Gingerbread Cookies With Orange Buttercream Frosting Recipes

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and molasses. Combine flour, baking soda, salt and spices; gradually add to the creamed mixture and mix well. Refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight., On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to 1/4-in. thickness. Cut with a floured 3-1/2-in. cookie cutter into desired shapes. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350° for 8-10 minutes or until edges begin to brown. Remove from pans to cool on wire racks., For icing, beat confectioners' sugar, butter, extracts and flavoring in a bowl. Gradually stir in enough milk to achieve desired consistency. Frost cookies.

Steps:

• Combine 1 cup butter and sugar in a large bowl; beat with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Mix in molasses and egg until combined.
• Mix together buttermilk and 2 teaspoons baking soda in a small bowl. Mix vinegar with remaining 1 teaspoon baking soda in another small bowl. Add the buttermilk mixture to the molasses-egg mixture. Then add vinegar mixture, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg, and salt; mix until well combined.
• Gradually stir in 4 cups flour, 1 cup at a time, stirring until the dough comes together and forms a ball. Shape dough into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap, and place in the refrigerator until chilled, about 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Place chilled dough on a floured surface and roll to 1/2-inch thickness. Cut out cookies with desired cookie cutters and place on ungreased cookie sheets.
• Bake in the preheated oven until edges are golden, about 10 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet for 1 minute before removing to a wire rack to cool, 8 to 10 minutes more.
• While cookies are cooling, place 3 cups powdered sugar, softened butter, orange zest, and 1/3 cup orange juice in a bowl. Discard remaining orange juice, or save for another use. Beat frosting ingredients with an electric mixer until consistency is similar to fondant or modeling dough, adding more powdered sugar, if necessary. Frost cookies.

Steps:

• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle, add the butter, sugar and orange zest and beat until smooth, 5 to 8 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, dry ginger, nutmeg, allspice, cinnamon, cloves and salt. Whisk to blend. Set aside.
• In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, molasses and lemon juice.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• When the butter and sugar are integrated, lower the speed of the mixer and add the dry ingredients. Add the egg mixture and when blended, remove the bowl from the machine. Divide the cookie dough in half. Press the first half of the dough in between 2 sheets of waxed paper or plastic wrap and chill for 15 minutes. Repeat with the second half. This step will make it easier to finish rolling out the dough when it has chilled. It will also mean you only have half of the dough getting warm as you roll it.
• Lightly flour a flat surface. Use a floured rolling pin to gently roll the first half of the dough about 1/2-inch thick. Lightly flour the cookie cutter(s) and cut the shapes, making as few scraps as possible. Use a metal spatula to gently transfer them, cookie by cookie, (the cookies should be similar size) to a baking sheet. Repeat with the other half of the dough and transfer them to another baking sheet. A note about crowding the tray(s): these particular cookies can spread a little. Leave room between the cookies. Better to use 3 baking sheets with fewer cookies than to crowd them on 2 trays. Bake until brown around the edges, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Got scraps? Form the scraps into a ball, press it flat and chill in the refrigerator. These cookies may be a little more "tough" because the dough will have been worked a little more than the others. Why not have a little frosting on your gingerbread?
• In a medium bowl add all of the ingredients and whisk together to combine. If too thick in consistency, add a touch more orange juice or water to thin out.
• Use a pastry bag fitted with a star tip to pipe the frosting between 2 of the gingerbread cookies. Press the 2 cookies halves gently together.
• Variation: I love springerle, the German anise-flavored cookies, for the delicate molds (and carved rolling pins) used to make them. I have made this recipe with springerle molds with stunning results. The kind of cookies that make people marvel at how great they look before they eat a half a plate of them! Simply dust the decorative molds (or rolling pin) with flour, shaking lightly to remove any excess. Roll the dough very thin (between 1/2 and 1/4-inch thick). Press or roll the dough into the molds and trace the shapes with a sharp knife to extract the cookies. Arrange them on a greased baking sheet (with some space between them) and bake for 6 to 8 minutes. Not using molds? Scoop the batter in teaspoons and roll them into balls. Press the balls onto a greased baking sheet or press with the tines of a fork to make ridges. Bake until brown around the edges, about 10 to 12 minutes. These cookies are so beautiful, they can stand alone. Or...make gingerbread sandwiches using the above frosting as the filling...

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, spices, baking soda, and salt; set aside. With an electric mixer, beat butter and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in molasses and egg. With mixer on low, add dry ingredients; mix just until a dough forms. Place dough on floured plastic wrap; pat into an 8-inch square. Wrap well; chill until firm, 1 to 2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Divide dough in half. Working with one half at a time (rewrap and refrigerate other half), place dough on floured parchment or waxed paper; roll out 1/8 inch thick, turning, lifting, and flouring dough (and rolling pin) as needed. Freeze dough (on paper) until firm, about 20 minutes.
• Loosen dough from paper. Cut out shapes, and transfer to baking sheets. Decorate with sugar or sprinkles, as desired.
• Bake until firm and edges just begin to darken, 10 to 18 minutes, depending on size. Cool completely on baking sheets.

Steps:

• In a small bowl, cream butter until light and fluffy. Beat in the confectioners' sugar, orange zest and vanilla. Add enough orange juice to achieve frosting consistency.

Steps:

• Place the confectioners' sugar in a bowl, and stir in the milk until smooth. Mix in the cinnamon, cloves, and ginger until thoroughly blended. Spread on cookies of your choice.