Gingerbread Man Cookies

Posted 10/27/2009 @ 11:03:22 am by todaysbaker.com

No cookie says Christmas more than a gingerbread man cookie. And, you'll see by the header on my website that the gingerbread man is a favorite icon. So, here's a recipe for the traditional gingerbread man cookie. I hope you enjoy making it sometime during the holidays!

3-1/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) unsalted butter (room temperature, softened)
1/2 cup dark-brown sugar, packed
1 Tbsp. ground ginger
1 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon finely ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1/2 cup unsulfured molasses
Raisins, chocolate chips, candy pieces, frosting (optional)

1. In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, and spices. Set aside.
2. In an electric mixer, cream butter. Add sugar and beat until fluffy. Mix in eggs and molasses. Gradually add the flour mixture; combine on low speed. (You may need to work it with your hands to incorporate the last bit of flour.) Divide dough in thirds; wrap each third in plastic. Chill for at least 1 hour or overnight. Before rolling out, let sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes. If after refrigerating the dough feels too soft to roll-out, work in a little more flour.
3. Heat oven to 350ºF. Place a dough third on a large piece of lightly floured parchment paper or wax paper. Using a rolling pin, roll dough 1/8 inch thick. Refrigerate again for 5-10 minutes to make it easier to cut out the cookies. Use either a cookie cutter or place a stencil over the dough and use a knife to cut into desired shapes. Press raisins, chocolate chips or candy pieces in the center of each cookie if desired for "buttons".
4. Transfer to ungreased baking sheets. Bake until crisp but not darkened, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from oven. Let sit a few minutes and then use a metal spatula to transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Decorate as desired. (Makes 16 5-inch long cookies.)

Royal Icing: The traditional way to make Royal Icing is to beat 1 egg white and 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice together, adding about 1-3/4 cup confectioners sugar (powdered sugar) until mixture holds stiff peaks. With modern concerns about salmonella from raw eggs, you can either use powdered egg whites or heat the egg whites first to kill any bacteria. With the heating method, mix the egg white and lemon juice with a third of the sugar, heat in a microwave until mixture's temperature is 160ºF. Remove from microwave and beat in remaining sugar until stiff peaks form. Using the powdered egg whites method, combine 1 Tbsp. egg white powder with 2 Tbsp. water. Proceed as you would otherwise.

If icing is too runny, add more powdered sugar. Fill a piping bag with icing to pipe out into different shapes. (Or use a plastic sandwich bag with the tip of one corner of the bag cut off.) Keep icing covered while you work with it or it will dry out.

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