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Light Spice Cookies




Source of Recipe


kingarthur.com


List of Ingredients




1/2 cup (1 stick, 4 ounces) butter
1/2 cup (3 1/4 ounces) vegetable shortening
3/4 cup (6 ounces) light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ginger
1/2 teaspoon allspice or cloves
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
2 tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces) molasses
3 cups (12 3/4 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons (3/4 ounce) cornstarch


Recipe



In a medium-sized bowl, beat together the butter, shortening, sugars, baking powder, spices, and salt until light and fluffy. Add the egg and molasses, and beat well. Mix about half of the flour into the butter mixture. When well combined, add the cornstarch and the remaining flour. Divide the dough in half, flattening each half slightly, and wrap well. Refrigerate for 1 hour (or longer), for easiest rolling.

Take one piece of dough out of the refrigerator, and flour a clean work surface, and the dough. Roll it out as thin or thick as you like. For slightly less crisp cookies, roll it out more thickly. We like to roll these cookies 1/8- to 1/4-inch thick.

Use flour under and on top of the dough to keep it from sticking to the table or rolling pin. Alternatively, place the dough on parchment, and put a sheet of plastic wrap over it as you roll, pulling the plastic to eliminate wrinkles as necessary when rolling; this will keep dough from sticking without the need for additional flour.

Transfer cookies to ungreased cookie sheets. Bake them in a preheated 350°F oven just until they’re slightly brown around the edges, or until they feel firm, about 10 to 12 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for several minutes, or until they're set. Transfer them to a rack to cool completely. Repeat with the remaining dough. Yield: 3 to 4 dozen 2 1/2- to 3-inch cookies.

Simple Cookie Glaze

This glaze dries hard and shiny, perfect for coating the top surface of your cookies preparatory to decorating with food-safe pens or markers. Be sure you measure accurately here; too little milk, and the glaze won’t spread nicely; too much, and it’ll be thin, spotty, and overnight will develop splotches. The goal is glaze that isn’t perfectly smooth when you apply it, but that settles into a smooth surface within half a minute or so. Glaze one cookie, and set it aside for a minute; has the glaze smoothed out? If so, it’s the right consistency. And remember, it’s easier to add more liquid than to stir in more sugar, so start with a glaze that’s thicker than you think it should be, then add milk by the half-teaspoonful to adjust its consistency.

This amount of glaze is enough to frost about half to two-thirds of the cookies above. Double the recipe if you want to be sure to have enough glaze to frost them all.

2 1/4 cups (9 ounces) confectioners’ sugar
2 tablespoons (1 3/8 ounces) light corn syrup
1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon (1 1/4 ounces) milk
food coloring
In a small bowl, whisk together the sugar, corn syrup, and 1 1/2 tablespoons of the milk. Add food coloring, if desired. Spread one cookie with glaze; if it doesn’t smooth out after 1 minute, dribble in additional milk, 1/2 teaspoon at a time, till the glaze reaches the correct consistency. Use an offset spatula or table knife to spread glaze on the cookies. Yield: 2/3 cup, enough to cover about 2 1/2 dozen 2-inch cookies.