Orange Spiced Gingerbread Cookies Food

CITRUS GINGERBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, combine sugar, honey and molasses. Bring to a boil; remove from heat. Let stand 20 minutes. Stir in butter; let stand 20 minutes longer., Beat in egg. In another bowl, whisk flour, almonds, baking powder, lemon zest, orange zest and spices; gradually beat into sugar mixture. Refrigerate, covered, 8 hours or overnight., Preheat oven to 375°. On a lightly floured surface, divide dough into three portions. Roll each portion to 1/4-in. thickness. Cut with a floured 2-in. tree-shaped cookie cutter. Place 2 in. apart on baking sheets coated with cooking spray., Bake 7-8 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on pans 1 minute. Remove to wire racks to cool completely. In a small bowl, mix glaze ingredients; brush over cookies. Let stand until set., To Make Ahead: Dough can be made 2 days in advance. Wrap in plastic and place in a resealable bag. Store in the refrigerator., Freeze option: Freeze undecorated cookies in freezer containers. To use, thaw in covered containers and decorate as directed.

GINGERBREAD COOKIES WITH ORANGE-ALMOND ESSENCE

Steps:

• For the cookies: In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter until it is airy and creamy, about 3 minutes. Add the brown sugar and molasses and beat for 1 minute. Scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula. Beat in the egg. Add the almond extract and orange zest and beat to combine.
• Add the flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda and salt and turn the mixer on low. Allow to mix until the mixture comes together, about 1 minute.
• Form the mixture into 2 separate discs about 1-inch thick. Wrap each disc in plastic and store flat in the fridge for about 4 hours or up to overnight.
• When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray 2 baking sheets with nonstick spray.
• Roll out each disc between 2 sheets of parchment paper to about 1/4-inch thick. Cut each into shapes and place on the prepared baking sheets.
• Bake the cookies, rotating the baking sheets and switching their positions halfway through, until the centers are barely set, 9 to 11 minutes. Let cool completely on the baking sheets on a rack.
• For the icing: Combine the powdered sugar and butter in a bowl and stir together with the lemon juice and half the milk. Add more milk as needed to achieve a pipeable consistency. Tint with food colorings as desired. Transfer to piping bags.
• Decorate each cookie as desired. Let set completely, about 30 minutes.

THE SPICIEST GINGERBREAD COOKIES EVER

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.

ORANGE SPICE COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Beat both sugars, 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons butter, and cream cheese together until creamy, at least 5 minutes. Add egg and mix well. Mix in molasses. Mix in vanilla, orange, and maple extracts.
• Stir flour, orange zest, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, cloves, and nutmeg together in another bowl until well combined and no clumps of zest remain. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir together just until incorporated; don't overmix.
• Drop spoonfuls of dough 2 inches apart onto the prepared baking sheets.
• Bake in the preheated oven until edges are golden, about 12 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet briefly before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.