- Yields: 60 cookies
- Preparation: 4 hours, including chill/setting time
Ingredients
Cookies
- 3 1/2 cups (875mL) flour
- 4 tsp (20mL) ground ginger
- 2 tsp (10mL) cinnamon
- 3/4 tsp (4mL) baking soda
- 1/2 tsp (2mL) salt
- 1/2 tsp (2mL) ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp (1mL) ground cloves
- 3/4 cup (175mL) GAY LEA - Unsalted Butter
- 2/3 cup (150mL) dark brown sugar, packed
- 1 egg
- 2/3 cup (150mL) molasses, fancy
- 1/2 tsp (2mL) vanilla
Icing
- 2 egg whites
- 2 cups (500mL) icing sugar, sifted
- 1/2 tsp (2mL) vanilla
- pinch salt, fine
- food colouring, optional
Instructions
For cookies:- Whisk together flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, nutmeg and cloves in a medium bowl.
- Beat together butter and sugar in a large bowl with a hand mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment on high until well blended, about 2 min. Add egg and mix to combine. Add molasses and vanilla and mix until well blended. Add flour mixture until well combined.
- Divide dough in half and wrap both in plastic wrap. Flatten each into an inch thick disc and refrigerate for 2 hours.
- Heat oven to 350F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment and set aside.
- Turn one dough onto a well floured surface and roll to ⅛-inch thickness. Cut into desired shapes, rerolling scraps as needed. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet, about 1-inch apart. Bake in batches until lightly golden around edges, about 9 to 11 minutes. Cool for 2 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
- Repeat with remaining dough, baking and cooling as directed.
- Place egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Whisk over medium-high until foamy. Add sugar, a spoonful at a time, until mixture is glossy and thick. Add vanilla and salt, whisk for 1 minute.
- Colour icing, if desired (if using more than one colour, spoon the icing into separate bowls and colour accordingly). Cover the surface of any icing you are not using with a wet paper towel and cover tightly with plastic wrap until ready to use.
- Spoon icing into a piping bag fitted with a small writing tip. Pipe desired designs onto cookie shapes and decorate with sprinkles, if desired. Set aside to dry.
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