Tomorrow is the last day of school before the winter break, and the last day of dance class. So today and tonight, I am in a flurry of baking, getting holiday presents, cards, and cookies together for the people who care for my girls when I am sitting at home drinking diet Coke and playing Civ V for hours at a time. I mean, when I am writing my dissertation. ahem.
This year, everyone gets Gingerbread. It is my thing. Here is my recipe: it can be your thing, too.
Perfect Gingerbread
3 1/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter (room temperature, softened)
1/2 cup dark-brown sugar, packed
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoons ground cloves *optional – I usually up the cinnamon a bit and skip this
scant 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon finely ground black pepper * I go less than this, personally
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1/2 cup unsulfured molasses
Instructions:
1. In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, and spices. Adding a little extra flour makes these cookies very soft. Set this bowl aside.
2 According to the official recipe, in electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter – I do my mixing by hand, because I am a martyr. Add sugar and beat until fluffy.
3. Mix in eggs and molasses.
4. Gradually add the flour mixture; combine on low speed, or if you are mixing by hand, stir at slow speed – not that you would be able to stir this fast – this is a serious workout. (You may need to work it with your hands to incorporate the last bit of flour, if you are using a Kitchenaid, like a normal person.)
5.Divide dough in thirds; shape the thirds into flat bricks and wrap each third in plastic. When you are done, your fridge will look like it is filled with bricks of heroin. Feel badass.
6. Chill for at least 1 hour-2 hours. Before rolling out, let sit at room temperature for a few minutes. If after refrigerating the dough feels too soft to roll-out, work in a little more flour.
7. If you like a little flavour in your gingerbread, try rubbing your cutting board or rolling pins or hands with a very, very small bit of flavouring – chocolate liquers are nice, as are cointreau or straight orange flavouring. Blood orange would be nice, too, especially on the ones dipped in chocolate.
8 Heat oven to 350°. I have a large wooden board that I use to roll my cookies out on, which I cover with flour – a cutting board would work well too. Using a rolling pin, roll dough – not too thin – I usually do mine about half a centimetre or more. Use a cookie cutter to cut into desired shapes.
9. Transfer to baking sheets – I line mine with parchment paper and bake the cookies on that, to keep the bottoms from hardening and going dark. Bake about 6-8 minutes, until cookies are still soft. Remove from oven and let the cookies sit on the cookie sheet on top of the oven for a few minutes more to set. Move to a wire rack to cool completely.
I like my gingerbread soft. How do you make cookies soft? Easy: cut them thick, underbake slightly, and let them finish baking on top of the stove while they set on the cookie sheet. if you like them crispier, bake 8-10 minutes, until the edges start to brown.
Royal Icing
Makes 2 1/3 cups
1 one-pound box (about 4 cups) confectioners’ sugar
5 tablespoons meringue powder,**
1/2 cup water
1. with a hand mixer, combine confectioners’ sugar and meringue powder. Mixing on low speed, add a scant 1/2 cup water drop by drop. For a thinner consistency, usually used for flooding, add more water. A thicker consistency is generally used for further embellishing. Mix until icing holds a ribbon-like trail on the surface for five seconds when you raise the paddle.
** some people make icing with egg whites, but there are a lot of people (the pregnant, immune-compromised, etc) who cannot eat raw eggs, so in the interest of not asking random acquaintances about the current contents of their uterus, I opt for meringue powder.
I am old-fashioned – I pipe my royal icing on using an icing bag. Decorate as you see fit – sprinkles, etc. I usually do one round of icing in one colour, to cover the cookie, then after that hardens, take while icing and pipe pretty patterns on top. So cute. That is how the reindeer and snowman, above, were done.
Chocolate Dipped.
I cut some of my cookies using holly leaf and Star of David cookie cutters, and dip half into chocolate. It is heaven.
Recipe: Melt chocolate – use the almond bark baking chocolate for super easiness. Dip cookies. Let them set for a few hours on parchment paper. Eat. This one is pretty easy.