A truly WONDERFUL Gingerbread Cookie recipe inside. (m)

M

michael-in-phoenix

Well-known member
I know we have a Christmas cookie thread already, and I'll repost this recipe there as well so anyone searching the archives for Christmas cookies can find it, but it is so good I want to alert all of you to it.

It came from Teresa Parker. She posted it on Gail's Swap very early on. Here is my version:

GINGERBREAD COOKIES

I have tried others, including some very well respected recipes from popular cookbooks, and I always come back to these! They are wonderfully spicy, with just the right amount of sweetness, not too much molasses, and they are not dry. They're the Christmas standard for me now... no more contenders!

The only drawback to this recipe is that the dough can be hard to work with. I let it come practically to room temperature before rolling it out, and I keep the rolling pin lightly floured so it doesn't stick. You can make the dough in advance and freeze it, or just form it into a log and wrap in plastic wrap to store in the fridge for a few days before baking.

The length of time they should be baked will depend on the type and color of cookie sheet you use and whether or not you want soft or crunchy cookies. One thing to watch for is that one or two minutes in the oven either way will give you either a soft or hard cookie. It can be a bit tricky to find the right timing, but definitely worth it. Tip: Make sure you use fresh spices, especially the ground ginger. Also, I bake these on ungreased parchment paper. They slide right off.

5 1/2 cups *SIFTED* all purpose flour

1 cup vegetable shortening

1 tsp baking soda

1 cup sugar

1 tsp salt

1 cup molasses (I use Grandma's Original)

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla flavoring

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp cloves

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

Sift flour, baking soda, salt and spices onto waxed paper. Beat vegetable shortening w/sugar until fluffy light; beat in molasses, egg and vanilla.

Stir in flour mixture a third at a time, blending well after each addition, to make a soft dough. Wrap in foil and refrigerate 3 to 4 hours or overnight.

When ready to make the cookies, roll out 1/4 of the dough at a time to a 1/8 inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. Place 1 inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake in a 350 degree preheated oven for 8 minutes or until cookies are firm, but not too dark. Remove to wire racks with a spatula to cool. Decorate with frosting and allow frosting to harden before storing.

Makes about 6 doz. 3 inch cookies.

We hope you enjoy these as much as we do!

Michael

 
I can't wait to try these! Do you have a good icing recipe...

Hi Michael,

I can't wait to try these! Do you have a good icing recipe that hardens enough so you can stack them in a tin and give them as gifts?

Thanks
Muse

 
Frosting For Cookies

Not Michael, but Muse this recipe should work well for the cookies.
1 16oz. box powdered sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla and/or desired flavor
2 Tbls. Water

Mix all together and spread on cooled cookies.

NOTE: This recipe is a variation of one that was on Martha Stewart the other day for Angeletti. The original called for lemon juice in place of milk.

I made the cookies, frosted them and the frosting does harden. The recipe for the Angeletti can be found on Martha's web site from
her new show.
Hope this helps.

 
oooh this reminds me of my Mom's frosting......

oooh yummy, this reminds me of my Mom's frosting.
Thank you!

Muse

 
Here's what we do for decorating frosting: (m)

I put a two pound bag of powdered sugar in my mixer and add one teaspoon of vanilla. Then I start the mixer and add milk from a measuring cup with a spout until the frosting reaches the right consistency. Ultimately, once the food coloring is added, you want the frosting to flow freely, but not be so 'liquid' that it spreads too much once it's on the cookie.

We don't usually put frosting over the whole cookie. We do dots, outlines, belly buttons, etc., but rarely cover more that 10% to 15% of the surface of the cookie. We don't like a lot of frosting... just personal preference.

I then use a ladle to put portions of the frosting into a measuring cup (for the spout, again) and add food coloring to it. I mix it well and then pour the frosting into clear plastic bottles we get from the restaurant supply house (.50 to .75 cents each). They look like the plastic mustard and ketchup bottles, but are clear so you can see the frosting color.

I fill each bottle with a different color, and usually double up on red and green. When we are ready to decorate, we turn the bottles 'tips down' into empty coffee mugs. This way the frosting stays in the tip so you can 'grab and go' without having to wait for the frosting to come to the tip.

An hour or so later the frosting is hard enough to stack.

Very fun!

Michael

 
Great Ideas. I just moved to Manahattan so I'm sure .....

it will be no problem finding these empty plastic bottles.

I wish I had a mixer. It is on my lifelong Christmas list. I'm sure your icing recipe will work under hand power.

Thank You!!!

Muse

 
It will work with a hand mixer. That didn't slow my Mom down...(m)

...for 40 years.

I talked to my lovely wife for YEARS before I was able to finally get a kitchen aid mixer. She was not convinced that it wouldn't end up as 'kitchen furniture' --hardly used and buried under junk mail and grocery receipts.

I still have the one I got from Price Club in 1992 and it is still a workhorse for most kitchen tasks. If you cook, bake or otherwise amuse yourself in the kitchen, you will reap major returns from the purchase of a good mixer.

Tip: Don't skimp. Get the one where the bowl hangs on pegs. There are two sizes of kitchen aids that have bowls that hang on pegs. If you will bake a lot of bread and need to make more than one loaf at a time, get the bigger one. Or, get the less powerful one and it will do most anything you ask of it with ease (one loaf at a time).

Michael

 
Here's what we do for decorating frosting: (m)

I put a two pound bag of powdered sugar in my mixer and add one teaspoon of vanilla. Then I start the mixer and add milk from a measuring cup with a spout until the frosting reaches the right consistency. Ultimately, once the food coloring is added, you want the frosting to flow freely, but not be so 'liquid' that it spreads too much once it's on the cookie.

We don't usually put frosting over the whole cookie. We do dots, outlines, belly buttons, etc., but rarely cover more that 10% to 15% of the surface of the cookie. We don't like a lot of frosting... just personal preference.

I then use a ladle to put portions of the frosting into a measuring cup (for the spout, again) and add food coloring to it. I mix it well and then pour the frosting into clear plastic bottles we get from the restaurant supply house (.50 to .75 cents each). They look like the plastic mustard and ketchup bottles, but are clear so you can see the frosting color.

I fill each bottle with a different color, and usually double up on red and green. When we are ready to decorate, we turn the bottles 'tips down' into empty coffee mugs. This way the frosting stays in the tip so you can 'grab and go' without having to wait for the frosting to come to the tip.

An hour or so later the frosting is hard enough to stack.

Very fun!

Michael

 
Hi all! Glad to find old friends. I have been using the >>

gingerbread cookie recipe posted awhile ago on Epi or the old Gail's which uses oil in the recipe and the dough is quite nice to work with. I will adjust the spices though according to your recipe michael---my recipe is too heavy on the ginger. I made a bunch of these this year and used Alaska type cookie cutters like fish and bears and moose and the state and dragonflies and just sprinkled them with raw sugar---delightful and rustic. They are in the mail as we speak.

 
These look great Michael!

My sister who usually makes gingerbread for christmas recently had surgery, so it was on my list of things to do today to find a good recipe for gingerbread! Leave it to Michael to come up with another great cookie recipe! Thanks very much and have a great holiday!
Miss Lola

 
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