Gingerbread Cookies I Food

THE MOST WONDERFUL GINGERBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves until well blended.
• In a large bowl (KitchenAid's great for this) beat butter, brown sugar, and egg on medium speed until well blended.
• Add molasses, vanilla, and lemon zest and continue to mix until well blended.
• Gradually stir in dry ingredients until blended and smooth.
• Divide dough in half and wrap each half in plastic and let stand at room temperature for at least 2 hours or up to 8 hours.
• Preheat oven to 375 deg. Prepare baking sheets by lining with parchment paper.
• (Dough can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 4 days, but in this case it should be refrigerated. Return to room temp before using.) Preheat oven to 375°.
• Grease or line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
• Place 1 portion of the dough on a lightly floured surface.
• Sprinkle flour over dough and rolling pin.
• Roll dough to a scant 1/4-inch thick.
• Use additional flour to avoid sticking.
• Cut out cookies with desired cutter-- the ginger bread man is our favorite of course.
• Space cookies 1 1/2-inches apart.
• Bake 1 sheet at a time for 7-10 minutes (the lower time will give you softer cookies-- very good!).
• Remove cookie sheet from oven and allow the cookies to stand until the cookies are firm enough to move to a wire rack.
• After cookies are cool you may decorate them any way you like.
• I usually brush them with a powdered sugar glaze when I am in a hurry, but they look wonderful decorated with Royal icing.

GINGERBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• For the cookies: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, white pepper, salt, baking soda, nutmeg and cloves. Set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter, brown sugar and barley malt syrup until smooth. Scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl. Add the egg and continue to mix until completely incorporated. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl again and add the vanilla, fresh ginger and orange zest.
• Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in the mixer. Mix until just combined. Then, turn the dough out onto a sheet of plastic wrap and press into a disk. Cover completely in the plastic wrap and chill for 20 minutes.
• Roll the dough out about 1/4 inch thick between 2 pieces of lightly floured parchment paper. Place the rolled out dough onto parchment on a cookie sheet in the freezer for 15 minutes.
• Cut the dough with cookie cutters and place onto parchment-lined cookie sheets. You can gather scraps together and reroll the dough 1 additional time.
• Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until just beginning to brown around the edges. Allow the cookies to cool completely before decorating.
• For the royal icing: In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (see Cook's Note), add the confectioners' sugar and meringue powder and beat to combine. Add 4 tablespoons of warm water and beat to combine. Raise the paddle head to check the consistency of the icing; the icing should be thick and smooth, but not dripping from the paddle. Add more water until the desired consistency is reached. (You can add slightly more water to achieve a flooding consistency to completely cover the cookies; use a stiffer consistency to pipe decorations and details.) Immediately transfer the icing to a pastry bag fitted with a small open tip. Decorate the gingerbread cookies.

THE BEST GINGERBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• For the cookies: Whisk together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, allspice and cloves in a large bowl.
• Mix the butter, shortening, brown sugar and molasses in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat in the egg. Beat the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients in two additions. Divide the dough in half, wrap in plastic and pat to 1/2-inch thick. Refrigerate for 2 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out one piece of dough to 1/4-inch thick, dusting with flour if needed. Cut into 3- to 5-inch cookies with a gingerbread man cutter or desired shape. Brush off the excess flour and refrigerate for 15 minutes. Repeat with the second piece of dough.
• Bake the cookies in batches until they are golden around the edges, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.
• For the royal icing: Whisk the confectioners' sugar with the meringue powder in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat in 6 tablespoons of water until well combined and you have stiff glossy peaks, adding 1 tablespoon more water at a time to reach a smooth pipeable consistency. Mix in food coloring as desired. Fill pastry bags fitted with tips. Decorate the gingerbread cookies with the icing.

GINGERBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• For the cookies: In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the shortening and granulated sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the molasses, vinegar and egg and beat on high speed to blend thoroughly.
• Sift together the ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, salt and 4 cups of the flour in a separate bowl. Add the dry ingredients to the creamed shortening and sugar and mix to make a firm, manageable dough, adding more flour if needed. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate until firm, about 3 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly spray 2 baking sheets with cooking spray.
• Spray a rolling pin with cooking spray and lightly flour your work surface. Roll the dough to 1/8-inch thickness and cut it into desired shapes with a knife or cookie cutters. (You can reroll the scraps to make a few more cookies.) Place the cookies 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheets and bake for 5 to 6 minutes. Cool the cookies for 2 minutes on the baking sheets before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with the remaining dough.
• For the royal icing: Beat the egg whites and 1/3 cup of the confectioners' sugar with a wire whisk or the whisk attachment of your mixer. Add another 1/3 cup sugar and the cream of tartar and beat 10 minutes longer. Add the remaining sugar and beat until the mixture is smooth and thick. The icing can be tinted as desired with food coloring.
• Ice the cooled cookies with the royal icing as desired.

GINGERBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• For the cookies: In a medium bowl, combine the flour, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, cloves and salt.
• In a big bowl, beat the butter and brown sugar together with a wooden spoon or a hand mixer. Mix in the molasses and egg until smooth, then add the flour mixture and mix until well combined. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours.
• On a floured surface, roll out the dough to about 1/8-inch thickness. Freeze it flat on a baking sheet for 20 to 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Lightly spray the paper with cooking spray.
• Use your preferred cookie cutters to stamp out shapes (or use a paring knife and architect the gingerbread home of your dreams), then transfer the shapes to the prepared baking sheets. Bake until the dough no longer looks shiny, 18 to 20 minutes. Let cool on the sheets for 10 minutes, then transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
• For the royal icing: Using a stand mixer and the whisk attachment, whip most of the powdered sugar with the egg whites and most of the lemon juice. Whip until the icing holds its shape and is bright white (not translucent), 5 to 8 minutes. If it is too soft, add more powdered sugar. If it is too stiff, add a bit more lemon juice, drop by drop. If you are using color, add a few drops of it at this point and keep whipping until you have a shade you want. Pipe the royal icing onto the cooled cookies to decorate.
• To store royal icing: The ideal way is to scrape it out of the bowl and into a plastic, disposable piping bag, then leave it at room temperature. Don't cut the bag until you're ready to use the royal icing and don't overfill the bag--you want enough room to tie the back of the bag off to keep the icing airtight. If any air comes into contact with the icing, it gets hard and that part of the icing is useless. Never attempt to mix hard bits back into the royal icing--you'll ruin the whole batch. The other accepted method of storing the icing is to scrape it into a plastic or ceramic bowl, and cover it with a wet paper towel. This method works, but it wastes both paper towels and royal icing. It's also just annoying. When you're piping small designs, you want to use very small parchment piping bags. It's easy to stick the nose of a large piping bag into a small one and extract exactly how much you need. When the icing is in a bowl, you have to use a spoon to get it out. The spoon is difficult to get into a piping bag, and you keep using spoons and wasting royal icing.

PERFECT GINGERBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease several baking sheets. Whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, allspice, cloves, nutmeg, and ginger in a bowl; set aside.
• Beat together 1 cup white sugar, brown sugar, molasses, butter, canola oil, applesauce, water, egg substitute, and vanilla extract in a large bowl until evenly combined. Stir in the flour mixture to make a soft, thick, not-very-sticky dough. Cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes. Stir 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon together with 1 1/2 teaspoons white sugar in a small bowl; set aside.
• Roll the dough on a heavily floured surface to a thickness of 1/4-inch. Cut into shapes using a cookie cutter. Place the cookies onto the prepared baking sheets, and sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar mixture.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the edges are golden, and the bottoms are slightly darker than the tops, 9 to 11 minutes. Remove the cookies from the baking sheets immediately, and place on a wire rack to cool. After 10 minutes of cooling, they should be hard, like typical gingerbread cookies, but still slightly bendable, and soft on the inside.

BASIC GINGERBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease 2 baking trays.
• Sift flour, ginger, and baking soda together into a large bowl. Add butter chunks and stir until they are coated with flour. Mix the butter and flour together with your hands until mixture resembles fine bread crumbs.
• Whisk white and brown sugars, maple syrup, egg, and oil together in a small bowl until combined. Add to flour mixture and knead until a ball of dough forms, adding water, if needed.
• Roll dough on a lightly floured surface to 1/4-inch thickness, cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters, and place on the prepared cookie sheets. Repeat until you have used all the dough.
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cookies cool on sheets for 5 minutes, then remove to a wire rack.

GINGERBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• Beat together the butter, treacle, brown sugar and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add the egg, then beat through all of the remaining dry ingredients apart from the caster sugar. Chill the mixture in the fridge for 1 hr.
• Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 4. Line two baking sheets with baking parchment. Roll the mixture into 20 even-sized balls (weighing for accuracy, if you like). Tip the caster sugar onto a small plate, then add each ball and roll around to coat. Space each ball out on the baking sheets. Bake for 9-10 mins until golden brown. Leave to cool completely on a wire rack.

ICED GINGER COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat® baking mat.
• Combine sugar, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg, and salt in a bowl and mix well. Add molasses, melted butter, evaporated milk, and vanilla extract and mix well. Add flour, stirring constantly, 1 cup at a time until just combined. Add up to 1/4 cup of additional flour if dough is too sticky.
• Place spoonfuls of dough 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet. Flatten the dough with floured fingertips to about 1/4-inch thickness.
• Bake in the preheated oven until cookies are lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a rack and cool completely before frosting, at least 30 minutes.
• Beat cream cheese and 1/4 cup butter together in a bowl using an electric mixer until well blended. Add confectioners' sugar and vanilla extract. Beat frosting until creamy.
• Combine caramels and half-and-half in a small saucepan over low heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until caramels are completely melted and the sauce is blended, about 10 minutes.
• Frost cooled cookies with the frosting, drizzle with the caramel sauce, and sprinkle with sea salt.

GINGERBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• Cream shortening and sugar. Beat in egg and molasses.
• In a separate bowl, combine remaining ingredients; add to mixture while stirring.
• Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
• Roll dough out on a floured surface (try to use the least amount of flour that you can to keep dough from sticking) to about 1/8" thick. Using a large cookie cutters (I use a 3 1/2" gingerbread man), cut out cookies and place on ungreased cookie sheets. Reroll dough scraps and repeat.
• Bake @ 350 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes or until edges begin to brown. Remove cookie sheet from oven and allow cookies to cool on the sheet until they have flattened again. Carefully remove from cookie sheets and allow to completely cool on a wire rack.

GINGERBREAD COOKIES 101

Steps:

• Position the racks in the top and bottom thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.
• Sift the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, cloves, salt and pepper through a wire sieve into a medium bowl. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, using a hand-held electric mixer at high speed, beat the butter and vegetable shortening until well-combined, about 1 minute. Add the brown sugar and beat until the mixture is light in texture and color, about 2 minutes. Beat in the molasses and egg. Using a wooden spoon, gradually mix in the flour mixture to make a stiff dough. Divide the dough into two thick disks and wrap each disk in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until chilled, about 3 hours. (The dough can be prepared up to 2 days ahead.)
• To roll out the cookies, work with one disk at a time, keeping the other disk refrigerated. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let stand at room temperature until just warm enough to roll out without cracking, about 10 minutes. (If the dough has been chilled for longer than 3 hours, it may need a few more minutes.) Place the dough on a lightly floured work surface and sprinkle the top of the dough with flour. Roll out the dough 1/8 inch thick, being sure that the dough isn't sticking to the work surface (run a long meal spatula or knife under the dough occasionally just to be sure, and dust the surface with more flour, if needed). For softer cookies, roll out slightly thicker. Using cookie cutters, cut out the cookies and transfer to nonstick cookie sheets, placing the cookies 1 inch apart. Gently knead the scraps together and form into another disk. Wrap and chill for 5 minutes before rolling out again to cut out more cookies.
• Bake, switching the positions of the cookies from top to bottom and back to front halfway through baking, until the edges of the cookies are set and crisp, 10 to 12 minutes. Cool on the sheets for 2 minutes, then transfer to wire cake racks to cool completely. Decorate with Royal Icing. (The cookies can be prepared up to 1 week ahead, stored in airtight containers at room temperature.)
• Make ahead: The icing can prepared up to 2 days ahead, stored in an airtight container with a moist paper towel pressed directly on the icing surface, and refrigerated.
• This icing hardens into shiny white lines, and is used for piping decorations on gingerbread people or other cookies. Traditional royal icing uses raw egg whites, but I prefer dried egg-white powder, available at most supermarkets, to avoid any concern about uncooked egg whites.
• When using a pastry bag, practice your decorating skills before you ice the cookies. Just do a few trial runs to get the feel of the icing and the bag, piping the icing onto aluminum foil or wax paper. If you work quickly, you can use a metal spatula to scrape the test icing back into the batch.
• Dried egg-white powder is also available by mail order from The Baker's Catalogue, 1-800-827-6836. Meringue powder, which is dehydrated egg whites with sugar already added, also makes excellent royal icing; just follow the directions on the package. However, the plain unsweetened dried egg whites are more versatile, as they can be used in savory dishes, too. Meringue powder is available from Adventures in Cooking (1-800-305-1114) and The Baker's Catalogue.
• In a medium bowl, using a hand-held electric mixer at low speed, beat the confectioners' sugar, egg-white powder and water until combined. Increase the speed to high and beat, scraping down the sides of the bowl often, until very stiff, shiny and thick enough to pipe; 3 to 5 minutes. (The icing can be prepared up to 2 days ahead, stored in an airtight container with a moist paper towel pressed directly on the icing surface, and refrigerated.)
• To pipe line decorations, use a pastry bag fitted with a tube with a small writing tip about 1/8-inch wide, such as Ateco No. 7; it may be too difficult to squeeze the icing out of smaller tips. If necessary, thin the icing with a little warm water. To fill the pastry bag, fit it with the tube. Fold the top of the bag back to form a cuff and hold it in one hand. (Or, place the bag in a tall glass and fold the top back to form a cuff.) Using a rubber spatula, scoop the icing into the bag. Unfold the cuff and twist the top of the bag closed. Squeeze the icing down to fill the tube. Always practice first on a sheet of wax paper or aluminum foil to check the flow and consistency of the icing.
• Traditional Royal Icing: Substitute 3 large egg whites for the powder and water.

GINGERBREAD HOUSE COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream shortening and sugars until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in molasses and orange zest. Combine flour, baking soda, salt and spices; add to creamed mixture alternately with water, mixing well after each addition. Cover and refrigerate for 3 hours or until easy to handle. , On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/4-in. thickness. Cut with a 3-1/2-in. gingerbread house cookie cutter dipped in flour. If desired, create windows using very small cutters of various shapes. , Place 1 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Bake at 350° for 8-10 minutes or until edges are firm. Cool for 2 minutes before removing to wire racks. Use icing or frosting and food coloring to decorate cooled cookies as desired.

GINGERBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• In a mixing bown, beat shortening with an electric mixer, on medium to high speed.
• Add sugar, baking powder, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, and cloves. Beat till combined, scraping bowl.
• Beat in molasses, egg and vinegar till combined.
• Beat in as much flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in remaining flour.
• Divide dough in half. Cover and chill for 3 hours or till easy to handle.
• Grease a cookie sheet; set aside. On a lightly floured surface, roll half of the doug at a t time to 1/8 inch thick. Using a 2 1/2 inch cookie cutter, cut into desired shapes. Place 1 inch apart on a prepared cookie sheet.
• Bake in a 375 F oven for 5-6, minutes or till edges are lightly browned. Cool on cookie sheet for 1 minute. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool. If desired, decorate cookies with icing and candy.

GINGERBREAD COOKIES RECIPE BY TASTY

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• In a large bowl, combine the butter and 1 cup (200 G) sugar with an electric hand mixer on medium speed for about 5 minutes, until light and fluffy.
• Add the egg and molasses, and beat until smooth.
• In a medium bowl, combine the Pillsbury™ Best™ All-Purpose Flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt.
• Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing until well combined.
• Spread the remaining ½ cup (100 G) sugar in a shallow dish.
• Using a 1-tablespoon cookie scoop with a spring release, scoop a slightly heaped portion of dough and roll into a ball about 1½ inches (3.81 cm) in diameter. Roll the dough ball in the sugar to coat (optional), then place on a prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough, spacing the balls 2 inches (5 cm) apart. (Bake in batches if needed so the cookies have ample room to spread.)
• Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes, until puffed and lightly browned. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
• Once the cookies have cooled, spread 1-2 tablespoons of Pillsbury™ Creamy Supreme® Vanilla Frosting over each one and decorate with festive sprinkles.
• Enjoy!

CLASSIC GINGERBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line 3 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
• Beat sugar and butter together in a bowl using an electric mixer until fluffy. Beat in molasses and egg until combined.
• Whisk flour, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and salt together in a separate bowl. Stir into butter mixture until just combined.
• Roll dough into teaspoon-sized balls and place 2 inches apart onto the prepared cookie sheets.
• Bake 1 sheet at a time in the preheated oven until edges of cookies are firm, 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

GINGERBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• In a bowl, beat butter and sugar until crumbly, about 2 minutes. Beat in the molasses, egg and vinegar. Combine the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt; gradually add to the creamed mixture. Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours or until easy to handle (dough will be sticky)., On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/8-in. thickness. Cut with 4 in. cookie cutters dipped in flour. Using a floured spatula, place cookies 1 in. apart on baking sheets coated with cooking spray. Bake at 375° for 5-6 minutes or until set. Remove to wire racks to cool., For icing, combine confectioners' sugar and milk in bowl. Spread over cooled cookies; let dry completely. If desired, combine paste food coloring and a few drops of water; using a fine brush or the blunt end of a wooden skewer, decorate cookies.