Make Gingerbread Cookies

6 Parts:

Equipment

Ingredients

Directions

Tips and Hints

Warnings

Comments

As the Christmas season approaches, many people are pulling out their aprons and cookbooks so that they can create their favorite holiday dishes.

One of the most popular dishes around this time of year is gingerbread cookies. While many enjoy making and baking simple-shaped gingerbread cookies, there are many others that prefer to create traditional gingerbread man cookies.

This is especially true if children are part of the holiday festivities. In this how-to Christmas baking guide, you will learn the simple steps on how to make gingerbread cookies for Christmas.

• Cookie Cutters
• A Garlic Press
• A Pastry Wheel
• A Straw
• A Butter Knife
• Baking Sheets
• A Wooden Skewer
• A Pastry Bag and Decorating Tips

• 3/4 Cup of vegetable shortening
• 1/2 Cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
• 1/2 Cup dark molasses
• 1 large egg
• 4 Cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon of ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon of ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• A pinch of ground nutmeg (about 1/4 teaspoon)

1. 1
   Cream together brown sugar and butter in a large mixing bowl.

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2. 2
   Add egg and molasses and mix completely.

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3. 3
   Combine in a separate bowl, flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.

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4. 4
   Slowly add dry mixture to creamed ingredients while mixing until well combined.

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5. 5
   Divide your gingerbread dough into 2 pieces, wrap tightly and place in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

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6. 6
   Once dough is chilled, remove one portion from the refrigerator.

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7. 7
   Preheat oven to 350 F./180 C.

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8. 8
   Lightly grease (or line with parchment paper) cookie sheets.

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9. 9
   Place dough on a slightly floured counter (or other flat surface) and roll it to a thickness of about 1/4 to 1/8 inch.

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10. 10
    Dip the cookie cutter into flour and press into cookie dough.

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11. 11
    Place each cookie sheet with 2 inches in between each cookie.

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12. 12
    If you want to add any decorative touches before baking, it should be done now

    .

    (see tips)

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13. 13
    Bake for 10 to 12 minutes

    .

    Edges should be firm.

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14. 14
    Cool completely before decorating.

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• Always be certain to prepare your area and supplies before starting on creating Christmas gingerbread man cookies.
• If you are working with children, allow them to do a lot of the preparation and decorating.
• Use the butter knife to make indentations on the cookie men that look like clothes and shoes.
• If you want to create riffled clothing, use the pastry wheel. You may also use other tools, such as cookie cutters, to create circles and dots on the cookie men.
• Once you have the cookies all dressed and designed the way you like, you should take any additional cookie dough that you have and push it through the garlic press.This will help you in creating realistic hair or bows that you may place on the cookies. You may also utilize the garlic press and some colored dough to create a mouth and other accessories for your Christmas gingerbread man cookies.
• Try sprinkling some of your cookies with colored sugar before baking them.

• Always supervise children when they are in the kitchen.
• The baking sheet will be hot when removed from the oven. Due to this fact, you should always ensure that everyone who is engaging in this cookie creation task wears oven mitts.
• Do not allow young children to handle knives, objects with sharp edges, or the oven if they are assisting you in making Christmas cookies.

If you have problems with any of the steps in this article, please ask a question for more help, or post in the comments section below.

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