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Recipe Detail Page
European Spice Cookies
Holiday 2014
This is the best sort of gingerbread cookie—thin, dark and spicy. These need no embellishment at all, but a small amount of a royal icing can make them look festive with very little extra effort.
Makes about 36 cookies, depending on size
1½ cups (375 mL) all-purpose flour
11/4 tsp (6 mL) baking soda
1 tsp (5 mL) cinnamon
1 tsp (5 mL) ground ginger
¼ tsp (1 mL) cloves
¼ tsp (1 mL) finely ground black pepper
¼ tsp (1 mL) salt
¼ cup (60 mL) unsalted butter, softened
½ cup (125 mL) sugar
½ cup (125 mL) fancy molasses
½ tsp (2 mL) vanilla
ROYAL ICING
2 cups (500 mL) icing sugar
1 tbsp (15 mL) meringue powder
1 tbsp (15 mL) lemon juice
1 to 2 tbsp (15 to 30 mL) water
Gel food colour, if desired
1 Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, pepper and salt in a bowl.
2 Beat together butter, sugar, molasses and vanilla until smooth. Add flour mixture and beat until well combined (dough will be soft and slightly sticky). Divide dough into 2 pieces, wrap well in plastic and chill for 1 hour or until dough has firmed up. Working with 1 piece at a time, roll dough out on a lightly floured piece of parchment paper with a floured rolling pin to about 1/16‑inch (1.5 mm) thick. Transfer sheets of rolled dough to fridge or freezer for1 hour to firm up again.
3 Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).
4 Working with 1 sheet of dough at a time, use cookie cutters to cut into desired shapes and transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Gather, chill and re-roll scraps as desired.
5 Bake for 6 to 7 minutes or until cookies are dry to the touch and slightly darker at the edges (don’t over-bake or they will get hard). Let cool on baking sheet 5 minutes then transfer to a rack to cool completely.
6 Combine icing sugar and meringue powder in a bowl. Whisk in lemon juice and enough water to make a thick icing. Stir in food colour if desired. Transfer to a piping bag with a fine round tip. Decorate cookies as desired.
Makes about 36 cookies, depending on size
TIP: The trick with an extra-thin cookie like this one is to keep the dough as cold as possible, so you get good
shapes. Work with small quantities of dough, and keep the rest really cold until just before using. Use enough flour to keep the dough from sticking to the parchment paper and rolling pin, but once you have cut-outs on your baking sheet, if you can see flour on the top, chill the cookies again and use a pastry brush to brush off the excess flour.
