GINGER BREAD COOKIES Recipe
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Category: |
Category: |
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Ingredients: |
Ingredients: 3 and 1/2 cups (440g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 T Ground ginger (yes, 1 full Tablespoon!)
1 T Ground cinnamon
1/2 t Ground allspice
1/2 t Ground cloves
10 T (2/3 cup; 145g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
3/4 C (150g) Packed Dark brown sugar
2/3 C (160ml) unsulphured or dark molasses (do not use blackstrap; I prefer Grandma’s brand)
1 Large egg, at room temperature
1 t Pure vanilla extract
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Directions: |
Directions:1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, and cloves. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl using a handheld mixer or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter for 1 minute on medium speed until completely smooth and creamy.
2. Add the brown sugar and molasses and beat on medium high speed until combined and creamy.
3. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
4. Beat in egg and vanilla on high speed for 2 full minutes.
5. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. The butter may separate; that’s ok.
6. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, and beat on low speed until combined. The cookie dough will be quite thick and slightly sticky.
7. Divide dough in half and place each onto a large piece of plastic wrap. Wrap each up tightly and pat down to create a disc shape.
8. Chill discs for at least 3 hours and up to 3 days. Chilling is mandatory for this cookie dough. Best if chilled overnight.
9. Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C).
10. Line 2-3 large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
11. Remove 1 disc of chilled cookie dough from the refrigerator.
12. Generously flour a work surface, as well as your hands and the rolling pin.
13. Roll out disc until 1/4-inch thick. Tips for rolling– the dough may crack and be crumbly as you roll. What’s helpful is picking it up and rotating it as you go. Additionally, you can use your fingers to help meld the cracking edges back together. The first few rolls are always the hardest since the dough is so stiff, but re-rolling the scraps is much easier.
14. Cut into shapes. Place shapes 1 inch apart on prepared baking sheets. Re-roll dough scraps until all the dough is shaped.
15. Repeat with remaining disc of dough.
16. Bake cookies for about 9-10 minutes.
**4 inch cookies or smaller, bake for about 8 minutes.
**Larger than 4 inches, bake for about 11 minutes.
17.Be sure to rotate the pan once during bake time.
**Keep in mind that the longer the cookies bake, the harder and crunchier they’ll be. **For soft gingerbread cookies, follow my suggested bake times.
18. Allow cookies to cool for 5 minutes on the cookie sheet.
19. Transfer to cooling rack to cool completely.
20. Once completely cool, decorate as desired.
**Cookies stay fresh covered at room temperature for up to 1 week. |
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Number Of
Servings: |
Number Of
Servings:24 Four inch cookies |
Preparation
Time: |
Preparation
Time:4 Hours 30 Minutes |
Personal
Notes: |
Personal
Notes: EASY COOKIE ICING:
3 cups (360g) confectioners’ sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (omit and replace with water for stark white icing)
2 teaspoons light corn syrup*
4.5–5 Tablespoons (67-75ml) room temperature water
pinch salt*
Using a fork, stir the confectioners’ sugar, vanilla, corn syrup, and 4.5 Tablespoons (67ml) of water together in a medium bowl. It will be very thick and almost impossible to stir. Switch to a whisk and whisk in 1/2 Tablespoon (8ml) of water. If you lift the whisk and let the icing drizzle back into the bowl, the ribbon of icing will hold shape for a few seconds before melting back into the icing. That is when you know it’s the right consistency and is ready to use. If it’s too thick (sometimes it is), whisk in another 1/2 Tablespoon (8ml) of water or a little more until you reach the consistency.
If desired, stir in gel food coloring. You can pour some icing into different bowls if using multiple colors. When tinting icing, only use 1-2 drops at first, stir it in, then add more as needed to reach your desired color. Remember, color darkens as icing dries.
Decorate: Spoon icing into squeeze bottles or piping bags fitted with Wilton Piping Tip #4. Decorate your cookies as desired. I usually outline cookies with icing first, then fill in the middle. If adding sprinkles on top of the icing, add them right after applying icing on your cookie.
Let icing dry/set: Feel free to enjoy cookies before icing completely dries. Icing dries in 24 hours. No need to cover the decorated cookies as you wait for the icing to set. If it’s helpful, decorate the cookies directly on a baking sheet so you can stick the entire baking sheet in the refrigerator to help slightly speed up the icing setting. Once the icing has dried, these cookies are great for gifting or for sending.
The shelf life of your decorated cookies depends on the cookie recipe you are using. If using my sugar cookies, cover and store decorated cookies for up to 5 days at room temperature or up to 10 days in the refrigerator.
Making Ahead & Storing Icing: If not decorating right away, cover the icing tightly and keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. You can store in piping bags (with clips or rubber bands to seal ends), in squeeze bottles, or covered in bowl or container. Bring to room temperature before using. If icing has thickened up, add a few drops of water and mix in to thin out. Depending how you stored the icing (squeeze bottle/piping bag/container or bowl) shake squeeze bottle to mix/massage piping bag to mix/whisk in bowl or container to mix.
ROYAL ICING:
4 cups (480g) confectioners’ sugar, sifted (I use and recommend Domino brand)
3 Tablespoons meringue powder (not plain egg white powder)
9–10 Tablespoons room temperature water
optional for decorating: gel food coloring
Watch the video of the icing above so you get an idea of what the final consistency should be.
Pour confectioners’ sugar, meringue powder, and 9 Tablespoons of water into a large bowl. Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat icing ingredients together on high speed for 1.5 – 2 minutes. When lifting the whisk up off the icing, the icing should drizzle down and smooth out within 5-10 seconds. If it’s too thick, beat in more water 1 Tablespoon at a time. I usually need 10 Tablespoons but on particularly dry days, I use up to 12-14 Tablespoons. Keep in mind that the longer you beat the royal icing, the thicker it becomes. If your royal icing is too thin, just keep beating it to introduce more air OR you can add more sifted confectioners’ sugar.
When applied to cookies or confections in a thin layer, icing completely dries in about 2 hours at room temperature. If icing consistency is too thin and runny, it will take longer to dry. If the icing is applied very thick on cookies, it will also take longer to dry. If you’re layering royal icing onto cookies for specific designs and need it to set quickly, place cookies in the refrigerator to help speed it up. See blog post above for make-ahead and freezing instructions.
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