Thursday, December 20, 2012

Gingerbread with Lemon Glaze

Gingerbread Tree with Lemon Icing
Great recipe Thanks to Sweet Sugar Bean Blog

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour (spooned and leveled) plus a bit more for rolling
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp coarse salt
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temp
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/4 cup molasses

2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 1/3 cup icing sugar
coarse sugar, optional

In a medium bowl, whisk flour with rest of dry ingredients. In a large bowl of a mixer, cream the butter and granulated sugar on medium high until creamy, about 3 minutes. Add egg and molasses and beat to combine, scraping down bowl as you need to. With mixer on low, gradually add flour mixture and beat until combined. Wrap dough in plastic and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour or up to 3 days.
Preheat oven to 350*F, with racks in upper and lower thirds.
On a lightly floured work surface, roll out dough to a 1/4 inch thickness, and with cookie cutters, cut into your favourite shapes. My Mom still uses the cutters from when we were kids and I love the pig! Or you can use a sharp knife and cut into triangles. Arrange cookies on parchment lined baking sheets, and bake until firm and golden, around 8 min for chewy, 10 min for snappy. Let cool completely on sheets on wire racks. Store in airtight containers for up to one week, or freeze.
To make the lemon icing, combine lemon juice, icing sugar with a small whisk. It takes a little while for it to come together. Add more lemon if too thick. I just put the icing in a small Ziploc bag and cut one corner to make a tip. Drizzle onto cooled cookies and sprinkle with sugar.

The cookies freeze well for up to one month. Makes about 50-60 cookies. Adapted from Everyday Food, December 2010.

For the complete cookie list this year check out the list for 2012 here