By Catherine McCord
It was always a tradition when I was growing up to make holiday cookies come this time of year. I used to love rolling out the sugar cookie and gingerbread dough with my mother, cutting the cookies into fun shapes and then decorating them. I wanted to continue that tradition with Kenya, but the thought of making cookies with tons of sugar didn’t seem like such a good idea (Kenya jumping off the walls at bed time never appeals to me), so we stuck with gingerbread. This recipe does have some sugar, but not a lot. It also contains molasses, which is full or iron, a bonus for kids. Kenya and I didn’t use any icing on these because, in my opinion, they don’t need it, but if you want to put a little piping on them, I included a simple icing recipe. This recipe makes dozens of cookies (more or less, depending on the size of the cookie cutters you use), so you’ll have plenty for friends and your family during the holidays.
Gingerbread Cutouts
3 1/2 Cups Flour 1/2 Tsp Salt 3/4 Tsp Baking Soda
2 Tsp Ground Ginger 1 Tsp Cinnamon 1/4 Tsp Nutmeg & Cloves
1/2 Cup Butter, room temperature 1/2 Cup Brown Sugar, packed (light or dark will work) 1 Large Egg
1 Tsp Vanilla Extract 2/3 Cup Unsulphered Molasses (to prevent molasses from sticking, first spray the cup with a non stick veggie spray)
Decorating Ideas
Raisins Chocolate Chips Red Hots Sanding Sugar
1. Sift the dry ingredients into a bowl. 2. With a standing mixer using the paddle attachment OR by hand, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. 3. Add the egg, vanilla, and molasses, beating until combined. 4. Gradually add the flour to the butter, beating until combined. 5. Divide the dough in half and form into 2 disks. Refrigerate in plastic wrap or parchment paper for 2 hours or overnight. 6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper or silpats. 7. On a lightly floured surface OR between 2 pieces of parchment paper, roll out one of the disks until it’s 1/4 thick all around. 8. Cut out cookies with different shapes (gingerbread men, stars, christmas tree, etc) and using a spatula transfer cookie to the baking sheet. 9. Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes. 10. Remove to a cooling rack. Decorate the cookies after they have cooled.
Icing
2 Cups Confectioners Sugar 2 Tbsp Butter 1/2 Tsp Vanilla 2-3 Tbsp Milk
Place ingredients in a bowl and whisk to combine. 2. Place in a ziplock bag and cut a tiny whole at one end to squeeze and draw with the icing.
Catherine McCord launched Weelicious in 2007, providing a solution to parents’ hectic lives by showing them how to cook recipes that are kid-friendly, quick and nutritious.