Gingerbread Cookies

By Nemo

Ingredients

• COOKIE
• 1/4 cup water; boiling
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• ICING
• 2 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar; sifted
• 2 egg whites
• 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
• 1 tsp baking soda

Details

Servings 48

Preparation

Step 1

In a large bowl, pour boiling water over butter. Stir to blend. Add brown sugar and molasses; mix well, and set aside. In a medium-size bowl, stir remaining cookie ingredients together. Add dry mixture to wet mixture, and blend well to form a dough. Wrap dough in plastic wrap, and refrigerate 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 375o F. On a floured surface, roll out dough to a thickness of about ¼ inch. Using cookie cutters (any shape will do…we used ones that resemble snowflakes), cut out shapes, and place on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake 10 minutes. Let cook before icing.

To make icing: In a large bowl, mix all icing ingredients with a hand mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes. Using a double boiler, heat mixture until just warm. Remove from heat. Transfer mixture to a large bowl, and beat with a hand mixer at high speed for 5 to 6 minutes, until icing stands in peaks.

Using a pastry bag, follow manufacturer's instructions to create desired designs, or coat cookies with a thin layer of icing using a knife or spatula.