Chefmom's Gingerbread
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter or margarine (Parkay)
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup dark molasses
1/4 cup light molasses
(or you can use 3/4 cup of medium, or your favorite kind)
~~~~~
4 tsp ground ginger
3 tsp ground cinnamon
3 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp salt
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 cups all-purpose flour
6 cups pastry flour
~~~~~
1 cup milk
~~~~~
Egg wash, 2 egg yolks beaten with 2 Tbsp milk or cream
In a mixing bowl, cream the butter/margarine and sugar until combined. It will first form a lump in the center, then begin to stick to the sides of the bowl. You want it to stick to the sides of the bowl. Add the molasses and scrape the bowl, beat on low until combined.
In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients and mix with a whisk or fork. Alternate the dry ingredients and milk, begin and end with dry ingredients. If the mixture seems on the dry side, add water 1Tbsp at a time until it is smooth.
Divide the dough in thirds and wrap in plastic wrap. Flatten into a rectangle. Refrigerate for a good day, even two. This dough is "leathery" and the colder it is, the easier it will be to roll.
Preheat your oven to 350°, have several sheet pans with parchment paper or silpat liners.
When ready to roll, use a liberally floured board. Work quickly, once it warms, it will be way too soft to work with. For perfect thickness, use two dowel rods and lay them on either side of the dough. They will prevent you from rolling too thin/thick or unevenly. I use this technique when I want perfect little gingerbread boys and girls for decorating etc.
With a brush, brush off excess flour and lay on sheet pans. This recipe expands quite a bit, so you want to leave room to grow. Beat your egg wash until it's smooth and brush the gingerbread evenly. This will give a nice finish to your cookies. If you want a high shine, before they are done baking, brush them again and finish baking in the oven.
The baking time will depend on the size of the cookies, the average cookies will take 10-15 minutes. As with all cookies, you want to rotate the pans in the middle of the estimated time, to ensure even baking. To be sure they are done, they should be firm, yet spongy when touched. You don't want to over bake unless you are only using them for tree decorations etc. If you want to eat your cookies, then be sure to bake them "soft" as we call it.
The full yield isn't known. I usually make many different sizes of cookies, as well as houses with this recipe. It is a large recipe, and you can easily cut it in half. The dough freezes very well, as do the baked (undecorated) cookies.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A Note from Chefmom...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Parchment Paper in bulk and Silpat liners are available from:
http://www.bridgekitchenware.com
A Catalog is $3 and they carry a large selection of kitchen items! Check them out.
~~~~~~~~~~
This recipe was derived from the recipe we used in Colonial Williamsburgs' Pastry Shop. The recipe began with 100 pounds of flour and I broke it down to this size and to use measuring cups instead of a scale. It took some "tinkering" after that, but I came out with a great recipe that I enjoy making each year. My children love their mini houses each year, and I enjoy making a large one!
If you are planning on using this recipe for houses, I suggest cutting the leavening down to 1 tsp of baking powder and 1/2 tsp of baking soda. You won't have as much "puff" on the cookie and it will make structures easier to put together. I suggest baking for a longer period until the dough is very firm to hard in the oven for decorations and structures.
|
Â
Â
Â
|
member logon
