Gingerbread cookies

Christmas is nearing and it is the most wonderful time of the year for most of us! What’s this festive season without Gingerbread cookies? Bake the cookies in advance, and get the family together to decorate it for a fun bonding activity. Personalise cookies to give away to loved ones. Nothing is more priceless than personalized edibles made with love!

Recipe by Sharon Lam from Cookit.sg.

Yields about 40, 2.5” tall cookies

Ingredients:

450g All-purpose flour

150g packed brown sugar

1 Egg

86g Unsalted butter softened

½ tsp Baking soda

1½ tsp Baking powder

½ cup molasses

1 tbsp Ginger powder

2 tsp Cinnamon powder

¼ tsp Ground Cloves

¼ tsp Salt

2 tsp Vanilla extract

1 pack royal Icing mix (available at Phoon Huat)

More flour for dusting

Method:

1. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, clove, ginger, and salt into a large mixing bowl.
2. In your mixer, beat together butter, brown sugar, egg and vanilla extract until combined.
3. Pour in the molasses and beat for 30 seconds.
4. With a mixer on medium-low, gradually add in flour mixture.
5. Beat until combined, scraping down the sides to ensure everything is mixed in together.
6. The dough will be quite soft, but it will firm up after resting.
7. Divide dough into 2 and place each dough on a cling wrap.
8. Wrap it up, and set the dough aside in a cool place for 2 hours (don’t skip this!) for the flavor to develop and for the dough to firm up.
9. You can prepare the dough the night before and place it in the fridge overnight. Dough can also be prepared about 4 days in advance.
10. When ready to cut out the cookies, preheat the oven to 180°C.
11. Place dough between 2 sheets of baking paper.
12. Then roll out to ¼ inch thick using a rolling pin.
13. If the dough is too sticky, simply dust it with flour to make it workable for you.
14. Cut out gingerbread cookies, and gently remove the edges.
15. Transfer parchment paper with cookies on top to a baking tray and bake for 7-9 minutes.
16. Bake longer if you like crispy cookies, and shorter baking time if you like softer cookies.
17. Continue rolling and cutting with the rest of the dough, baking one sheet at a time.
18. Transfer baked cookies onto a wire rack to cool completely before icing.
19. Prepare Royal Icing following package instructions. Tint if desired and decorate away!
20. Allow icing to dry completely before storing in individual baggies or air-tight containers.