Ingredients: |
Ingredients: 10 Tablespoons (⅔ cup) unsalted butter
¾ cup packed brown sugar
⅔ cup unsulphured molasses
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 ½ cups all-purpose flour (spoon & leveled)
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon ground ginger (yes, 1 full Tablespoon!)
1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground allspice
½ teaspoon ground cloves
Royal icing:
4 cups confectioners’ sugar
3 Tablespoons meringue powder
9–10 Tablespoons room temperature water
food coloring
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Directions: |
Directions:In a large bowl using a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter for 1 minute on medium speed until completely smooth and creamy. Add the brown sugar and molasses and beat on medium high speed until combined and creamy-looking. Next, beat in egg and vanilla on high speed for 2 full minutes. Scrape The butter may separate; that’s ok.
In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, and cloves together until combined. On low speed, slowly mix into the wet ingredients until combined. The cookie dough will be quite thick and slightly sticky. Divide dough in half and place each onto a large piece of plastic wrap. Wrap each up tightly and pat down to a disc. Chill discs for at least 3 hours and up to 3 days. Chilling is mandatory for this cookie dough.
Preheat oven to 350°F . Line 2-3 large cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
Remove 1 disc of chilled cookie dough from the refrigerator. Generously flour a work surface, as well as your hands and the rolling pin. Roll out disc until 1/4-inch thick. Tips for rolling– the dough may crack and be crumbly as you roll. Use cookie cutters to make men shapes. Place shapes 1 inch apart on prepared cookie sheets. Re-roll dough scraps until all the dough is shaped.
Bake cookies for about 9-10 minutes. If your cookie cutters are smaller than 4 inches, bake for about 8 minutes. If your cookie cutters are larger than 4 inches, bake about 11 minutes. Note: the longer the cookies bake, the harder and crunchier they’ll be.
Allow cookies to cool for 5 minutes on the cookie sheet. Transfer to cooling rack to cool completely. Once completely cool, decorate as desired.
Cookies stay fresh covered at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Royal Icing: Pour confectioners’ sugar, meringue powder, and 9 Tablespoons of water into a large bowl. Using a mixer with a whisk attachment, beat icing ingredients together on high speed for 1.5 – 2 minutes. When lifting the whisk up off the icing, the icing should drizzle down and smooth out within 5-10 seconds. If it’s too thick, beat in more water 1 Tablespoon at a time. Note: the longer you beat the icing, the thicker it becomes. If your icing is too thin, just keep beating it to introduce more air OR add more confectioners’ sugar. |
This recipe for Gingerbread Men Cookies is from