Katys Gingerbread Cookies Recipes

GINGERBREAD MAN COOKIES

Steps:

• Add flour, brown sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and salt to a mixing bowl and mix.
• Add the butter pieces and use a pastry blender to cut the butter in until the mixture resembles fine meal.
• With a mixer running on low speed gradually add the molasses and milk and mix until combined, about 30 seconds.
• Divide the dough in half, forming each into a ball. Wrap each in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight, or place in the freezer for about 20 minutes, until firm, if you're in a hurry.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Remove one dough sheet from the fridge/freezer and place on the counter. Roll out the dough (use a little flour on your rolling pin if needed), until it's about ½ inch thick. Cut gingerbread men and place them on prepared baking sheets.
• Refrigerate the gingerbread men for 5 minutes (meanwhile you can roll out the other dough ball).
• Bake the cookies until set in the centers and the dough barely retains and imprint when touched very gently with fingertip, 8 to 11 minutes (depending on the size of your cookie cutter). Do not overbake!!
• Remove the cookies to a wire rack. Allow to cool to room temperature before frosting.
• Store gingerbread cookies in an airtight container with parchment paper between the layers. Freeze for up to 3 months.

GINGERBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, combine brown sugar, molasses and shortening. Place over medium-low heat and stir just until mixture is melted and smooth. Remove from heat and mix in baking soda and 1/4 cup cold water. Set aside and allow to cool to room temperature.
• Add egg, salt, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon and cloves; stir to mix well. Add 4 cups flour and mix well, adding up to 1/2 cup more if dough seems sticky. Shape into a ball, cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, up to 24 hours.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/4-inch thickness, and cut into gingerbread boy shapes with a 5-inch-long cookie cutter. Arrange on baking sheets 1 1/2 inches apart, and bake until risen and no longer shiny, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and allow cookies to cool. If desired, decorate with royal icing and cinnamon candies. Store in an airtight container.

GINGERBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• Beat together the butter, treacle, brown sugar and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add the egg, then beat through all of the remaining dry ingredients apart from the caster sugar. Chill the mixture in the fridge for 1 hr.
• Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 4. Line two baking sheets with baking parchment. Roll the mixture into 20 even-sized balls (weighing for accuracy, if you like). Tip the caster sugar onto a small plate, then add each ball and roll around to coat. Space each ball out on the baking sheets. Bake for 9-10 mins until golden brown. Leave to cool completely on a wire rack.

GINGERBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• On medium-high speed, cream the butter and brown sugar together in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until well combined. Scrape down the sides as necessary.
• Add the eggs one at a time, mixing between each to combine. Add the molasses and mix to combine.
• In a separate bowl, mix together the all-purpose flour, pastry flour, baking powder, ginger, salt, cinnamon and cloves to combine.
• Turn the mixer off and add one-third of the dry ingredients. Turn the mixer to low and carefully mix to combine. Continue this process until all the dry ingredients are combined and a dough has formed.
• Remove the dough from the bowl of the mixer onto a clean working surface that has been dusted with flour. Knead the dough to combine it into a smooth ball. If the dough seems warm or too soft to handle, you can wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or so.
• Using a rolling pin, roll the gingerbread cookie dough to a thickness of 1/4-to-1/2-inch. Using your gingerbread man cookie cutter, cut out cookies and place 1 1/2 inches apart onto the prepared baking sheet. Re-roll excess dough to repeat this process until you have used all the dough.
• Bake for 10 minutes. Cool completely on wire rack
• While cooling, put 1 ounce of the royal icing into a small bowl and dye it black. Put it into a pastry bag with a coupler and a plain #3 tip. Put another 1 ounce of the royal icing into a small bowl and dye it green. Put it into a pastry bag with a coupler and a plain #3 tip. Put another 1 ounce of royal icing into a small bowl and dye it red. Put it into a pastry bag with a coupler and a plain #3 tip.
• After the cookies are cooled, you can turn them into gingerbread men or reindeer.
• For gingerbread men: Using the white icing, add a squiggle line at the edge of each arm and each leg. Using the green icing, pipe 2 triangles together at the neck to create a bowtie. Using the mini chocolate candies, add eyes and buttons. Create the gingerbread man's mouth with the white icing.
• For reindeer: Flip your gingerbread man-shaped cookie upside down so the feet are at the top. Using the white icing, pipe antlers into the "feet" sections of your gingerbread man. Underneath the antlers in the center, pipe eyes and eyebrows. In the "arms" section of the gingerbread man, outline the edges to create your reindeer ears.
• Take a red mini chocolate candy and attach it to the center of the body (underneath the eyes) for the nose. Using your black icing, pipe a mouth underneath the nose. Put a small leaf tip onto your green icing bag and pipe 2 small leaves between the antlers. Pipe 3 small red dots in the center of the leaves as holly berries.

THE MOST WONDERFUL GINGERBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves until well blended.
• In a large bowl (KitchenAid's great for this) beat butter, brown sugar, and egg on medium speed until well blended.
• Add molasses, vanilla, and lemon zest and continue to mix until well blended.
• Gradually stir in dry ingredients until blended and smooth.
• Divide dough in half and wrap each half in plastic and let stand at room temperature for at least 2 hours or up to 8 hours.
• Preheat oven to 375 deg. Prepare baking sheets by lining with parchment paper.
• (Dough can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 4 days, but in this case it should be refrigerated. Return to room temp before using.) Preheat oven to 375°.
• Grease or line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
• Place 1 portion of the dough on a lightly floured surface.
• Sprinkle flour over dough and rolling pin.
• Roll dough to a scant 1/4-inch thick.
• Use additional flour to avoid sticking.
• Cut out cookies with desired cutter-- the ginger bread man is our favorite of course.
• Space cookies 1 1/2-inches apart.
• Bake 1 sheet at a time for 7-10 minutes (the lower time will give you softer cookies-- very good!).
• Remove cookie sheet from oven and allow the cookies to stand until the cookies are firm enough to move to a wire rack.
• After cookies are cool you may decorate them any way you like.
• I usually brush them with a powdered sugar glaze when I am in a hurry, but they look wonderful decorated with Royal icing.

KATY'S GINGERBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat over to 350*.
• Blend together butter and sugar until fluffy.
• In a separate small bowl combine molasses and 5 tbls. water with a fork.
• Stir molasses mixture into butter mixture.
• Sift together remaining dry ingredients.
• Sift again, and then stir into the butter mixture, 1/2 a cup at a time, until blended.
• Wrap dough in waxed paper and refrigerate for several hours.
• You can also freeze the dough at this point for several weeks.
• When ready to bake - take dough out of fridge a part at a time.
• Grease cookie sheets.
• Roll out on lightly floured surface until thin, roughly 1/8 of an inch thick.
• Cut dough with floured cookie cutters.
• Bake about 8 minutes. Cookies should be just slightly browned on the bottom.
• Let cool on rack.
• For icing: Combine confectioners sugar, a few drops of water and a few drops of food coloring.
• Prep time is to make dough, cook time is the actual rolling and baking. Cookie yield is a guess as it depends on how big your gingerbread man cutter is!

GINGERBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• Beat margarine and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer on low speed until mostly incorporated, 1 to 2 minutes. Increase speed to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy, another 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in egg yolk, then molasses.
• Whisk sifted flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and nutmeg in a separate bowl until well combined. Gradually add flour mixture to the molasses mixture, beating until well blended and smooth.
• Divide dough in half and form each into a 1-inch-thick disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 to 3 hours, or overnight.
• When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Working with one disk at a time, and leaving remaining disk in the refrigerator, unwrap chilled dough and place on a lightly floured surface. Working from the center to the edges, roll dough with a floured rolling pin to a thickness of 1/4 inch.
• Cut dough into desired shapes with cookie cutters, dipping the cutters into flour as needed so they don't stick to the dough. Fit the cookie cutters as closely together as possible to cut as many cookies as you can. This will minimize the number of times you have to re-roll the dough.
• Transfer gingerbread cookies to ungreased cookie sheets, spacing them 2 inches apart. Gather any dough scraps into a ball, flatten, re-wrap with plastic wrap, and refrigerate to use for later batches.
• Bake each sheet in the preheated oven until firm, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire racks to cool while you finish rolling, cutting, and baking the remaining cookies.
• Frost or decorate cooled gingerbread cookies as desired.

CLASSIC GINGERBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line 3 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
• Beat sugar and butter together in a bowl using an electric mixer until fluffy. Beat in molasses and egg until combined.
• Whisk flour, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and salt together in a separate bowl. Stir into butter mixture until just combined.
• Roll dough into teaspoon-sized balls and place 2 inches apart onto the prepared cookie sheets.
• Bake 1 sheet at a time in the preheated oven until edges of cookies are firm, 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.