- While raw eggs are relatively safe, do not feed this to pregnant woment, babies, young children, elderly, or anyone whose health is compromised.
- To make a glue for building a gingerbread house, add 1 tablespoon at a time until the icing becomes thick. It takes a while for this to set up and harden, so don't rush to adding a lot of sugar. 2-4 tbsp is usually right.