Description
Gingerbread cookies are a staple on many Christmas tables. They are both fun to make, and lovely to eat.
Ingredients
Scale
For the dough
- 3 cup (390 g) all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- A pinch of baking soda
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp powdered ginger
- 1/4 tsp cloves
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 cup (113 g) unsalted butter
- 2/3 cup (160 ml) honey (or molasses)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
Royal icing
- 0.6 cups (150 g) powdered sugar
- pinch of salt
- 1 egg white
You will also need
- edible glitter, pearls and other decorations
Instructions
- Whisk together flour, soda, salt and spices.
- Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add vanilla, honey and egg and beat until well combined. Gradually add the flour mixture beating until incorporated.
- Divide the dough in half, and wrap each half in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least two hours.
- Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C) and place rack in center of oven. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- On a floured surface, roll out the dough to a thickness of about 1/4 inch (0.5 cm). Use a shaped cookie cutter to cut out the cookies. With an offset spatula lift the cookies onto the baking sheet. If you are hanging the cookies or using as gift tags, make a hole at the top of the cookies with a wooden skewer.
- Bake for 10 minutes. They are done when they are firm and the edges are just beginning to brown. Remove the cookies from the oven and let cool.
- Make royal icing: beat egg white with a pinch of salt until stiff peaks form. Gradually add powdered sugar. Put the mixture into piping bag and pipe out decorations over cookies. You can tint icing with some edible colors. Add decorations on the icing while it’s still wet (it dries quickly).
- Let dry. Store in an airtight container. These cookies can be stored for weeks.