Gingerbread Cookies
Fill the house this Christmas with the heavenly aroma of ginger, cinnamon and cloves by baking these delicious gingerbread cookies. The dough comes together easily and rolls out like a dream. It even withstands repeated re-rolling. The flavour is so outstanding that only a little bit of icing sugar is needed for a finishing touch.
Equipment
- 2 baking sheets
- parchment paper
- hand-held or stand mixer
Ingredients
- ½ cup shortening
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ cup molasses unsulfured if you can find it
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon vinegar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- optional icing: 1 cup confectioners' sugar for icing, ¼ teaspoon vanilla and 1 tablespoon milk and food colouring if desired.
Instructions
- Add the shortening to a large mixing bowl and beat on medium-high for 30 seconds.
- Add about half the flour, mix and then add the sugar, molasses, egg, vinegar, baking powder, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, and cloves. Beat, scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally. Beat in the remaining flour.
- Divide the dough in half and cover and chill in the fridge for 3 hours.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out each dough until â…›" thick. (If the cookie shape you are going to make is really large, you can roll the dough thicker.) Place the cookies on the baking sheets lined with parchment paper, 1" apart.
- Bake at 375°F for 5-6 minutes (longer if you have made the cookies thicker.) Cool on the cookie sheet for one minute, transfer to a baking rack to cool completely.
- If using, mix the icing sugar, vanilla and milk. Add the icing to an icing bag and use to pipe on designs. Let the icing harden at room temperature.
- Store at room temperature for one week or the fridge or freezer for longer storage.
Notes
To make a sturdier icing for decorating use meringue powder or color flow mix. When I am making the cookies for gifting, I make icing with 1½ cups sifted icing sugar, 2½ tablespoons of meringue powder and ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract, 2-3 tablespoons of water and food colouring paste.
Nutrition
Serving: 1-plain cookieCalories: 84kcalCarbohydrates: 13gProtein: 1gFat: 3gSaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 5mgSodium: 31mgPotassium: 80mgFiber: 1gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 8IUCalcium: 18mgIron: 1mg
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