Week 50 of 52 - Gingerbread cookies

This week I’ll be taking part in a cookie exchange and no one does cookies better than Martha. Her website has the most beautiful holiday cookies and for me nothing says holiday better than gingerbread. This recipe although very easy does take a little bit of time – the dough will need to be chilled, rolled out and then frozen before being cut. I think keeping it cold helps the cookies keep their shape.
I tried substituting fresh ginger for the ground ginger and probably didn’t put quite enough – so I ended up with a lightly spiced ginger cookie. The cookies came out crisp and delicious! This is a classic for future holidays.

For decoration, I decided to keep it simple and sprinkled coarse sugar on the cookies and for presentation, a clear bag with raffia does the trick!
Bon appétit!

Gingerbread cookies – courtesy of MarthaStewart.com
Cost: $
Rating (out of 5) *****
Ingredients
Makes 36.
• 2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for rolling
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/3 cup packed dark-brown sugar
• 1/3 cup unsulfured molasses
• 1 large egg
• Decorating sugar or sprinkles (optional)
Directions
1. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, spices, baking soda, and salt; set aside. With an electric mixer, beat butter and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in molasses and egg. With mixer on low, add dry ingredients; mix just until a dough forms. Place dough on floured plastic wrap; pat into an 8-inch square. Wrap well; chill until firm, 1 to 2 hours.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Divide dough in half. Working with one half at a time (rewrap and refrigerate other half), place dough on floured parchment or waxed paper; roll out 1/8 inch thick, turning, lifting, and flouring dough (and rolling pin) as needed. Freeze dough (on paper) until firm, about 20 minutes.
3. Loosen dough from paper. Cut out shapes, and transfer to baking sheets. Decorate with sugar or sprinkles, as desired.
Bake until firm and edges just begin to darken, 10 to 18 minutes, depending on size. Cool completely on baking sheets