Gingerbread Cookies

I'm a little disappointed with myself not having baked more for the Holidays, but I did manage to make some gingerbread cookies and sugar cookies this past Sunday. I'll probably try out some peppermint truffles on Thursday (day off- yay!) so I guess three things isn't all that bad. These gingerbread cookies turned out pretty good, and I'll definitely be making them again.

I got this recipe out of The New Baking Book (which I got for $6.98 at a used book store... score!).

Ingredients

1/2 Cup shortening
1/2 Cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground ginger (I used freshly ground, which has the best flavor!)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 Cup molasses
1 Egg
1 Tbs vinegar
2 1/2 Cups all purpose flour
Powdered Sugar Icing (Recipe below)

In your mixer, beat shortening on medium to high for 30 seconds.

Add sugar, baking powder, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon and cloves. Beat until completely combined, scraping the sides of the bowl periodically.

(Did I mention I got an awesome new camera as an early X-mas present? Well, I DID!)

Beat in molasses, eggs and vinegar until combined.

Check out Derrick's mean one-handed egg crackin skills! I wasn't sure what to think when I saw the recipe call for vinegar. I looked it up a bit online and saw suggestions that it's used to either cut the acidity or sweetness. Whether that's the case or not, I can't say. I can say, I wouldn't bother trying to make them without it.

Gradually beat in all of the flour. The dough will end up thick and a bit crumbly.

Divide dough in half and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 3 hours. (Chilling the dough will make it easy to work with later. Don't rush and skip this step!)

After the dough has been chilling for awhile, you can prepare the icing. Don't do it too early, or it will start to harden.

Powdered Sugar Icing (AKA the easiest thing you will ever make!)

1 Cup sifted powdered sugar

1/4 tsp vanilla

3 Tbs milk (amount is approximate, add 1 Tbs at a time until the consistency is perfect)

Sift the sugar, add the vanilla and add the milk 1 Tbs at a time, until it drizzles. That's it! I split it into two batches and added food coloring, to make the cookies more festive.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the gingerbread to 1/8", one half of the batch at a time. Use cookie cutters to cut our your cookies and place them onto greased cookie sheets. Using a thin metal spatula to pick them up helps to ensure you won't rip the dough. (A couple of my snowmen were headless.)

Bake each batch for 5-6 minutes. Cool on the pan for one minute and then transfer onto wire racks to cool completely. Once cooled, drizzle the icing onto your cookies. Allow them to sit a good hour or more, so the icing hardens. It was late and I rushed that step, which made the cookies stick together. Still- delish!

One day I'll get crazy and do some fancy decorating. Until then, these will have to do.

Happy Holidays everyone!