Gingerbread Cookies With Royal Icing Food

GINGERBREAD COOKIES WITH ROYAL ICING

Steps:

• For Gingerbread Cookies:
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a large mixing bowl, blend all ingredients together and chill for up to 1 hour. Roll dough out on floured board about 1/8-inch thick. Cut desired shapes with cookie cutters and place onto sheet pan. Bake for 8 minutes in preheated oven.
• For Royal Icing:
• With a hand mixer, beat the egg whites with the lemon juice or extract until frothy. Add the sifted powdered sugar and beat on low speed until combined, smooth, and shiny. Turn to high and beat approximately 5 minutes till stiff and glossy. Add food coloring, if desired, and transfer to a pasty bag to pipe onto cookies.

GINGERBREAD COOKIES WITH ROYAL ICING

Steps:

• For the cookies: In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, ginger, cloves and cinnamon until well mixed. Set aside.
• Using a stand mixer on low speed, blend the shortening and sugar. Add the molasses and eggs, then gradually stir in the flour mixture until combined. The dough will be sticky. Divide into quarters, shape into flattened disks, wrap in plastic and refrigerate overnight or up to 2 days.
• Position an oven rack in the middle and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat liner.
• Lightly dust each disk with flour and place it between sheets of wax paper. Roll it 1/4-inch thick for chewy cookies or 1/8-inch thick for crisp cookies. Lift off and reserve the top layer of wax paper. Dip cookie cutters in flour and cut designs in the dough, leaving excess dough in place. Put wax paper back on top, slide a baking sheet under the lower sheet of wax paper and transfer the dough and baking sheet to the freezer for about 15 minutes, or until the dough is firm but not frozen.
• Transfer 1 sheet of dough, with the cold baking sheet still under it, to a work surface. Remove the top sheet of wax paper, lift up the dough and push the cutout cookies from behind to free them. Quickly place them on the prepared baking sheet.
• Bake small cookies for about 6 minutes, medium for 8 and large for 10 to 12, or until edges are light brown (baking time will vary, depending on thickness of dough). Let sit for about 2 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely. If not iced immediately, they may be stored for 4 weeks in airtight containers at room temperature or wrapped in plastic and frozen.
• For the royal icing: Using a stand mixer on high speed, beat the confectioners' sugar, meringue powder, water and orange extract for about 5 minutes, or until stiff peaks form. Unless using immediately, place plastic wrap directly on the icing. To create different colors, transfer some icing to small bowls and add gel or paste food coloring.

GINGERBREAD COOKIES WITH ROYAL ICING

Steps:

• For Gingerbread Cookies:
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a large mixing bowl, blend all ingredients together and chill for up to 1 hour. Roll dough out on floured board about 1/8-inch thick. Cut desired shapes with cookie cutters and place onto sheet pan. Bake for 8 minutes in preheated oven.
• For Royal Icing:
• With a hand mixer, beat the egg whites with the lemon juice or extract until frothy. Add the sifted powdered sugar and beat on low speed until combined, smooth, and shiny. Turn to high and beat approximately 5 minutes till stiff and glossy. Add food coloring, if desired, and transfer to a pasty bag to pipe onto cookies.

SKILLET GINGERBREAD CAKE WITH EGGNOG ROYAL ICING

Steps:

• For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8-inch round pan or skillet with butter and lightly coat with flour.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, crystallized ginger, baking soda, salt, ground ginger, cinnamon and cloves. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, molasses and milk. Whisk in the egg and orange zest.
• Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and whisk until just combined and there are no more lumps. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 25 to 35 minutes, or until the edges look dark and the middle feels firm to the touch. Set the pan on a rack to cool.
• For the eggnog royal icing: Measure out half of the powdered sugar and place in the bowl of a stand mixer or mixing bowl, then add the egg white, rum, bourbon, vanilla, nutmeg, cloves, salt, cream of tartar and heavy cream. Mix at low speed with a paddle attachment or with a hand mixer, adding the remaining powdered sugar. Increase speed to medium and beat until thick and smooth. It should have the texture of a loose buttercream, thick and malleable.
• Pour the icing over the warm cake and spread evenly with a small spatula. Slice and serve.

SUGAR COOKIES WITH ROYAL ICING

Steps:

• Sift the cake flour, baking powder and salt onto a piece of parchment paper or into a medium bowl; set aside. Beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until incorporated. Reduce the mixer speed to low and beat in the flour mixture in 2 batches until just incorporated. Divide between 2 pieces of plastic wrap; shape into disks. Wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour. (The dough can be frozen for up to 1 month; thaw overnight in the refrigerator before rolling.)
• Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Working with 1 disk at a time, roll out the dough on a floured surface, dusting with flour as needed, until about 1/8 inch thick. Cut out shapes with 2-to-4-inch cookie cutters; arrange 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. (If the dough becomes too soft as you work, return to the refrigerator until firm.) Gather the scraps and refrigerate until firm; reroll once to cut out more cookies. Chill the cutouts 30 minutes.
• Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Bake, switching the pans halfway through, until the cookies are slightly puffed and just golden, 13 to 15 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer to racks to cool completely before icing.
• Whisk one 1-pound box confectioners' sugar and 2 tablespoons meringue powder in a large bowl. Add 5 tablespoons water and beat with a mixer on medium-high speed until soft glossy peaks form, adding up to 1 more tablespoon water if necessary. Cover the bowl with a damp paper towel and plastic wrap until ready to use to prevent the icing from drying out.

GINGERBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• Into a large bowl, measure molasses, brown sugar, butter, baking soda, salt, spices, eggs, and 1 1/2 cups flour.
• Beat ingredients at low speed just until mixed, then increase speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes.
• With wooden spoon, or mixer, stir in about 3 cups flour to make a stiff dough. (I recommend a Kitchen-Aid mixer for this job.).
• Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use.
• Roll dough to about a 1/4 inch thickness. (I do this between two sheets of plastic wrap to avoid a floury mess and to keep dough from getting tough.) Cut into desired shapes and place on a parchment lined baking sheet.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Baking time varies for me depending on how thick the cookie sheets are, how thick the dough is rolled out, and how big the shapes are, ie. gingerbread walls take a little longer.
• Cool on racks and decorate with Royal Icing.

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.