While baking is my guilty selfish pleasure, I do love an opportunity to let the kids help me. My kids absolutely loved using the cookie cutters to help me shape the cookies. I plan on freezing the baked cookies and having the kids decorate them with their cutie cousins on Christmas eve. Not too excited about sprinkles being thrown across the house on Christmas Eve but maybe that will be my New Year's resolution… Relax a little bit, let messes be messes; there are worse things in life.
Gingerbread Shortbread Cookies
Recipe adapted from crosbys.com
Makes 1 dozen (depending on size)
Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
Pinch of salt
1.5 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
Pinch of allspice (optional)
8 oz (1 cup) cold, unsalted butter (European is best, like KerryGold), cut into cubes
1/4 cup molasses
Method:
In a large bowl combine the flour, powdered sugar, salt and spices.
Add the cold butter cubes to the flour mixture. With your hands or a pastry blender, mix the flour and butter together until a crumbly, sandy mixture is formed. This takes a few minutes.
Then add the molasses. You can blend with your hands or a fork. But I find that using your hands gets everything incorporated the best. My dough was a touch on the wet side so at this point I added about 2 tablespoons of flour. And then it was perfect.
Form the dough into a large ball and place it in saran wrap. Refrigerate the dough for about four hours. Roll the dough out to about 1/4 inch thickness or whatever you would like (I like 'em thick!).
Bake at 325 for approximately 10 to 14 minutes. Don't overcook!
Frost and decorate as desired.
Merry Christmas y'all. Hope you have the most special time with your family and friends. XO.
