When Christmas lights go up around town, my thoughts turn to...
Gingerbread Cookies!
1 1/2 c. molasses
1 c. dark brown sugar, firmly packed
2/3 c. cold water
1/3 c. Crisco
7 c. flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. cloves
2 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. allspice
1 tsp. salt
Combine molasses, brown sugar, Crisco and water. Add remaining ingredients to combine. Refrigerate several hours or overnight.
Roll dough 1/4 inch thick on a lightly floured board. Cut into gingerbread boy or girl shapes with floured cookie cutters. Place shapes 1 1/2 to 2 inches apart on lightly greased cookie sheets and bake in a 350 degree preheated oven. remove from cookie sheets and cool on wire racks. When thoroughly cooled, decorate with vanilla frosting.
Vanilla frosting:
4 c. confectioners sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
6 tbsp. cream
Beat together till smooth and add food coloring to tint to desired color or use plain.
These are a few thoughts on my gingerbread or sugar cookie decorating ideas.
1. white frosting is often prettier than colored frosting
2. you don't need to make a whole face, just a bow at the neck or a raisin button can be cuter and less overdone
3. if you intend to do several batches, invest in a good pastry bag and tips from a bakery supply store. The cheap bags are hard to use.
4. if you are going to only decorate one time, cut a tiny bit off of the corner of a plastic bag, and use that as the pastry bag. It works.
5. for Christmas, the silver sugar balls they sell make the cookies look really elegant
6. raisins, nuts, peppermint pieces, red hot candy, etc., can be used as buttons or decorations, instead of all frosting.
7. I often just take white frosting and swirl it in a diagonal pattern across the cookie. It is easy, looks great, and takes only a few minutes.
9. Add a little lemon flavoring to the frosting to make it a bit zippy. People don't know why it tastes so good. But be careful and don't add more than a drop to a bowl of frosting. Too much flavoring just tastes bitter.
10. Be careful not to overbake cookies. Brown edges are bad. The cookie should be just baked, but not browned.
Have fun!
