Gingerbread Cookies
Gingerbread cookies.
There's something about the wafting, spicy aroma that announces the holiday season. Even more than the resinous scent of pine and cedar, it is the warm notes of ginger and cloves that pushes me into winter cheer mode.
I cannot believe that in all these years of blogging (mind you very sporadically) I have never posted this recipe! I have been using the same recipe for more years than I care to admit, but you know it's a good one because I never deviate from it. These biscuits are crunchy and flavourful, sturdy enough to build a gingerbread house out of, yet delicate enough to have a definite snap when you bite into them. The recipe is adapted from Martha Stewart's book Handmade Christmas, but variations on the same theme can be found on her website.
Gingerbread Cookies
Makes a lot! About 300 small cookies
840g/ 6 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp baking powder
227g/ ½ lb (2 sticks) butter, softened to room temperature
230g/ 1 cup brown sugar
5 tsp ground ginger
4 tsp ground cinnamon
1½ tsp ground cloves
6 allspice berries, crushed or ¼ tsp ground allspice
¼ tsp ground black pepper
1½ tsp salt
2 large eggs
250ml/ 1 cup molasses, preferably a mild flavoured one
Pre-heat oven to 160ºC/ 325ºF.
In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter, sugar, and spices until evenly combined. This is easiest when done in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or in a food processor on pulse (you don't even need to soften the butter!), however, it can be done by hand if the butter is properly softened. Be aware that the butter must not be melted for the dough to hold together.
Add the molasses to the batter, stir to combine. Beat in the eggs one at a time.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and sodas to break up any lumps.
Fold the dry ingredients into the batter by the cupful until completely mixed in. The dough will begin to get crumbly by the halfway mark: this is perfectly normal.
If mixing manually, it may be easier to tip out the dough onto a flat surface, and to knead in the last additions of flour by hand.
The dough will be rather crumbly -especially if the kitchen is on the chilly side- but should hold together when squeezed into a ball.
To roll out the dough, divide into manageable balls and roll out the dough between two sheets of parchment paper or silicone mats until you reach the right thickness. If using parchment paper, you will need to peel off the sheets every now and then to avoid creasing your dough.
For smaller individual cookies, I prefer rolling the dough quite thin - about 3mm/ ⅝". For larger cookies, tree ornaments or gingerbread houses, the dough should be at least 5mm/ ¼" thick.
The dough can be cut out immediately and baked, or left to rest in the fridge until you have gathered the troupes.
Scraps can be re-rolled until the dough runs out, or left-over dough can be refrigerated for up to 5 days. Alternatively, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and freeze for up to three months.
Thinner cookies should bake for 11 minutes. Thicker ones will take about 15 minutes: you may need to turn the oven down at the 10 minute mark. The cookies will feel barely soft when they come out of the oven, but will firm up as they cool.
Once cool enough to handle, remove the cookies from the baking sheet, and allow to cool completely on racks.
Gingerbread cookies will keep for several weeks in an airtight container.
I rarely can be bothered to ice my gingerbread cookies, because, well, it's a lot of work to decorate 300 little biscuits! However, if you really want to decorate them, or if you have a hoard of little helpers that need to be entertained, royal icing is the safest bet. Use fresh egg whites only if you have use for the yolks, as they do not keep well and are difficult to freeze; pasteurized egg whites are readily available in supermarkets, and leftovers keep an incredibly long time or can be frozen as ice cubes for a later use. You will need to adjust the icing's consistency to suit your needs: runny for dipping or flooding; medium thick for detailed designs, stiff for gluing together houses. To do so, add enough icing sugar to obtain the right thickness.
Royal Icing
Yields about 250ml/ 1 cup
1 fresh egg white or 2 Tbs/ 30g pasteurized egg whites
more or less 1½ cup/ 250g icing sugar, sifted
½ tsp citric acid or a squirt of lemon juice
In a clean bowl, whisk the egg white until frothy, like a loose and floppy meringue.
Whisk in the icing sugar by the spoonful until you obtain the right consistency.
Stir in the citric acid or lemon juice at the end.
Royal icing will keep refrigerated in an airtight container for several days.
Allow the icing to dry completely (overnight is best) before storing the cookies or hanging them in the tree.
Bon App'!
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp baking powder
227g/ ½ lb (2 sticks) butter, softened to room temperature
230g/ 1 cup brown sugar
5 tsp ground ginger
4 tsp ground cinnamon
1½ tsp ground cloves
6 allspice berries, crushed or ¼ tsp ground allspice
¼ tsp ground black pepper
1½ tsp salt
2 large eggs
250ml/ 1 cup molasses, preferably a mild flavoured one
Pre-heat oven to 160ºC/ 325ºF.
In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter, sugar, and spices until evenly combined. This is easiest when done in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or in a food processor on pulse (you don't even need to soften the butter!), however, it can be done by hand if the butter is properly softened. Be aware that the butter must not be melted for the dough to hold together.
Add the molasses to the batter, stir to combine. Beat in the eggs one at a time.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and sodas to break up any lumps.
Fold the dry ingredients into the batter by the cupful until completely mixed in. The dough will begin to get crumbly by the halfway mark: this is perfectly normal.
If mixing manually, it may be easier to tip out the dough onto a flat surface, and to knead in the last additions of flour by hand.
The dough will be rather crumbly -especially if the kitchen is on the chilly side- but should hold together when squeezed into a ball.
To roll out the dough, divide into manageable balls and roll out the dough between two sheets of parchment paper or silicone mats until you reach the right thickness. If using parchment paper, you will need to peel off the sheets every now and then to avoid creasing your dough.
For smaller individual cookies, I prefer rolling the dough quite thin - about 3mm/ ⅝". For larger cookies, tree ornaments or gingerbread houses, the dough should be at least 5mm/ ¼" thick.
The dough can be cut out immediately and baked, or left to rest in the fridge until you have gathered the troupes.
Scraps can be re-rolled until the dough runs out, or left-over dough can be refrigerated for up to 5 days. Alternatively, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and freeze for up to three months.
Thinner cookies should bake for 11 minutes. Thicker ones will take about 15 minutes: you may need to turn the oven down at the 10 minute mark. The cookies will feel barely soft when they come out of the oven, but will firm up as they cool.
Once cool enough to handle, remove the cookies from the baking sheet, and allow to cool completely on racks.
Gingerbread cookies will keep for several weeks in an airtight container.
I rarely can be bothered to ice my gingerbread cookies, because, well, it's a lot of work to decorate 300 little biscuits! However, if you really want to decorate them, or if you have a hoard of little helpers that need to be entertained, royal icing is the safest bet. Use fresh egg whites only if you have use for the yolks, as they do not keep well and are difficult to freeze; pasteurized egg whites are readily available in supermarkets, and leftovers keep an incredibly long time or can be frozen as ice cubes for a later use. You will need to adjust the icing's consistency to suit your needs: runny for dipping or flooding; medium thick for detailed designs, stiff for gluing together houses. To do so, add enough icing sugar to obtain the right thickness.
Royal Icing
Yields about 250ml/ 1 cup
1 fresh egg white or 2 Tbs/ 30g pasteurized egg whites
more or less 1½ cup/ 250g icing sugar, sifted
½ tsp citric acid or a squirt of lemon juice
In a clean bowl, whisk the egg white until frothy, like a loose and floppy meringue.
Whisk in the icing sugar by the spoonful until you obtain the right consistency.
Stir in the citric acid or lemon juice at the end.
Royal icing will keep refrigerated in an airtight container for several days.
Allow the icing to dry completely (overnight is best) before storing the cookies or hanging them in the tree.
Bon App'!
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