New England Molasses Gingerbread Cookies Recipe Epicuriouscom Recipes

CHILDHOOD GINGERBREAD WITH MOLASSES

Steps:

• Place a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat the oven to around 365°F (set the dial halfway between 350°F and 375°F). Generously grease an 8-inch square cake pan.
• Combine the flour, baking powder, and powdered spices in a medium bowl and mix well; set aside. Pour the molasses into a 2-cup (or more) measuring cup, add the boiling water, and stir to dissolve thoroughly. Set aside.
• Place the brown sugar and butter chunks in a large bowl and cream together with a wooden spoon, or a mixer. Briefly beat the eggs in another bowl, then stir them into the butter-sugar mixture. Add about 1/2 cup of the flour mixture and stir or beat in on low speed, then add about the same amount of warm molasses-water and stir. Continue to add the flour and liquid alternately, stirring or beating briefly each time. After the final addition, beat briefly (the batter will be quite liquid), then pour into the prepared pan.
• Bake for 25 minutes, then lower the heat to 350°F and bake until done, for 15 to 20 minutes longer, until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.
• Let cool in the pan for 20 minutes or more (to allow the crumb to set) before serving. Serve from the pan.

MOLASSES HONEY GINGER COOKIES

Steps:

• 1.Cream together the shortening, sugar, molasses, and honey in a bowl with an electric mixer. Add the egg yolks and mix well.
• 2.Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spices; stir into the shortening mixture. Wrap the dough in plastic and chill well.
• 3.Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut out shapes with Christmas tree and/or other holiday cookie cutters; transfer to lightly greased baking sheets.
• 4.Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake cookies for 8 to 10 minutes. (Do not overbake.) Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets until they are firm, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.
• 5.Beat confectioners' sugar, butter, milk, and vanilla until smooth, adding more sugar or milk as needed. If desired, divide icing among smaller bowls and tint with different food colorings. Decorate cookies with colored icings and sugars.

GINGER-MOLASSES COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, whisk together flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking powder, salt and allspice.
• In another bowl, using an electric mixer, beat together butter, molasses and sugar on medium-high until the mixture is superlight, fluffy and pale, about 5 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add in eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla extract, and beat until everything is well combined, again stopping to scrape down bowl as necessary.
• Add dry ingredients all at once, and mix on low speed until just incorporated.
• Chill dough in refrigerator for 30 to 45 minutes, until firm enough to roll.
• Heat oven to 325 degrees.
• Using your hands, roll heaping tablespoons of dough into balls, then roll them in coarse sugar. (Sanding sugar is festive, but turbinado or coarse sugar will do the trick as well.) If dough becomes too soft to roll, put back in the refrigerator for 10 to 15 minutes. Place balls on a parchment-lined baking tray 2 inches apart and bake until the cookies are puffed, golden brown around the edges and baked through and the tops spring back slightly when touched, 12 to 15 minutes.

MOLASSES-GINGERBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• Whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and spices in a medium bowl.
• Beat butter and sugar with a mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in molasses. Reduce speed to low. Gradually add flour mixture, and beat until just combined. Divide dough into 3 portions, and wrap each in plastic. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. On a generously floured piece of parchment, roll dough to a scant 1/4 inch thick. Brush off excess flour. Slide dough and parchment onto baking sheets, and freeze for 15 minutes.
• Cut out desired shapes. Transfer to parchment-lined baking sheets, and freeze for 15 minutes.
• Bake cookies for 6 minutes. Remove sheets from oven, and tap them firmly on counter to flatten cookies. Return to oven, rotating sheets, and bake until crisp but not darkened, 6 to 8 minutes more. Let cool on sheets on wire racks.
• Spoon icing into a pastry bag fitted with a very small plain round tip (such as Ateco #0 or #1). Pipe designs on cookies. Let cookies stand at room temperature until set, at least 2 hours (preferably overnight).

GINGERBREAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. and grease and flour a 9-inch square baking pan, knocking out excess flour.
• Into a bowl sift together flour, baking soda, spices, and salt. In another bowl with an electric mixer beat together oil and sugar until combined and beat in egg and molasses until combined well. Gradually beat in flour mixture until combined and add water, beating until smooth.
• Pour batter into pan and bake in middle of oven 30 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean. Cool gingerbread in pan on a rack 10 minutes. Run a thin knife around edge of pan and invert gingerbread onto rack to cool completely.
• Serve gingerbread with whipped cream.