Best Gingerbread Cookie Cutouts Recipes

GINGERBREAD COOKIE CUTOUTS

Steps:

• Cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and molasses. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt and spices; gradually beat into creamed mixture. Divide dough in half; shape each into a disk. Wrap in plastic; refrigerate, covered, until firm enough to roll, 4 hours or overnight., Preheat oven to 350°. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to 1/8-in. thickness. Cut 60 gingerbread men using a floured 3-1/2-in. cookie cutter. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. If desired, cut sixty 1-1/4-in. triangles for hats; attach to gingerbread cutouts, pressing edges to seal. If desired, cut sixty 1/4-in. circles; attach to hats for pompoms. , Bake cookies until edges are firm, 8-10 minutes. Remove to wire racks; cool completely., Tint some of the frosting red; use red frosting for hats and buttons. Cut a small hole in the corner of a pastry bag or heavy-duty resealable plastic bag; insert #3 round pastry tip. Fill bag with white frosting; pipe faces and trim on hands and feet. Using a #16 star pastry tip, pipe decorations on hats.

GINGERBREAD CUTOUTS (COOKIE EXCHANGE QUANTITY)

Steps:

• In large bowl, stir together brown sugar, shortening, molasses and water. Stir in remaining cookie ingredients. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours.
• Heat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease cookie sheet. On floured surface, roll dough 1/8 inch thick. Cut with floured gingerbread cutter or other favorite shaped cutter. Place about 2 inches apart on cookie sheet.
• Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until no indentation remains when touched (for a softer, chewier cookie, bake 8 to 10 minutes). Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.
• In large bowl, stir together all frosting ingredients until smooth and spreadable. Decorate cookies with frosting.

GINGERBREAD COOKIE CUTOUTS

Steps:

• Melt the shortening and butter together in a medium saucepan. Let cool.
• Sift the flour, sugar, ginger, cinnamon, salt and clove into a large bowl. Mix the melted butter into the flour mixture with an electric mixer on medium-low until sandy. Add the corn syrup and vanilla, and mix until evenly incorporated, but still crumbly in texture. Press the dough together by hand and divide into 4 equal portions. Press into disks about 1/2-inch thick. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to overnight.
• Dust the dough and a work surface with flour. Roll 1 piece of the dough out about 1/4-inch thick. Cut into desired shapes. Transfer cut-outs to 2 parchment-lined baking sheets leaving about 2-inches in between each. Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes. Gather up the scraps, re-roll and cut out.
• Position oven racks to the top and bottom thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Bake the gingerbread until a rich tawny brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes and then transfer to a rack to cool completely. Decorate as desired with the Royal Icing. Store at room temperature in an air-tight container for up to 5 days. Repeat with the remaining dough.
• Combine the confectioners' sugar, meringue powder and 3/4 cup water in a large bowl. Mix slowly with an electric mixer on medium-low until stiff enough to form peaks. The icing should be pure white and thick, but not fluffy and bubbly. If the frosting is over beaten, it will get aerated which makes it harder to work with. If this happens, let the frosting sit to settle, and then use a rubber spatula to vigorously beat and smooth out the frosting.
• Add up to 1 tablespoon food coloring and mix with a rubber spatula until the color is uniform. (Adding too much color reduces the sheen of the frosting and can break down the consistency of the frosting over a couple of days.) Store the icing, covered, with plastic wrap on the surface.

GINGERBREAD CUPCAKES WITH COOKIE CUTOUTS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Sift together flour and spices.
• With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add the molasses, and beat until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in vanilla. Reduce speed to low. Gradually add flour mixture, beating until just combined.
• Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool 10 minutes; turn out cupcakes onto racks and let cool completely. Cupcakes can be stored up to 2 days at room temperature, or frozen up to 3 months, in airtight containers.
• Tint 1/4 cup icing pale pink with gel-paste food color; tint remaining icing pale blue. Transfer tinted icings to pastry bags fitted with small plain tips (#2). Pipe three blue dots on the front of each gingerbread cookie boy; pipe two pink dots on gingerbread girls.
• To finish, use an offset spatula to spread each cupcake with a smooth layer of frosting. Place a gingerbread boy or girl upright on each cupcake before serving.

GINGERBREAD COOKIE CUTOUTS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, stir together the brown sugar, molasses, oil, egg substitute, and sugar.
• In a medium bowl, stir together 3 cups flour, the baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, baking soda, cloves, and salt. Gradually add to the brown sugar mixture, stirring to form a soft dough. Return the dough to the medium bowl, cover tightly, and refrigerate for 2 to 12 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly spray two baking sheets with cooking spray. Set aside.
• Sprinkle the remaining flour on a flat work surface. Roll half the cookie dough to 1/8-inch thickness. Dip the edges of cookie cutters in flour, shaking off the excess. Cut out the cookies, continuing to dip the cookie cutters in flour as needed to keep the dough from sticking. Transfer the cookies to one of the baking sheets. Repeat with the remaining dough.
• Bake for 5 to 6 minutes, or until the cookies are slightly firm to the touch (they shouldn't brown). Transfer the baking sheets to cooling racks. Let the cookies cool slightly. Transfer the cookies to the cooling racks. When the cookies have cooled completely, store them in airtight tins for up to one week.
• COOK'S TIP ON MOLASSES
• A by-product of sugar refining, molasses is available in three grades: light (or mild), dark, and blackstrap. Light molasses is the lightest in body and color and the sweetest in taste. Many pancake and waffle syrups include light molasses, which can replace or supplement sugar or honey in some cooking. Dark molasses is more robust, thicker, less sweet, and darker in color. Its distinct flavor spices up foods such as gingerbread, gingerbread cookies, and baked beans. Light and dark molasses are interchangeable, depending on your taste preference; blackstrap molasses, however, is bitter and shouldn't be used unless your recipe specifically calls for it.
• Nutrition information
• (Per serving)
• Calories: 172
• Total fat: 3.5g
• Saturated: 0.5g
• Trans: 0.0g
• Polyunsaturated: 1.0g
• Monounsaturated: 2.0g
• Cholesterol: 0mg
• Sodium: 103mg
• Carbohydrates: 33g
• Fiber: 1g
• Sugars: 15g
• Protein: 3g
• Calcium: 45mg
• Potassium: 172mg
• Dietary Exchanges
• 2 other carbohydrate
• 1/2 fat

GINGERBREAD CUTOUTS (COOKIE EXCHANGE QUANTITY)

Steps:

• In large bowl, stir together brown sugar, shortening, molasses and water. Stir in remaining cookie ingredients. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours.
• Heat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease cookie sheet. On floured surface, roll dough 1/8 inch thick. Cut with floured gingerbread cutter or other favorite shaped cutter. Place about 2 inches apart on cookie sheet.
• Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until no indentation remains when touched (for a softer, chewier cookie, bake 8 to 10 minutes). Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.
• In large bowl, stir together all frosting ingredients until smooth and spreadable. Decorate cookies with frosting.