Gingerbread Cookies

THESE ARE A SOFT COOKIE AND WOULD NOT BE SUITABLE FOR MAKING A GINGERBREAD HOUSE

ngredients for Gingerbread Cookies:
1 cup salted butter
1/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar (6 tablespoons)
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp baking soda
pinch salt
1 large egg
1/4 cup molasses
1 3/4 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour

Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tbsp half n’ half (cream or milk)

sprinkles, chocolates or candies for decorating (if desired)
n an electric mixer, cream butter and add brown sugar.
Add ginger, cinnamon, cloves, vanilla, baking soda and pinch of salt.
Mix well and scrape down sides of mixer bowl to ensure all the spices are incorporated.
Your dough should be fluffy and well combined.
Add egg and molasses.
Crank up the speed on the mixer.
Add flour and mix on low until combined. Dough will be sticky.
Place dough in a container and refrigerate several hours or overnight for best results. The spices will ripen as the dough proofs.

Generously flour a wooden board and rolling pin. You will find this dough to be more delicate and much stickier than a typical sugar cookie dough.
Cut out shapes, place on baking sheet. Bake in a 325 (F) oven for 7-9 minutes. For softer cookies, do not allow to brown. Makes 2 dozen 3 inch cookies. Recipe doubles and freezes well.

NO GLAZE, NO GLORY!

Allow baked cookies to cool before glazing. Combine powdered sugar and half n’ half to make glaze. For a thicker glaze use more sugar and less liquid, for a thinner glaze, use more liquid.
The easiest method is to simply dip each cookie into glaze and carefully lift out. Place on cookie cooling rack and allow excess glaze to drip off. For a thicker, more refined look, spoon glaze over cookie and spread with the back of a spoon.
To decorate cookies with glaze, fill a plastic bag with glaze and snip the tip. Decorate as desired.