Gingerbread Snowflakes

Can you believe this is the last recipe of 2010? Thank you to all my followers, readers and supporters– I couldn’t of made it this far without you.2010 came and went in what feels like a flash. No tangible new year resolutions for me yet yet, but somewhere down that list, I want to remind myself to be thankful for my successes, and the courage to make it through any defeats. A lot of that thank you has to go to my loyal readers and supporters, who submit suggestions and post comments on this itty bitty blog. I love every single one of you, and guess what? You’re the reason I do this.

I’m wrapping the year with a recipe for snowflake gingerbread snaps– the dough is a little tempermental, but if you have patience with it, you’ll have some great cookies. Feel free to use any cookie cutter shape– the edge of a round glass works great if you don’t have any around. These are the ones I have, but I used only the medium sized cutter.

Enjoy, and have  a safe and successful 2011, and see you in the new year. xo

Snowflake Gingerbread Snaps

[Yields ~ 20,  2 1/2" dia. cookies.]

Ingredients:

- 5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour + 1/2 cup for dusting

- 1 teaspoon baking soda

- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

- 1 cup packed dark-brown sugar

- 4 teaspoons ground ginger

- 4 teaspoons ground cinnamon

- 2 teaspoons all spice

- 1 teaspoon finely ground pepper

- 1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt

- 2 large eggs

- 1 cup molasses

+ royal icing, parchment triangles make piping easier

+ fine sanding sugar, for sprinkling

+ plastic wrap

+ rolling pin

+ parchment paper lined cookie sheets

Directions:

1. Sift together flour, baking soda, and baking powder into a large bowl. Set aside.

2. Using the paddle attachment of your electric mixer, cream together butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy, ~ 2-3 minutes. Scrape down mixture, and add eggs one at a time, scraping the bowl after each addition. Mix in spices and salts and molasses. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture; mix until just combined– don’t over blend, or you’ll have a tough cookie dough.

3. My dough was a little crumbly at first, and it took a little bit of kneading to render a workable dough. Divide dough into thirds, flatten into disks; wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold (~ 30 min)

4. While the cookies are chilling, prepare your royal icing (cover as soon as you prepare it, to keep from drying) and parchment triangles

5. Preheat oven to 350′F . Roll out dough on a lightly floured work surface to a 1/4-inch thick– I found it easier to place a piece of plastic wrap on top of the dough prior to rolling. Dip your cookie cutter into flour, and cut out shapes from the dough. Space cookies on a cookie sheet, and bake for 10-12 minutes until crisp, but not too dark. This is a little tricky, but remember that cookies bake for an additional 2-3 minutes once you remove them from the oven, so you should keep a close eye on them.

6. Put icing in a parchment triangles, and pipe designs on cookies; immediately sprinkle with sugar, tapping off excess. Let icing set completely at room temperature, about 1 hour. Store cookies between layers of parchment in an airtight container at room temperature up to 5 days.