Gingerbread Cutouts Recipe With Gift Wrapping
Emily Kate Roemer (food styling by Christine Albano)
Recipe by Food Network Magazine
Time: 2 hours, 30 minutes
Makes: about 30 cookies
Ingredients
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 teaspoon ground ginger
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/3 cup molasses
1/3 cup superfine sugar
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
Coarse sugar, for decorating
Instructions
1. Whisk the flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, allspice, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl.
2. Beat the butter, molasses, and superfine sugar in a large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce the mixer speed to low; add the flour mixture in 2 batches, and beat until just incorporated. Divide the dough in half, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until firm, at least 30 minutes and up to overnight.
3. Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 375˚F. Working with 1 piece of dough at a time, roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface until about 1/8 inch thick. Cut out shapes using 3-inch-tall cookie cutters, and arrange on 2 ungreased baking sheets. Gather the scraps and refrigerate until firm; reroll once to cut out more cookies. Refrigerate the cutouts until firm, about 10 minutes.
4. Bake the cookies, switching the position of the pans halfway through, until the edges are just browned and set, 12 to 15 minutes. Let the cookies cool 2 minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer them to racks to cool completely.
5. Make the icing: Whisk the confectioners’ sugar with 1 tablespoon boiling water in a small bowl; add 1 teaspoon water if the icing is too thick. Transfer to a resealable plastic bag, and snip a small corner. Pipe the icing onto the cookies; sprinkle with coarse sugar. Let set about 30 minutes.
Gift-Wrapping Instructions
Holiday Baking
Fun ways to make, give, and keep holiday cookies
Photo by: Emily Kate Roemer (food styling by Christine Albano)
Emily Kate Roemer (food styling by Christine Albano)
1. Adhere a piece of rickrack to the top of a house-shaped paper gift box with crafts glue, then glue thinner rickrack to the front of the box to make windows. Slice gumdrops in half and glue them below the windows.
2. Download the template for the door gift tag here. Print it on sticker paper, and fill it out. Remove the sticker’s backing and adhere the tag to the box.
3. Stand cookies up inside the box, then close it. Tie a bow on top with gingham ribbon.
