Pumpkin Gingerbread Cookies With 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.

PUMPKIN GINGERBREAD COOKIES WITH ICING

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt.
• In a large bowl, cream together sugar and butter. Beat in molasses, pumpkin puree, egg, spices and vanilla extract until well blended. With the mixer on low speed or by hand, gradually add in the flour mixture, mixing until no flour remains.
• Divide dough into two pieces. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 375°F.
• Working with 1 piece of dough at a time, roll out to no more than 1/4-inch thick on a lightly floured surface and use a floured cookie cutter to make desired shapes. Transfer cookies to a parchment lined baking sheet. Reroll reaming dough, chilling for a few minutes if it becomes too warm to handle easily. Repeat with second piece of dough. Dough can be rolled out two to three times.
• Bake for 7-9 minutes at 375F, until the edges are slightly firm to the touch but cookies are not browned (The bottom of the cookies will be light brown). If your cookies are exceptionally large or small, the baking time may need to be adjusted. Cool completely on a wire rack before icing.
• In a small bowl combine powdered sugar, milk and vanilla. Whisk until very smooth. Icing should be thick and pourable, but not runny (You can always add a bit of extra sugar to thicken it if you add too much). Scrape into piping bag with a fine tip or a ziploc bag with a corner cut off and pipe onto cooled cookies. Allow to set for at least 30 minutes, until firm, before storing cookies in an airtight container.

GINGER PUMPKIN COOKIES

Steps:

• In large bowl, mix all ingredients except frosting until soft dough forms. Refrigerate 30 minutes.
• Heat oven to 350°F. Drop dough by heaping tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
• Bake 8 to 11 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks. Cool at least 5 minutes.
• Spoon frosting into resealable food-storage plastic bag. Cut about 1/4 inch off corner of bag. Squeeze bag to drizzle frosting over cookies. Let stand until set, about ## minutes.

SPICED PUMPKIN GINGERBREAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a standard-size loaf pan (mine is 10 1/2" x 5 1/2", but if yours varies by an inch or so either way, you should still be fine). Set aside.
• To a large mixing bowl, add the oil, sugar, and molasses. Stir to combine. Add the eggs and pumpkin. Stir well until combined.
• Set a fine-mesh sieve over the bowl and add the flour, baking powder, salt, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and allspice to the sieve. Sift dry ingredients over the wet ingredients. (If you do not have a sieve, mix the dry ingredients in a separate bowl then add to the wet ingredients). Mix with a spatula or wooden spoon just until combined.
• Pour batter into prepared loaf pan and spread the top with an offset spatula or butter knife to level. Bake until the bread starts to pull away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 40 minutes.
• Let cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then carefully transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
• While the loaf cools, chop the candied ginger (if using) and make the icing. To make the icing, sift the powdered sugar into a small bowl. Add 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup, 1 teaspoon milk, and vanilla extract. Stir with a fork or a flat whisk until a very thick paste begins to form. If a paste does not form, add an additional tablespoon of maple syrup and/or an additional teaspoon of almond milk. You do want the icing to be very thick so that it will stay on the top of the loaf, and it can take a minute or two of working and stirring the mixture for the paste to form, so keep that in mind.
• When the loaf has cooled completely, pour the icing on top of the loaf. Working quickly (it dries out fast), spread the icing on over the top of the loaf. Immediately sprinkle with Demerara sugar and candied ginger if desired, gently pressing the toppings down with your hands to help cement it into the icing.
• Let sit for several more minutes until the icing has set.
• Slice and enjoy!
• To store, wrap loaf in plastic wrap and keep at room temperature. It should last for several days.

GINGERBREAD ICING

Steps:

• Place all ingredients in the bowl of electric mixer with whisk attachment, mix at moderate speed just till combined.
• Increase speed to high and mix until stiff peaks, about 3 minutes.
• Divide into smaller bowls and add food coloring.

PUMPKIN GINGERBREAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease two 9x5 inch loaf pans.
• In a large mixing, combine sugar, oil and eggs; beat until smooth. Add water and beat until well blended. Stir in pumpkin, ginger, allspice cinnamon, and clove.
• In medium bowl, combine flour, soda, salt, and baking powder. Add dry ingredients to pumpkin mixture and blend just until all ingredients are mixed. Divide batter between prepared pans.
• Bake in preheated oven until toothpick comes out clean, about 1 hour.