Gingerbread Cookies

Decorating cookies is one my favorite things to do with my nieces and nephews.  It's a tradition that anytime Aunt Julie comes around we get to decorate cookies together.  There's nothing better than watching a kid dump an entire container of sprinkles on top of a cookie with a look of sheer glee on their face because they think they're just created the most beautiful cookie on earth.  And they have.  It doesn't matter that there's approximately two pounds of frosting in six colors on the cookie, or that there's absolutely no way the cookie can structurally support that amount of sprinkles or that they've licked that knife at least 10 times and their tongue is now died green.  None of it matters because the cookie IS beautiful and the kid is happy and when they quickly spiral down from their sugar high Aunt Julie can give them right back to their parents.

Unfortunately, I didn't have any help in baking or decorating these cookies, all the little ones were at their own houses many states away - unless you count Sconnie poking around licking sprinkles off the floor.

There is nothing like gingerbread cookies to get you in the holiday spirit.  It was raining ice at our house all day which I thought was the perfect excuse to park myself in front of the dining room table and make some gingerbread people.

I love this gingerbread cookie recipe and I've been using it for years - it has a great ginger and molasses flavor, it has a perfect warm brown color, it stays soft when baked but is still sturdy enough to hold up to all the handling and decorating.

I couldn't resist making a few different shapes... people, stars and bells.  All very festive.

Just as I believe that sugar cookies require frosting, I don't believe that gingerbread cookies are complete without icing and a bunch of sprinkles.

The icing is an easy royal icing made from egg whites and cream of tartar (which stabilizes the icing) whipped with powdered sugar until it is super shiny. 

The icing dries completely hard making it the perfect glue for a multitude of sprinkles and red hots.  It also means that once the icing is dry you can stack these cookies up without fear of ruining them.

I always have fun thinking up different ways to decorate the gingerbread people.  I like to have an equal number of men and women with different outfits and hairstyles.  This year a couple of the men even got mustaches, despite the fact that Movember is long over.

Gingerbread Cookies
Adapted from Williams Sonoma

Ingredients
1 cup (2 sticks) Butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup Light Brown Sugar
1/2 cup Sugar
1 cup Molasses
1 Egg
5 cups All Purpose Flour
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 T Ground Ginger
1 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Cloves
1/2 tsp Salt
Royal icing for decorating 
Colored sugars, sprinkles, red hots and other decorations as desired 

Instructions
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until fluffy and pale yellow. Add the brown sugar and sugar and beat on low speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Reduce the speed to low and gradually beat in the molasses. Add the egg and beat on low speed until the mixture is blended.

In a medium bowl, combined the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves and salt together. Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, beating on low speed until just combined.

Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and, with floured hands, form into a large, smooth mound. Divide the dough into 2 equal portions, shape into disks and wrap each disk in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 2 days.

Preheat an oven to 400°F.  Spray 2 baking sheet with non-stick spray or line with a silpat or parchment paper. 

Working with 1 disk at a time, roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to a thickness of about 1/4 inch.  Cut into desired shapes using cookie cutters.  Transfer to a prepared baking sheet.  Repeat with the remaining dough portions, then gather up the scraps and reroll them. If the scraps of dough have become sticky, refrigerate them for 10 minutes before rerolling.

Bake the gingerbread figures until lightly browned on the bottom, about 8 minutes. Let cool on the sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer the cookies to wire racks and let cool completely. Dress up the cooled gingerbread cooking with the royal icing, sugars and other decorations. Makes 2 to 5 dozen cookies, depending on size.


Royal Icing

Ingredients
3 Egg Whites
1/4 tsp Cream of Tartar
4 cups Powdered Sugar

Instructions
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar on medium speed until foamy.  Reduce the mixer speed to low and gradually beat in the powdered sugar until blended.  Continue to beat on high speed until thick and glossy, about 2 minutes.

Transfer to a piping bag to decorate cookies.


Enjoy!
Julie