Gingerbread Cookies

I love gingerbread cookies! My kids like them too. And what's a Christmas cookie platter without gingerbread people?

You can substitute corn syrup for the molasses. It won't taste like gingerbread anymore, but it still makes a nice cookie! It's hard to say how many cookies you can get out of this. It'll depend on the size of your cookie cutters.

Gingerbread Cookies

Makes about 24 cookies

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 cup flour
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

1. Beat butter and sugar on medium speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in molasses and egg yolk until well combined.
2. Sift the dry ingredients into the bowl and combine with a wooden spoon.
3. Chill for 30 minutes in the fridge or 15 in the freezer.
4. Preheat the oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment.
5. Roll out onto a lightly floured surface to about 1/4" thick. Use a cookie cutter to make your shapes then re-roll the scraps and keep cutting. Repeat the re-rolling and cutting of the scraps.
6. Bake for just about 7 minutes or just until the edges start to brown. This will depend on the size of your cutter and thickness of your dough. Watch the cookies carefully or they will burn.  Let them cool for 2 minutes before transferring them to wire racks. Cool completely before decorating.
7. You can make frosting using 1/4 cup icing sugar and 1/4 teaspoon milk. Add food colouring if you like. It should be a thick enough to pipe but not as thick as toothpaste. I just filled a plastic sandwich bag and cut off the tip. Let them dry completely before stacking. Even better if you put a piece of parchment between each layer of cookies.
8. Use little candies to decorate.

Tips:

• If you like, add 1/4 teaspoon cloves (I didn't use cloves - I'm not a big fan.)