Gingerbread Men and Amazing Snickerdoodles!

Friday, December 16, 2011

Hi everyone!

I'm back with a couple of my favorite Christmas cookie recipes!

I'm in the middle of a baking frenzy right now and these two recipes are my always on my cookie swap list! I think I stumbled on the Gingerbread Men recipe years ago while looking for something to bake with my little girl. These are more spicier than your average gingerbread man cookie, but that's the way I like my ginger men! ;)

I've probably made the Snickerdoodle recipe about a thousand times over the past two years. My family raves about them and The Man even asked me to whip up a batch for his work collegues! They never last more than a few days in our house, so you know they have to be good! :)

I hope you enjoy them just as much as we do!

Eileen's Spicy Gingerbread Men

Ingredients:
1/2 cup margarine
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1 egg yolk
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg


Directions:
1. In a large bowl, cream together the margarine and sugar until smooth. Stir in molasses and egg yolk. Combine the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and nutmeg; blend into the molasses mixture until smooth. Cover, and chill for at least one hour.

2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters. Place cookies 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets.

3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until firm. Remove from cookie sheets to cool on wire racks. Frost or decorate when cool.

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Annie's Eats Amazing Snickerdoodles

Yields: about 30 cookies

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups (11 1/4 oz.) unbleached all-purpose flour

2 tsp. cream of tartar

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

12 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened but still cool

1/4 cup vegetable shortening

1 1/2 cups (10 1/2 oz.) granulated sugar,

plus 3 tbsp. for rolling dough

2 large eggs
1 tbsp. ground cinnamon, for rolling dough

Directions:

1. Adjust oven racks to upper- and lower-middle positions. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, shortening and 1 1/2 cups sugar on medium speed until well combined, 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the eggs, and beat again until combined, about 30 seconds. Add in the dry ingredients and beat at low speed until just combined, about 20 seconds.

2. In a small, shallow bowl, combine the 3 tablespoons sugar and the cinnamon for rolling the dough. Stir or shake well to combine. Working with a heaping tablespoon of dough each time, roll the dough into 1 1/2-inch balls. Roll the balls in the cinnamon sugar mixture and place them on the prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Use a drinking glass with a flat bottom to gently flatten the dough balls to 3/4-inch thickness (butter the bottom of the glass before starting, and dip it in sugar between cookies if it begins to stick).

3. Bake until the edges of the cookies are beginning to set and the center are soft and puffy, 9-11 minutes, rotating the baking sheets front to back and top to bottom halfway through the baking time. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets 2-3 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

This weekend I'm baking Chewy Lemon Snowdrop cookies, Oreo Bark, Peanut Brittle, Soft Molasses cookies dipped in white chocolate! If you want me to share any of these recipes just let me know!

Have a great weekend!!