Classic Gingerbread Cookies with Royal Icing (Adapted from Southern Living December 2011 and Martha Stewart Royal Icing)
Ingredients
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 cup hot water
1 cup molasses
5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tablespoons ground ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
For Royal Icing
5 tablespoons Meringue Powder
1 lb box confectioners sugar
1/2 of water
(This makes a lot, half of this recipe - 8 ounces of powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons meringue powder and 1/4 cup of water is enough to frost most of these cookies, though not all of them)
Decorative Sugar
Directions:
- Cream butter and sugar in standing mixer with paddle attachment until the mixture is fluffy.
- Combine the baking soda with 1/4 cup of hot water and stir until dissolved. Mix in the molasses.
- Stir together the flour and next four ingredients.
- With mixer on low, add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, alternating with the molasses mixture, ending with the flour.
- Shape the mixture into a ball and wrap with plastic. Chill for 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Line two or three baking sheets with parchment.
- Take dough and roll out into a large rectangle 1/4 inch thick. Use cookie cutters to cut out shapes.
- Lay cookies on parchment lined sheets.
- Bake cookies until puffed and browned, about 12 - 15 minutes.
- Let cool on baking sheet for 2 minutes then carefully remove cookies from sheet and let cool completely on rack.
- When cookies are cooled, start icing.
- Combine the meringue powder, sugar and water in mixer with whisk attachment. Beat on medium spread for several minutes(7-8) until the frosting is thick and glossy and increased in volume. For a better tasting frosting, add half a teaspoon of vanilla.
- To frost, add frosting to a plastic bag and snip off the end, treat the bag like a little piping bag and pipe frosting.
- Immediately sprinkle with decorating sugar since the royal icing dries quickly!
NICE ARTICLE
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