Gingerbread Snowflakes

 For my best friend Nicole and I, Christmas cookie making is a bit of a tradition. Last Friday afternoon I picked her up from the regional rail train station closest to me with no actual plan in place. She got in my car with a bag of supplies and all I asked was, “what are we making then?” She decided it was gingerbread since she happened to have molasses lying around her apartment from the last time she made homemade root beer from sassafras root. Yeah, I have weird friends.

Nicole and I have been friends since we were about three years old. Now depending on which one of us you ask that timeline may be different. She may tell you I wasn’t cool enough to be her friend until we were at least five and I would tell you some stories about warnings she “wouldn’t be my friend anymore” if I didn’t exclusively play with her on the playground. Somewhere in the middle lies the truth, but today was about cookie making and as always we would have a blast.

 After a short trip to the store, which included dancing to the music in the frozen food aisle, we came back to my apartment to get to work. First, Nicole would have to take photos of me holding a tea cup and reading a book for her photography class assignment to photograph subjects in their natural habitats. Apparently reading Russian textbooks and sipping out of empty cups is my personal environment. Ah the illusion of film!

Finally after we actually read the recipe we managed to make the dough and then chill it for an hour. Of course between the two of us we hadn’t read “chill for an hour” until the oven was preheated and the cookie dough was made. We proceeded to shut off the oven and ordered Jimmy John’s subs, which really was quite fast if I do say so. After our dinner break, as it was now 7pm, we took out the dough and began to roll it out with drinking glasses and make our shapes. Nicole only brought a star and a turtle cookie cutters and silly me left the beautiful set of cookie cutters Lisa bought me last Christmas at my mom’s house. I need to get those back!

Improvisation is a key so to complete the gingerbread men and women I wanted to make I simply cut them out with a butter knife.

Probably why the following scene happened shortly after…

The process took us awhile as I only own one baking sheet but once we got cooking it was pretty simple.

If you couldn’t tell from the photos I really like decorating and have created my own technique for gingerbread snowflakes. But I know you would rather see our photo shoot two days later initialed:

SCU: Special Cookies Unit.

I hope no one is offended by this, Nicole and I are a little strange. Those faint of cookies, viewer discretion advised.

Murder she ate….

Vengeance is a cookie best served cold…

Let’s just say after this the bad cookie/crime references started flying! The best was Nicole’s deep Dragnet voice that had me rolling on the floor with laughter.

Cookie making isn’t cheap so that is precisely why we do it once a year. Honestly I don’t even eat the cookies, but I have so much fun making them it is worth the effort. I know everyone else enjoyed eating these especially since they are completely from scratch with my favorite homemade butter cream icing. You can choose your own design but I think these snowflakes are so pretty and impressive for Holiday parties. The only special equipment you need is a star cookie cutter and plastic sandwich baggies for the icing. (Pastry bags are obviously better if you have them but hey, I’m a college kid after all!)

Here’s an easy tutorial for homemade cookie cutters or you can use a star-stencil and knife.

Gingerbread Snowflakes
(Original Gingerbread recipe from Simply recipes)

 

 

Ingredients:

3 1/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter (room temperature, softened)
 1/2 cup dark-brown sugar, packed
 1 Tbsp ground ginger
 1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
 1/4 teaspoon finely ground black pepper
 1/2 teaspoon salt
 1 large egg
 1/2 cup unsulfured molasses

My own Butter Cream Icing:

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened, not melted
2 cups powdered (Confectioner’s) sugar
2 tbsp. milk
Food Coloring

Directions:

In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, and spices. Set aside.

With a wooden spoon cream the butter in a large bowl. Add sugar and mix well until fluffy. Add in eggs and molasses to the butter mixture until smooth. Gradually add the flour mixture; the dough will get tougher to work as you add the flour. For the last bit of flour you may have to use your hands.

Divide dough in thirds; wrap each third in plastic wrap. Chill (or freeze) for at least 1 hour or overnight. Before rolling out, let sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes. If after refrigerating the dough feels too soft to roll-out, work in a little more flour.

 3 Heat oven to 350°. Place a dough third on a large piece of lightly floured surface such as cutting board or wax paper. Using a rolling pin (or tall drinking glass,) roll dough 1/8 inch thick.

Refrigerate again for 5-10 minutes to make it easier to cut out the cookies. Use either your star-shaped cookie cutter or place a stencil over the dough and use a knife to cut into five-point star.
Transfer to ungreased baking sheets. Bake until crisp but not darkened, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from oven. Let sit a few minutes and then use a metal spatula to transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

For Snowflake Icing:

While cookies are chilling or baking, cream softened butter in a medium bowl. Gradually mix in powdered sugar into the butter until no longer melting but firm with milk. You may have to add additional powdered sugar and milk if needed.

Once cookies are completely cooled, scoop a few dollops of the icing into a plastic sandwich bag. Try to get the icing in one corner closest to the tip. Seal bag and gently rip the corner of the plastic bag with your thumb and index finger (cutting with scissors will create too large of a hole.)

Start by outline the star cookie with the icing. Then, make a short line inside of each point
not quite going to the center. One each line, diagonally ice into the line making arrows. The icing should resemble a snow flake. Or just free-style it like Nicole. Can you tell which one she made?

Serve cookies for a party or just for you!

Enjoy!

Love,

The College Cuisiner