Description
These Gingerbread Snowflake Cookies are perfectly spiced and adorned with a delicate vanilla glaze, making them a festive and delightful treat for the holiday season. The cookies are soft yet firm enough to hold intricate snowflake shapes, ideal for baking enthusiasts looking to impress with both taste and presentation.
Ingredients
Scale
Cookies
- 1 cup butter (softened)
- 1 cup sugar
- ¾ cup molasses
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 teaspoons ground ginger
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- ½ teaspoon allspice
- ½ teaspoon salt
Vanilla Glaze
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 3-4 tablespoons milk or cream
- 1 tablespoon corn syrup
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Cream the Butter and Sugar: In a large mixing bowl, cream together the softened butter and sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy, which will help create a tender texture in your cookies.
- Add Vanilla and Egg: Stir in the vanilla extract and the egg until fully incorporated, ensuring the mixture is smooth and homogeneous.
- Combine with Molasses: Pour in the molasses and mix well until the dough is evenly combined and dark in color, characteristic of traditional gingerbread.
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, ground ginger, ground cinnamon, baking soda, allspice, and salt to distribute the spices evenly throughout the flour.
- Combine Dry and Wet Ingredients: Gradually add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, mixing thoroughly to form a cohesive cookie dough.
- Chill the Dough: Remove the dough from the mixing bowl, place it onto plastic wrap, form into a large disc, wrap tightly, and refrigerate for at least one hour. This step helps the dough firm up for easier rolling and cutting.
- Preheat the Oven: When ready, preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C) to prepare for baking.
- Roll and Cut Dough: Divide the chilled dough in half. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to about ¼ inch thickness. Use a snowflake-shaped cookie cutter (or your choice of shape) to cut out the cookies.
- Arrange on Baking Sheet: Place the cut cookies on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or use an ungreased baking sheet. Arrange spaced apart to allow for slight expansion.
- Bake the Cookies: Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the edges are firm and the centers are set. Avoid overbaking to keep them soft.
- Cool the Cookies: Remove the cookies from the oven and transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely before glazing.
- Prepare the Vanilla Glaze: In a bowl, mix the powdered sugar, 3 to 4 tablespoons of milk or cream, corn syrup, and vanilla extract until smooth. Adjust the consistency by adding milk or powdered sugar so the glaze can flow but still holds its shape when piped.
- Decorate with Glaze: Transfer the glaze to a piping bag fitted with a small tip and decorate the cooled snowflake cookies by piping snowflake designs onto each cookie.
Notes
- Make sure the butter is softened, not melted, for optimal creaming with sugar.
- Refrigerating the dough is essential to maintain the cut-out shapes during baking.
- The glaze consistency is key: too thin will run off the cookie, too thick will be hard to pipe.
- Cookies store well in an airtight container for up to one week.
- Use fresh spices for the best flavor.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 150
- Sugar: 12g
- Sodium: 140mg
- Fat: 7g
- Saturated Fat: 4g
- Unsaturated Fat: 3g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 21g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 2g
- Cholesterol: 20mg
