Recipe Detail Page

1. In a large bowl, stir flour with ginger, cinnamon, salt, allspice, nutmeg and cardamom until evenly blended. In another large bowl, use a wooden spoon to beat butter with sugar until completely dissolved. Beat in molasses, then Courvoisier and eggs, beating in each until incorporated before adding the next. Gradually stir in flour mixture, kneading in the last with your hands. Dough will be soft and sticky.

2. Form dough into 4 balls, then flatten into discs. Wrap each disc in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours or up to a week. (They can be frozen up to a month, so long as they are first overwrapped with foil or slipped into freezer bags.)

3. To bake, remove dough from refrigerator and leave on counter until soft enough to easily roll out, about 20 minutes.

4. Preheat oven to 275°F (135°C).

5. Place 1 disc of dough on a piece of parchment paper and cover with a large piece of plastic wrap. Using a rolling pin, roll to a ¼-inch (5-mm) thickness. Use cookie cutters to cut out shapes. Place on parchment-paper-lined baking sheets, leaving a generous space between each cookie. Add silver or gold dragées for decoration if you wish. Bake until cookies feel dry to the touch and bottoms are just beginning to darken, 25 to 30 minutes. Leave on sheets for 5 minutes, then remove to racks to cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough. Store in airtight containers in a cool place; they will keep well for a week in the refrigerator or 2 months in the freezer. If desired, ice cookies just before serving.

COURVOISIER ICING GLAZE

1. In a bowl, stir 5 cups (1.25 L) icing sugar with ¼ cup (60 mL) corn syrup, ½ cup (125 mL) Courvoisier and 1 tsp (5 mL) vanilla extract. Place cool cookies on a rack over a piece of waxed paper. Slowly spoon glaze over cookies. If not the thickness you wish, stir in a little more Courvoisier to thin, or icing sugar to make it thicker.