December is baking season! It is the time of year when I bake the most cookies. This month I did all the baking in one day, and made 4 different types of cookies! It was cookie overload at my house, and still is. This post is all about the gingerbread cookie.

I don’t tend to like gingerbread cookies, so I tried something new and spiced things up a bit. I thought orange would be a good complementary flavor to the cinnamon, ginger, and molasses. I also decided to make orange icing to enhance the orange in the cookie. I hope y’all enjoy this recipe! (It makes a lot, like 3 dozen).

INGREDIENTS: 

wet ingredients

6/8 cup or 6 tablespoons butter (room temp)

5/6 cup sugar

1 teaspoon orange extract

dry ingredients 

2 cups flour

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon allspice

1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon of salt

2nd set of wet ingredients 

1 egg

1/4 cup molasses

1 teaspoon orange extract

2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

Orange icing

2 cups powdered sugar

2 teaspoons orange extract

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup water

 

DIRECTIONS 

1. Cream together the first set of wet ingredients in a large mixing bowl or stand mixer.
2. Sift the dry ingredients together in a medium bowl.
3. Mix the second set of wet ingredients in a small bowl.
4. Slowly add the dry ingredients into the large mixing bowl or stand mixer. When combined add the 2nd set of wet ingredients until just combined.
5. Separate into two batches and place one batch between two pieces of parchment paper and roll out slightly. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 min to an hour. Repeat with second batch.
6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
7.  Get one batch out and roll out the dough, on a lightly floured surface, to roughly 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. (I would also flour the dough itself on both sides as well as the rolling pin. It is important that your surface stays a little floured or your cookies will stick to your counter). I rolled my dough approximately 1/4 inch because I like them a little crunchy.
8. Cut with whatever cookie cutter and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
9. Bake for 8-10 minutes. (Since mine were thin I baked mine for 8 minutes)
10. For the icing just mix all the ingredients and put into a plastic bag, cut off a small piece of the corner and decorate! (Wait until cookies are cooled!)

 

This is the fun part! Enjoy yourselves and your family. Throw on some Christmas music (my favorite is a Frank Sinatra Christmas radio on Pandora), put on some aprons if your are messy like I am, and make some memories!