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And here's the other gingerbread recipe. I really think the fresh ginger adds something to them! If you don't have fresh ginger, you can always substitute an additional 1/2 tsp. ground ginger for the 2 tsp. of fresh ginger called for in this recipe.
**Photos coming later on after I have a chance to decorate them!**
I usually get anywhere from 30-45 cookies from this recipe; depending on which cutters I use (I have a small village worth of gingerbread men cutters!)
Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. salt3/4 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. ground ginger
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground allspice
2/3 cup packed brown sugar (I always use light brown sugar; since these also use molasses I don't suppose it matters if you use dark or light sugar)
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted, warm1/4 cup molasses
2 tsp. grated fresh ginger
1 egg
Method:
1. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking soda, ground ginger, cinnamon, and allspice. In a large bowl (I used my KA mixer), stir together the brown sugar, butter, molasses, fresh ginger, and egg until well-blended. Slowly stir in the flour mixture until just combined. Form dough into 2 flat rounds. Cover and refrigerate overnight or up to 3 days.
2. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
3. Lightly sprinkle rolling surface with flour. Roll one dough round to 1/8- to 1/4-inch thickness. Use cookie cutters to cut dough into desired shapes. Remove and reserve dough scraps from around each cookie - you can re-use them! Place cookies at least 1 inch apart on the prepared cookie sheets. Bake 7-9 minutes or until cookies just begin to colour at the edges. Cool completely on a wire rack. Repeat with remaining dough and dough scraps. Cookies can be decorated with frosting, nuts, candies, etc. once they are cooled.
Great Gingerbread Icing Ideas:*1 cup powdered sugar mixed with 1-2 tbsp. water.
*1 cup powdered sugar combined with 1-2 tbsp. water plus 1/4 tsp. finely grated fresh ginger.
*2 cups powdered sugar, 1 tsp. vanilla extract, 2 tbsp. milk.
*One I haven't tried but it sounds great - mix some melted white chocolate with a little lemon extract. I made a chocolate topping for Grand Marnier cupcakes which used 3 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped and 1/2 tsp. vegetable shortening. For gingerbread, I'd use 3 oz. white chocolate chopped, 1/2 tsp. veg. shortening, and 1/4-1/2 tsp. lemon extract. Melt the chocolate and shortening in a double-boiler. Place the melted chocolate mix in a large Zip-Lock bag and mix in the extract by squishing the bag. Snip a corner off the bag and use this to decorate the cookies. **You may need to play around with the extract amount - I've never tried this so I honestly wouldn't know how much to use! That amount is just a guess :)
Reference:
This recipe came from the December 2001/January 2002 issue of Cooking Pleasures Magazine. The name of the original recipe was "Golden Gingerbread People." This is also where I got the idea to add fresh ginger to the basic frosting. When I tried that the first time I thought I'd died and gone to heaven! :)
Tips for Rolled Cookies
I know how much of a pest rolled cookies can be so here's a couple tips to help make your life a little easier :)
*Chill the dough for an adequate amount of time. For these sugar cookies, I let mine chill for at least 4 hours. Patience is definitely a virtue when making rolled cookies!
*Keep dough that you are not rolling/cutting in the fridge.
*Flour your work surface, rolling pin, and cutters. You can always gently dust off extra flour using a pastry brush - especially important with darker cookies like gingerbread.
*Work with small pieces of dough at a time.
*Try rolling the dough between two sheets of either wax or parchment paper. You will still need a little flour on the paper but it will prevent the dough from sticking to your counter-tops, rolling pin, or cutting board.
*Remember, they are so worth it when they're all done and decorated! :)
I actually have 2 gingerbread cookie recipes that I like - this is the one which does not require fresh ginger.
**Photos coming later after I decorate them!**
This will make a LOT of dough - enough for 30 or so large cookies. You can easily halve the recipe if needed.
Ingredients:
5 cups all-purpose flour
4 tsp. ground ginger
1 tbsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg or 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
16 tbsp. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
2 large eggs
2/3 cup molasses
Method:
1. Combine the flour, spices, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl; stir well to mix.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter and brown sugar on medium speed until well mixed (about 1 minute). Beat in the eggs, one at a time, beating smooth after each addition. Scrape down the bowl and beater.
**There is no law saying you have to use a stand mixer for this! If you don't have one you can always make these by hand. Goodness knows people have been making cookies since long before KA mixers were invented (I do have to say, mine makes my life so much easier, though!!**
3. Lower the mixer speed and beat in about half the flour mixture. Beat in all the molasses, then scrape the bowl and beater. Add the remaining flour mixture, about a cup at a time, and beat after each addition until it has all been absorbed.
4. Remove the bowl from the mixer and give the dough a final mixing with a large rubber spatula. Scrape half the dough onto a large piece of plastic wrap and press it to about a 1/2-inch thickness. Wrap the dough securely and repeat with the remaining dough. Chill the dough for at least 2 hours or up to 3 days (I always let mine chill overnight).
5. When you are ready to bake the cookies, prepare the cookie sheets by lining them with parchment paper and pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F.
6. Unwrap one of the pieces of dough and cut it in half. Re-wrap the dough you are not using and return it to the fridge!
7. On a floured surface, roll out the dough to about 1/4-inch thick. Use a floured cookie cutter to cut the cookies. As they are cut, place them on the prepared pans about an inch apart in all directions. Repeat with the remaining dough. Save, press together, and re-roll the dough scraps.
8. Bake the cookies for 12-15 minutes (I only give mine 7-9 since my oven is a bit funny), or until they become dull and dry-looking and feel slightly firm when pressed with a fingertip. Slide the papers onto racks to cool. After the cookies have cooled they can be decorated with icing, candies, nuts, whatever you like.
9. Store cooled cookies between sheets of parchment or wax paper in a tin or plastic container with a tight-fitting lid.
Great Gingerbread Icing Ideas:
*1 cup powdered sugar mixed with 1-2 tbsp. water.
*1 cup powdered sugar combined with 1-2 tbsp. water plus 1/4 tsp. finely grated fresh ginger.
*2 cups powdered sugar, 1 tsp. vanilla extract, 2 tbsp. milk.
*One I haven't tried but it sounds great - mix some melted white chocolate with a little lemon extract. I made a chocolate topping for Grand Marnier cupcakes which used 3 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped and 1/2 tsp. vegetable shortening. For gingerbread, I'd use 3 oz. white chocolate chopped, 1/2 tsp. veg. shortening, and 1/4-1/2 tsp. lemon extract. Melt the chocolate and shortening in a double-boiler. Place the melted chocolate mix in a large Zip-Lock bag and mix in the extract by squishing the bag. Snip a corner off the bag and use this to decorate the cookies. **You may need to play around with the extract amount - I've never tried this so I honestly wouldn't know how much to use! That amount is just a guess :)
Reference:
This is the "Gingerbread People" recipe from Nick Malgieri's "Cookies Unlimited."
Tips for Rolled Cookies
I know how much of a pest rolled cookies can be so here's a couple tips to help make your life a little easier :)
*Chill the dough for an adequate amount of time. For these sugar cookies, I let mine chill for at least 4 hours. Patience is definitely a virtue when making rolled cookies!
*Keep dough that you are not rolling/cutting in the fridge.
*Flour your work surface, rolling pin, and cutters. You can always gently dust off extra flour using a pastry brush.
*Work with small pieces of dough at a time.
*Try rolling the dough between two sheets of either wax or parchment paper. You will still need a little flour on the paper but it will prevent the dough from sticking to your counter-tops, rolling pin, or cutting board.
*Remember, they are so worth it when they're all done and decorated! :)
For these cookies, I used the recipe from Annie's Eats. Since I really didn't change any of the ingredients, I'll just put a link to her post. The only thing I did change was to decrease the oven temperature to 350 degrees but that's just because I have a pretty ancient oven and it seems to do best at 350! :)
Here's the link: Christmas Cookies.
Photos coming later on after I decorate them all tonight!
Frosting:
I use a very basic frosting for sugar cookies.
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract (you could also use almond extract or do 1/2 tsp. vanilla and 1/2 tsp. almond)
2 tbsp. milk
Food colouring
Mix sugar and vanilla extract. Add milk gradually while mixing until icing is a good, slightly stiff, consistency for decorating.
Tips for Rolled Cookies
I know how much of a pest rolled cookies can be so here's a couple tips to help make your life a little easier :)
*Chill the dough for an adequate amount of time. For these sugar cookies, I let mine chill for at least 4 hours. Patience is definitely a virtue when making rolled cookies!
*Keep dough that you are not rolling/cutting in the fridge.
*Flour your work surface, rolling pin, and cutters. You can always gently dust off extra flour using a pastry brush.
*Work with small pieces of dough at a time.
*Try rolling the dough between two sheets of either wax or parchment paper. You will still need a little flour on the paper but it will prevent the dough from sticking to your counter-tops, rolling pin, or cutting board.
*Remember, they are so worth it when they're all done and decorated! :)
This will make 2 cups. Feel free to double/half it as necessary.
Ingredients:
4 tbsp. unsalted butter (cut into 4 pieces)
1 ounce unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. instant coffee crystals
3/4 cup cocoa powder
3 cups confectioners' sugar
1 cup skim milk
Method:
1. Melt butter and chocolate together until smooth. Stir in salt and coffee crystals until dissolved. Transfer to medium bowl and cool 10 minutes.
2. Whisk cocoa and sugar in a medium bowl. Using an electric mixer, gradually add cocoa mixture to melted chocolate mixture (use low speed). Gradually add milk, beating until milk is completely incorporated. Increase speed to medium-high and beat until light and creamy, about 1 minute.
This recipe will make 4 cups - it can be halved or quartered to make the desired amount.
Ingredients:
3 sticks unsalted butter (bring to room temperature)
3 cups confectioners' sugar
2 tbsp. milk
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/8 tsp. salt
Method:
1. Using an electric mixer, beat butter in a large bowl until fluffy, about 30 seconds.
2. With mixer on low speed, add sugar 1 cup at a time, and mix to combine. Increase speed to high and beat until pale and fluffy, about 1 minute.
3. Reduce speed to medium-low and add milk, vanilla, and salt. Increase speed to high and beat until fluffy, 30 more seconds.
No cute pictures on this one, sorry! ;)
Here are some icing options for those "chocolate" cupcakes.
*White vegan icing
Ingredients:
1/4 cup margarine
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 tbsp. soy milk
1 tsp extract (vanilla, lemon, mint, almond...)
Method:
In a food processor, blender, or medium bowl, mix margarine and 1 cup sugar. Add remaining sugar alternatively with milk, mixing until smooth. Stir in extract until light and spreadable.
*Chocolate vegan icing
Ingredients:
1 cup cold water
5 tbsp. flour
1 cup powdered sugar or other dry sweetener
1 tsp. vanilla extract
6 tbsp. margarine (make sure it is animal-free; no eggs or dairy - Earth Balance or Smart Balance are two widely-available brands)
3 tbsp. cocoa powder
Method:
1. In a small saucepan, whisk together the water and flour constantly over medium heat until thick.
2. Remove from heat and cool completely by setting the pot in a slightly larger pan of cold water.
3. In a medium bowl, mix sweetener/sugar, vanilla, margarine, and cocoa powder until well mixed. Add cooled flour mixture and stir together until there are no lumps. Let cool for 30-60 minutes before using.
References:
This recipe came from one of two books (sorry, I do not own the books so I'm not sure which one I copied them from). Here are the references for both:
Barnard, Tanya and Kramer, Sarah (2003). The Garden of Vegan: How It All Vegan Again! Arsenal Pulp Press: Vancouver, B.C., Canada.
Barnard, Tanya and Kramer, Sarah (2001). How It All Vegan!: Irresistible Recipes for an Animal-Free Diet. Arsenal Pulp Press: Vancouver, B.C., Canada.
