Best Gingerbread Boys And Girls Recipes

GINGERBREAD BOYS

Steps:

• Cream the butter and the sugar together. Add the egg and mix well. Mix in the orange peel and dark corn syrup. Add the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, ground cloves and salt, mixing until well combined. Chill dough for at least 2 hours, I like to chill overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough out to 1/4 inch thick. Cut into desired shapes using cookie cutters. Place cookies 1 inch apart on the prepared cookie sheets.
• Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven, until cookies are firm and lightly toasted on the edges.

GINGERBREAD BOY COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, combine the butter, sugar, molasses and vinegar; bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat; cool to lukewarm. Stir in egg. Combine the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon and salt; stir into molasses mixture to form a soft dough., Divide dough into thirds. Shape each portion into a disk; wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or until easy to handle., On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to 1/4-in. thickness. Cut with a floured 3-in. gingerbread boy cookie cutter. Place on greased baking sheets. Bake at 375° for 7-9 minutes or until edges are firm. Remove to wire racks; cool completely. Decorate as desired.

BASIC GINGERBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in spices and salt. Add eggs and molasses; mix well. With the machine on low speed, gradually add flour mixture, and beat until combined. Divide the dough into thirds, and wrap each piece of dough in plastic. Chill at least 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with Silpat nonstick baking mats or parchment paper. Set aside. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out dough to 1/8 inch thick. Cut into gingerbread boys and girls. Transfer to prepared baking sheets.
• To decorate cookies: Press currants into dough to create buttons. Bake cookies until crisp but not darkened, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack. Let cool completely.
• Decorate cooled cookies with Royal Icing.

CHOCOLATE GINGERBREAD BOYS AND GIRLS

Steps:

• Microwave 1 1/2 cups morsels in medium, uncovered, microwave-safe bowl on HIGH (100%) power for 1 minute; STIR. The morsels may retain some of their original shape. If necessary, microwave at additional 10- to 15-second intervals, stirring just until melted. Cool to room temperature.
• Combine flour, baking soda, salt, ginger and cinnamon in medium bowl. Beat butter and sugar in small mixer bowl until creamy; beat in molasses and melted chocolate. Gradually add flour mixture alternately with water, beating until smooth. Cover; refrigerate for 1 hour or until firm.
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Roll half of dough to ¼-inch thickness on floured surface with floured rolling pin. Cut dough into gingerbread boy and girl shapes using cookie cutters or a stencil. Place on ungreased baking sheets. Repeat with remaining dough.
• Bake for 5 to 6 minutes or until edges are set but centers are still slightly soft. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.
• Place remaining morsels in heavy-duty plastic bag. Microwave on HIGH (100%) power for 30 to 45 seconds; knead. Microwave for 10 seconds; knead until smooth. Cut tiny corner from bag; squeeze to pipe chocolate. Decorate cookies with piped chocolate and prepared frosting or icing.

GLUTEN-FREE GINGERBREAD CUTOUT COOKIES

Steps:

• In large bowl, beat sugar, butter and molasses with electric mixer on medium speed until well mixed, or mix with spoon. Beat in egg until blended. In medium bowl, stir together flour blend, baking soda, xanthan gum, cinnamon, ginger, salt, cloves and nutmeg. Stir dry ingredients into sugar mixture. Cover and refrigerate about 1 hour or until firm.
• Heat oven to 375°F. On work surface sprinkled with flour blend, roll half of dough at a time 1/8 ­inch thick. (Keep remaining dough refrigerated until ready to roll.) Cut with 2 1/2-­inch gingerbread boy or girl cookie cutter dipped into flour blend. Place 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet.
• Bake 7 to 9 minutes or until set. Remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack; cool completely, about 15 minutes.
• In small microwavable bowl, microwave white vanilla baking chips and shortening uncovered on Medium-High (70%) 1 minute; stir. Microwave 15 seconds at a time until mixture can be stirred smooth. Place in decorating bag fitted with small round tip. Pipe on cookies as desired, and decorate with candies.