Gingerbread Cutouts

Preparation

1. Beat granulated sugar, butter and molasses in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed, or mix with spoon, until well mixed. Beat in egg and water until blended. Stir in flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, salt, cardamom and cloves. Cover and refrigerate about 1 hour or until firm.
2. Heat oven to 350°F. Roll 1/3 of dough at a time on floured surface to 1/8-inch thickness. (Keep remaining dough refrigerated until ready to roll.) Cut with floured 2 1/2-inch gingerbread boy or girl cookie cutters. Place 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Decorate with currants or candies. Sprinkle with colored sugar.
3. Bake 6 to 7 minutes or until set. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack; cool.

Tips

• “Stitch” the edges of these charming cookies with white candy sprinkles found where cake and cookie decorating supplies are sold.
• If you believe no tray of Christmas cookies is complete without gingerbread cutouts, you’ve got to try this recipe. What makes it extra special is the addition of cardamom, a spice not typically found in gingerbread recipes. Cardamom is a distinctive yet difficult to describe spice with minty, sweet and bitter notes. You may recognize the flavor if you’ve tried Nordic pastries, like Swedish jule bread or Finnish pulla. It’s well worth seeking out cardamom for this recipe but it’ll still turn out if you aren’t a fan of the flavor or if you can’t find it at your local store. You can also find a plenty of other gingerbread cookie recipes —Betty’s got more than enough to share. The key to making good gingerbread cookies is to roll out the dough in batches and store the dough you aren’t working with in the fridge. This recipe calls for working with just one third at a time, so you can more easily roll out the dough to the correct thickness and cut out cookies before the dough dries out. It’s a good idea to dip your cookie cutter in flour regularly, so it doesn’t stick to the dough and ruin the cookie’s shape. Decorating can be as simple or as elaborate as you wish. We love these cookies topped with currants, candies or colored sugar, and when we want to dress them up, Royal Icing does the trick. This recipe for Royal Icing takes only a handful of ingredients, a bowl, mixer and 15 minutes of your time. Want more pro tips for the perfect cookies? We’ve got plenty more where these came from.

Nutrition Information