Gingerbread

Christmas always equals gingerbread in my opinion.  I love it.  The spices, the sharpness, the chewiness, and, of course, the frosting from decorating them.  I've been in charge of making the gingerbread for my family's Christmas for many years and I think I finally created a recipe that I love.  I combined a bunch of various recipes and added my own ingredients to create it. 

Just a couple of pointers:  Do not over flour the board when you're rolling them out.  Too much flour will create a tougher, drier cookie, which is not good to eat.  Also, do not overbake.  The best gingerbreads are the ones that are soft on the inside.  Third, do not roll too thin.  Thin cookies burn very easily and thicker cookies have a better texture.  Last, do not be afraid.  I know that rolling out cookies can seem daunting, but trust me, they're not hard to make and they are very rewarding. 

Roll into a variety of shapes, ice, and decorate. 

Gingerbread Cookies

3 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 (heaping) teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons ground ginger

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

½ teaspoon salt

1 ½ sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature

¾ cup brown sugar

2/3 cup unsulfured molasses

1 egg at room temperature

Sift flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt into a bowl and set aside

In a large bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar with a mixer until light and fluffy

Beat in molasses and egg

Gradually mix in dry ingredients to make a stiff batter

Divide the dough into 2 disks and wrap each in plastic wrap

Refrigerate until chilled, about 2-3 hours or up to 2 days (You can also freeze the dough)

Preheat oven to 350 and line baking sheets with parchment paper

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let warm slightly so the dough doesn’t crack

Place dough on floured work surface and sprinkle the top with flour (do not over flour- this will make a tough cookie.  Only use enough flour so your rolling pin doesn’t stick and the dough doesn’t stick to the surface.  Your cookies should not look white with flour when you go to bake them)

Roll out dough with a rolling pin to about 1/8 inch thick (if you like thicker, softer cookies, roll to ¼ inch thick)

Using cookie cutters, cut the cookies into desired shapes and place on parchment paper lined baking sheets

Knead the scraps of dough together to form another disk and roll out again- keep doing this until you have used all of the scraps (if dough become too warm, place back into the refrigerator)

Bake for about 8-10 min. until cookies are done, but still slightly soft

Keep cookies on the baking sheet for about 3 minutes, and then transfer them to cooling racks to cool completely

Frost with your frosting of choice (optional)