Specialgingerbreadcookies Recipes

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.

Steps:

• Make the Cookies: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Put the brown sugar, shortening, and corn syrup in a saucepan and heat on medium, stirring constantly until the shortening is melted. Put all of the dry ingredients in a large bowl; then add the warm sugar mixture, stirring until all of the ingredients are well blended. The dough will appear crumbly but will hold together when rolled out. Use the dough immediately, while it is still warm. If it starts to crumble, place it in a warm oven for 1 to 2 minutes until it softens a bit.
• To make decorated cutout cookies; Roll out the dough to about 1/8-inch thick on a lightly floured surface. Cut out gingerbread women and men with cookie cutters. Place the cookies on foil-lined cookie sheets and bake until golden brown, about 10 to 15 minutes. Cool the cookies on racks before decorating.
• To decorate, tint a recipe of royal icing to your desired colors. Keep the icing covered with a damp towel while you are working to prevent it from drying out. To cover a cookie with icing, thin some of the icing with a little water and spread it on the cookie with a knife or metal spatula. Leave some of the icing thick for piping borders or other designs, using the #2 tip. Add dragees, edible glitter, colored sprinkles, or other decorations to the wet icing. To attach candies to un-iced cookies, brush a thin layer of clear piping gel on the cookie with a small paintbrush and add decorations.
• Royal icing is very versatile. It is pure white and dries very hard, so it is perfect for making flowers and bows and delicate piped work. It can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 weeks. You should stir the icing to restore its original consistency after storage, but do not rebeat. Royal icing does not work well in high humidity.
• Place all of the ingredients in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat slowly until they are all blended. Then beat at medium speed until the icing forms stiff peaks, about 5 minutes. Add more sugar if the icing is not stiff enough, or a few drops of water if it is too stiff. Use immediately or cover the bowl with a damp cloth to prevent drying when not in use. Allow at least 24 hours for royal icing decorations to dry, at room temperature.
• Yield: 2 1/2 cups

Steps:

• Make the cookies: Whisk together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, black pepper, salt, baking soda, allspice, nutmeg, cayenne, and baking powder in a medium bowl.
• Beat the butter and granulated sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes (scrape down the sides of the bowl, as needed). Beat in the molasses until combined, then the egg (the mixture will look curdled). Add the flour mixture and beat on low speed until the dough comes together. Divide the dough in 2 pieces, flatten each half into a disk and wrap each disk in plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 2 hours or up to overnight.
• Position 2 racks in the top and bottom thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Keeping one disk refrigerated, roll the other disk on a well-floured work surface to 1/4 inch thick, sprinkling flour on and under the dough as needed and sliding a spatula underneath every so often to prevent sticking (If the dough looks crackly or breaks apart, press it back together from the outside edge in). Using cookie cutters, cut out gingerbread shapes as close together as possible. Pull away the extra dough around each shape then use a small offset spatula to transfer the shapes to the prepared cookie sheets, spacing them 1 inch apart. Reroll the scraps and cut out more cookies. Freeze the cookies until firm, about 15 minutes.
• Bake the cookies, rotating the baking sheets from top to bottom and from front to back halfway through cooking, until they are slightly firm to the touch but not browned at the edges, about 12 minutes. Repeat the rolling, cutting and baking with the remaining dough disk.
• Cool the cookies for 5 minutes on the baking sheet then transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely, about 20 minutes (The cookies will continue to firm as they cool).
• Make the icing: Combine the confectioners' sugar, meringue powder and 3 tablespoons water in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer on low speed until the frosting thickens, trying not to incorporate too much air. (The icing should be pure white and thick, but not fluffy and bubbly.)
• Scrape the icing into a resealable plastic bag and snip the corner to the desired size. Pipe the icing onto the cookies to decorate, as desired, sticking the candy onto the icing while it is still wet. Let the cookies stand at room temperature until the icing hardens, at least 1 hour.

Steps:

• Preheat oven 350 degrees.
• Stir together flour, ginger, cloves, cinnamon, baking soda and salt; set aside.
• In a large bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer about 30 seconds; add brown sugar and beat until light and fluffy.
• Add molasses and vanilla to the butter mixture and beat on low until combined. To this, add the eggs, orange and lemon zest, beating on low to mix.
• Add flour mixture; stir with a spoon until combined.
• Divide dough into 4 portions; wrap each and chill about 1 hour.
• Grease cookie sheet. Roll out one portion of dough on a lightly floured surface approximately 1/4" thick. Best if not rolled thicker. (Tip: To keep things clean, roll the dough between two sheets of plastic wrap. Use immediately, refrigerate or place in freezer for future use. If frozen, defrost overnight in refrigerator. Keep refrigerated until ready to cut).
• Cut cookies to desired shapes and arrange 1 1/2" apart on a cookie sheet.
• Bake about 7 - 10 minutes or until edges are firm and light brown. Transfer to wire rack.

Steps:

• Whisk together the flour, baking soda and baking powder ina bowl and set aside.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter, brown sugar, ginger, cinnamon, cloves and salt and mix on medium speed until the ingredients are thoroughly incorporated, about one minute.
• Reduce the speed to low, add the egg, and mix until thoroughly incorporated, about one minute. Raise the speed to medium and mix for 5 seconds more. Do not overbeat. Pour in the molasses and mix until combined, about 30 seconds. Reduce speed to low.
• Gradually add the flour mixture, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed, and beat until the dry ingredients are just incorporated.
• Divide the dough into two equal parts, flatten into discs and double-wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Roll out the dough using the Pastry Cloth Method.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Cut out shapes from the dough. Bake the cookies until they are slightly firm to the touch. 8-14 minutes. Do not let the edges darken.
• Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely before decorating.

Steps:

• For the gingerbread cookie dough: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) and line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats. Set aside.
• Cream the butter, granulated sugar and dark brown sugar in a large bowl with an electric hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on a medium-high speed for about 2 minutes, or until the mixture becomes lighter in color. Mix in the egg and molasses on a medium speed until combined. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed with a rubber spatula.
• Sift the dry ingredients (flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, cloves and salt) into the wet ingredients. Mix on low until just combined. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed with a rubber spatula.
• Use a cookie scoop or large spoon to shape and roll 14 cookie dough balls using about 3 tablespoons of dough per cookie. Place the cookies on the prepared baking sheets and bake for 11 to 12 minutes, or until the cookies seem set in the center. Let the cookies cool on the sheets for 10 minutes, then place on a wire rack to finish cooling.
• For the buttercream frosting: While the cookies bake and cool, mix the butter on a medium speed in a large bowl for 30 seconds, or until smooth. Add the vanilla extract and salt. Mix on a medium speed until combined. Mix in the powdered sugar and milk on a low speed. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed with a rubber spatula. Once the powdered sugar is incorporated, mix for an additional minute on a low speed to give the frosting a super smooth consistency.
• For the cookie decorations: Spread a thin layer of frosting on top of the cooled cookies using a small offset spatula or butter knife. Top with sprinkles, then enjoy!

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside.
• In a large bowl, cream together the butter and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time then stir in the vanilla. Blend in the sifted ingredients until just incorporated. Mix in the cereal, coconut, walnuts and raisins. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Cookies should be at least 2 inches apart.
• Bake for 9 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Steps:

• Bring molasses, brown sugar, and spices to a boil in a 4- to 5-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, and remove from heat. Stir in baking soda (mixture will foam up), then stir in butter 3 pieces at a time, letting each addition melt before adding next, until all butter is melted. Add egg and stir until combined, then stir in 3¾ cups flour and salt.
• Preheat oven to 325°F.
• Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and knead, dusting with as much of remaining ¼ cup flour as needed to prevent sticking, until soft and easy to handle, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Divide dough in half, then wrap one half in plastic wrap and keep at room temperature.
• Roll out remaining dough into a 14-inch round (⅛ inch thick) on a lightly floured surface. Cut out as many cookies as possible with cutters and carefully transfer with offset spatula to 2 buttered large baking sheets, arranging them about 1 inch apart.
• Bake cookies in upper and lower thirds of oven, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until edges are slightly darker, 10 to 12 minutes total (watch carefully toward end of baking; cookies can burn easily). Transfer cookies to wire racks to cool completely. Make more cookies with remaining dough and scraps (reroll once).
• Put icing in pastry bag (if using) and pipe or spread decoratively onto cookies.