Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Christmas Treats!


This year i made some yummy gingerbread snowflakes... I wish i had a picture of the counter after i had made them because i had no less than a hundred cookies all frosted !  but here is what a few of them looked like... they are a martha stewart recipe and i have had many requests for the recipe so i thought i would just post it on the blog :)  

Gingerbread Snowflakes* 

-6 cups flour ( plus more for work surface)
-1 tsp baking soda
-1/2 tsp baking powder
-1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
-1 cup packed dark-brown sugar
-4 tsp ground ginger
-4 tsp ground cinnamon
-1 1/2 tsp ground cloves
-1 tsp pepper
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
-2 large eggs
-1 cup unsulphured mollasses
Royal icing (directions below)
Fine sanding sugar, for sprinkling

1.  sift together flour, baking soda, and baking powder and set aside.
2. put butter and brown sugar in the  bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix med. speed until fluffy.  Mix in spices and salt, then eggs and mollasses.  reduce speed to low.  add flour mixture; mix until just combined.  divide into thirds and wrap each third in plastic.  refrigerate until cold, about an hour.  
3. preheat to 350*.  Roll out dough on a lightly floured work surface to 1/4 inch thick.  cut out shapes.  i used a snowflake shape.  space 2 inches apart on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and refrigerate until firm, about 15 min. 
4.  bake cookies until crisp but not dark, 12-14 min.  let cool on wire racks.  
5.  after cookies are fully cooled, ice and let icing set at room temperature about an hour.... then you can package as you like :)

Royal icing

-1 lb powdered sugar
-5 tablespoons of meringue powder (can be found in cake decorating isle)

Mix sugar, powder, and 1/2 cup water .  mix on low for 7 min ... if icing to thick add water tiny bits at a time ( easy to add too much water!)  if too thin i just added more powdered sugar until it was not runny.  




6 comments:

Jess said...

I loved the cookies! They were so cute, I almost didn't want to eat them. But we did, and they were delish. Thanks for the recipe.

Leslee said...

These are so cute! I can't believe how you just bake up a batch of 100 plus snowflake cookies!!! You're amazing! Guess I'll have to make a batch to see how they taste, but I believe you when you say they're yummy... they are beautiful! xoxoxo Mom

Anonymous said...

Thanks Laura! We are always so impressed with your creativity! You are so talented!

Jill said...

They were so yummy, not to mention adorable. You are so creative. Everything you touch turns to a perfect creation. Good job

harmony marie said...

Wow, those are awesome....excellent idea with photo and recipe.

Anna said...

I have been rationing my cookies, because I don't want them to be gone and I know when I make them they won't turn out half as good. Thanks for the recipe and cookies :)