Gingerbread Cookies
Ingredients:
5 ½ Cups All-Purpose Flour
1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
1 Tablespoon + 2 teaspoons Ginger, ground
1 teaspoon Clove, ground
¼ teaspoon Cardamom, ground
½ teaspoon Nutmeg, ground
12 ounces Butter, room temperature
2 teaspoon Kosher Salt
1 Cup Ginger Sugar (see recipe below)
½ Cup + 2 Tablespoons Sugar
1/8 Cup Brown Sugar
2 each Lemons, zest only
1 Cup Molasses
1 each Extra-Large Eggs
1 each Egg Yolks
¼ Cup Buttermilk
2 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon Water
Method:
Sift first 6 ingredients and set aside. Whisk eggs and buttermilk together and set aside. Place butter and salt in bowl of standing mixer, mix on low to smooth butter. Add ginger sugar and lemon zest and mix till smooth. Scrape down and add molasses, mix until smooth.
Mix baking soda and water together and whisk into egg mixture then add to mixer in two additions, scraping in between additions and mixing until smooth. Add flour in 3 additions, scraping down in between.
Remove bowl from mixer and make certain dough is completely homogenous before wrapping in 4 packages, roughly 2 inches thick. Dough must be refrigerated until firm enough to roll, preferably overnight so flavor can also develop.
Roll cold dough out in batches to 1/4 inch thick. Refrigerate again before cutting stars.
Brush stars with a mixture of 1 part water to 1 part corn syrup and bake at 350 degrees until center springs back when touched.
Ginger Sugar
Ingredients:
1 Pound Sugar
½ Pound Sliced, candied Ginger
Method:
Place sugar and rough chopped ginger in bowl of food processor and grind until the mixture resembles sand & the ginger is broken down.
Cream Cheese Icing
Ingredients:
1 Pound Cream Cheese, room temperature
¾ Pound Butter, soft
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
½ teaspoon Almond Extract
1 ½ Pounds Sifted Powdered Sugar
Method:
Place cream cheese in mixer with paddle. Mix until smooth then add butter (should be same temperature and consistency as cream cheese). In 2 additions, scraped down mixer and add extracts. Begin adding sugar and scraping down as needed.
Gingerbread Wishes
