cookies Archives - Page 3 of 3 -

We hosted a gingerbread house making party over the weekend and rather than making the houses from scratch like I did last year (fun, but totally crazy), we bought kits and just jazzed them up with some of our own candy. I did however make gingerbread cookies so that the kids could still eat their gingerbread. (and so our house could still smell like gingerbread!) I almost didn’t post this with so many gingerbread cookie recipes floating around, but then I decided I wanted it on the blog for myself so I could remember which recipe was my personal favorite. I’ve tried several recipes in the past that either tasted great, but didn’t hold its shape, or held its shape, but was too crunchy or bland. These classic gingerbread cookies have just the right amount of spice and are slightly crisp on the edges and soft in the middle. For me, these are the perfect gingerbread cookies and the ones that I want to keep on making for years to come.

Couldn’t resist adding in these pictures. So thankful for those little helping hands in the kitchen.

Classic Gingerbread Cookies

Serves: about 2 dozen cookies

Ingredients

Cookies:

½ cup dark molasses
¼ cup packed light brown sugar
¼ cup natural cane sugar
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon + ⅛ teaspoon baking soda
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1½ cups all-purpose flour
1½ cups white whole wheat flour

Royal Icing:

1 tablespoon meringue powder
1⅓ cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons water

Instructions

Cookies:

Set a small glass mixing bowl over a small saucepan of simmering water and place the molasses, sugars, ginger, and cinnamon in the mixing bowl. Stir until the sugars are completely dissolved. Stir in the baking soda. When the mixture bubbles up, remove the glass bowl from the heat.
Place the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the hot molasses mixture and mix on medium-low speed until butter is melted. Let mixture cool to about 90 degrees, then beat in the egg. Gradually add the flours 1 cup at a time and mix until just combined. Gather dough into a disk and cover with plastic wrap. Chill dough for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 325. Line baking sheets with silicone mats or parchment paper.
Place dough on a well-floured surface and roll out until dough is ¼-inch thick. Cut into desired shapes and place cookies on baking sheets. Chill cookies in the refrigerator for 15 minutes. Bake cookies for about 15 minutes, until tops of cookies appear dry. (Do not over bake or cookies will not be soft.) Cool on racks and decorate with royal icing. (I used a Wilton #2 tip for decorating.)

Royal Icing:

Beat all ingredients together until icing forms peaks and starts to appear matte, about 7-10 minutes in a stand mixer. If necessary, add additional water a couple drops at a time to thin.

Notes

slightly adapted from The Martha Stewart Cookbook

I would consider myself a fairly disciplined person when it comes to eating, but my one can’t-say-no-to type of dessert is anything with almonds. Lucky for me that Ryan loves almond desserts too. Some of our favorites are this raspberry frangipane tart, the almond cake from The Art of Simple Food, these almond cloud cookies, and of course, these Apricot Almond Shortbread Bars. I usually vary the cookies that I make each holiday season, but I almost always try to include these because I never get tired of them. With the holidays approaching, I was thinking about putting these cookies on my Christmas baking list and then I remembered I had actually made these for my son’s cello recital a few months ago and never posted the photos and recipe. I am actually thinking about making these twice in one year so considering that I hardly ever make the same dessert twice ever, that says a lot! What sets these bar cookies apart from other cookies that may look similar is the almond paste, which contributes to the splendid almond flavor and incredible chewy texture. Apricot preserves complement the almond flavor nicely although I imagine raspberry preserves would also be lovely. These are delicious slightly warm, at room temperature, and also cold. They freeze well so they can be made in advance and thawed when ready to serve.

Apricot Almond Shortbread Bars

Ingredients

¾ cup apricot preserves
1-2 tablespoons rum
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
¾ cup natural cane sugar
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ cup packed almond paste, crumbled (about 2.5 ounces)
½ cup sliced almonds, divided

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325. Butter a 9x9-inch or 7x11-inch baking pan and line with parchment paper.
In a small bowl, stir together the almond preserves and rum. Set aside.
Using a stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar on high speed. Beat in the almond extract. Add the flour and salt and mix together on medium speed until flour is just incorporated. Transfer 1 cup of dough to another small bowl and add the crumbled almond paste. Use fingers to mix together until small clumps begin to form. Mix in ¼ cup sliced almonds. Put mixture in refrigerator to chill for a few minutes.
Use hands to press the remaining dough in the bottom of the prepared baking pan. Spread preserves evenly over the dough. Crumble the slightly chilled almond paste mixture over the preserves and sprinkle the remaining ¼ cup almonds on top. Press the topping lightly into the preserves.
Bake until shortbread bars start to brown and become golden, about 50 minutes. Cool for at least 1 hour before cutting into squares.

Notes

slightly adapted from Bon Appetit

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