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Gingerbread People Cookies

December 27, 2013 //
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Christmas day, Laura and I made Gingerbread cookies! We had a gingerbread men and gingerbread women cookie cutters so we had gingerbread people! The cookies themselves are so soft and delicious and decorating them was even more fun! We used cinnamon candy balls, black gel icing, and powdered sugar/vanilla icing to decorate. Original recipe here.

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon ground ginger
  • 1 3/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/2 cup molasses
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla

Directions

Preheat oven to 375°. Prepare baking sheets by lining with parchment paper. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves until well blended. In a large bowl (KitchenAid’s great for this) beat butter, brown sugar, and egg on medium speed until well blended. Add molasses and vanilla and continue to mix until well blended. Gradually stir in dry ingredients until blended and smooth. Divide dough in half and wrap each half in plastic and let stand at room temperature for at least 2 hours or up to 8 hours. (Dough can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 4 days, but in this case it should be refrigerated. Return to room temp before using.) Grease or line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Place 1 portion of the dough on a lightly floured surface. Sprinkle flour over dough and rolling pin. Roll dough to a scant 1/4-inch thick. Use additional flour to avoid sticking. Cut out cookies with desired cutter– the ginger bread man is our favorite of course. Space cookies 1 1/2-inches apart. Bake 1 sheet at a time for 7-10 minutes (the lower time will give you softer cookies– very good!). Remove cookie sheet from oven and allow the cookies to stand until the cookies are firm enough to move to a wire rack. After cookies are cool you may decorate them any way you like. You can brush them with a powdered sugar glaze but they look wonderful decorated with Royal icing.
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We also made (boxed) sugar cookies that day and made trees and stars! So much sweet goodness for such a great holiday! 🙂

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Categories Cookies, Holidays, Uncategorized

Reindeer Cookies

December 27, 2013 //
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In preparation for Christmas, Cristina, Laura and I made these reindeer cookies! I’ll be honest and say that the cookies did not come out very well. I’m not sure if it was the recipe or if we missed something but I’m sure if you use any cookie recipe that does not raise too much in the oven, you can still make them look like reindeer by decorating them as such! Ultimately, the most fun part of this recipe is the decorating! You can see the original recipe here.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 cup smooth natural peanut butter
  • 3/4 cup pure maple syrup
  • 32 chocolate chips (we used black gel icing)
  • 32 small pretzels
  • 16 cinnamon candy balls

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and sea salt. In a separate smaller bowl, whisk together the peanut butter and maple syrup until smooth. Add the peanut butter/syrup mixture to the flour mixture in the medium-sized bowl and mix until combined. Roll a tablespoon-size amount of dough in your hands to make a ball. Create a point on the bottom edge of the dough for the reindeer’s’ face. Place the dough ball onto a parchment lined baking sheet and press down slightly with your hand. Leave a 1 1/2 space between the cookies on the pan, as they will expand. Add 2 chocolate chips for the eyes, two pretzels for the antlers and a Swedish berry, dried cranberry or dried cherry for the red nose. Repeat to make 16 cookies. Place in the oven to bake for 8-10 minutes.

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The ears didn’t stick too well but the ones that did looked adorable!

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All the baking we did that night! More recipes to come!

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Categories Cookies, Holidays
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