The holidays wouldn’t be the same without a good gingerbread recipe! Not only are these sweet treats oh, so tasty, but they are a real show stopper as well. I discovered this amazing recipe on the Cupcakes and Cashmere Blog a few years ago and it has been a family favorite ever since. I believe the original recipe was from Martha Stewart so you know it is a good one.
The cookies were dressed up using some royal icing. If you don’t have a favorite recipe for it, you can hop over to the Cupcake and Cashmere Blog for a great tutorial.
The fine sanding sugar really adds something special to this twist on the classic gingerbread cookie.
These delicious cookies are sure to bring on the Christmas spirit. Remember – it’s never too early to start enjoying the holidays!
Thanks for the visit and I wish you a very happy holiday season!
INGREDIENTS
- 6 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
- 1 cup packed dark-brown sugar
- 4 teaspoons ground ginger
- 4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon finely ground pepper
- 1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup unsulfured molasses
- Royal Icing
- Fine sanding sugar, for sprinkling
DIRECTIONS
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Sift together flour, baking soda, and baking powder into a large bowl. Set aside.
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Put butter and brown sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until fluffy. Mix in spices and salt, then eggs and molasses. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture; mix until just combined. Divide dough into thirds; wrap each in plastic. Refrigerate until cold, about 1 hour.
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll out dough on a lightly floured work surface to a 1/4-inch thick. Cut into snowflakes with a 7- inch snowflake-shape cookie cutter. Space 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper and refrigerate until firm, about 15 minutes.
Bake cookies until crisp but not dark, 12 to 14 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks.
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Put icing in a pastry bag fitted with a small plain round tip (such as Ateco #7). Pipe designs on snowflakes; immediately sprinkle with sanding sugar. Let stand 5 minutes; tap off excess sugar. Let icing set completely at room temperature, about 1 hour.
