Gingerbread

By patticakes

Every cookbook and cookie book has a recipe for gingerbread. I tried a lot of them and found them lacking taste, texture or both. This one is delicious, and easy.

Ingredients

• 3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (15 ounces)
• 3/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar (4 1/4 ounces)
• 3/4 ts baking soda
• 1/2 ts table salt
• 1 TBS cinnamon
• 1 TBS ground ginger
• 1/2 ts ground cloves
• 12 TBS slightly softened butter (1 1/2 cups)
• 3/4 cup molasses
• 2 TBS milk

Preparation

Step 1

In a food processor, mix all dry ingredients.
Scatter butter over flour mixture and process about 15 seconds, or until mixture resembles very fine meal.
With machine running, gradually add molasses and milk; process until dough is evenly moist and forms a soft mass. (you can do the same process in a stand mixer).
Scrape dough onto work surface and divide in half.
Roll to ¼ inch thickness between parchment or waxed paper (or plastic).
Once rolled, stack and freeze the dough until firm, then cut into shapes.
If you avoid using flour to keep from sticking you can reroll this as many times as necessary without toughening the dough.
Reroll the scraps, stack and freeze then cut into more shapes.

Bake cookies for 8 to 11 minutes at 350°. Cool then decorate.