Moravian Sugar Cookies Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• Whisk the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, pepper and mustard together in a medium bowl.
• Beat the butter and sugar together in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until just combined and lightly fluffy. Beat in the molasses and egg yolk. Gradually add the dry ingredients and mix together on low speed until dough is just combined and still crumbly, about 3 minutes. Give dough a few turns with a spatula to bring together.
• Lay out wax paper on a clean work surface and put about 1/3 of the batter on top. Lightly press down and top with another sheet of wax paper. Using your hands or a rolling pin, gently pat into a rectangle. Roll out with a rolling pin until dough is as thin as possible without breaking, no thicker than 1/16 inch thick. This is the key to these cookies: they really can't be too thin. Gently peel back the layer of waxed paper and then replace it loosely.
• Transfer rolled batter to a flat baking sheet and freeze until firm and can easily be peeled away from the waxed paper, about 30 minutes. Repeat with the remaining dough.
• Cut dough using a small (2- to 3-inch) fluted round cookie cutter and return to the freezer for 15 minutes to set. Transfer frozen cookies to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake until crisp and lightly, evenly colored (but not brown), about 10 minutes.

Steps:

• Sift flour, cinnamon, and ginger together in a large bowl. Add sugar and mix well. Work lard and butter into the flour mixture using a pastry blender.
• Combine vinegar and baking soda in a small bowl; mix to dissolve. Add mixture to the flour mixture in the bowl. Add molasses and mix thoroughly. Place dough in the refrigerator until chilled, about 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Roll dough out very thin on a floured surface. Cut into shapes using fancy cookie cutters.
• Bake in the preheated oven until lightly browned, about 10 minutes.

Steps:

• Cream butter; gradually add sugar, beating well at medium speed with electric mixer. Add egg and vanilla, beat well. Combin 2 1/4 cups flour, soda, and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk, mixing well. Add remaining 1/4 cup flour if dough seems very sticky. Cover and chill 8 hours.
• Work with one-fourth of dough at a time, and store remainder in fridge. Place stickinette cover on rolling pin; flour well. Roll dough to 1/16 inch thickness on a lightly floured pastry cloth. Cut with a 3 inch roud cutter, and carefully place on lightly greased cookie sheets. Bake at 375F for 6-8 minutes or just until cookies brown around the edges. Cool slightly on cookie sheets and sprinkle with superfine sugar. remove to wire racks, and cool completely. repeat with reaminingdough. Store in airtight containers.

Steps:

• Melt the margarine and lard together and set aside to cool to lukewarm.
• Put the molasses in a very large and heavy smooth-bottomed pot. Stir in the cloves, cinnamon, ginger, and the brown sugar. Turn to medium-high and start stir with a wooden spoon until the mixture is warm, the sugar has dissolved, and all the spices are incorporated, 5 to 10 minutes. Do NOT bring it to a boil.
• Put the salt and soda in a cup or small bowl and mix it with about 3 tablespoons flour in a cup. Add that to the molasses mixture. Stir until completely dissolved, mashing any particles of soda against the side of the pot so that every bit is incorporated.
• Pour in the cooled margarine and lard, and beat with a wooden spoon until completely blended. Allow the whole mixture to cool before adding the flour, or the dough will absorb more flour. Add about one-third of the flour mixture and stir well with a wooden spoon. Add the second third of flour and continue to mix.
• Take the remaining third of flour and sprinkle a work surface thickly with some of it. Scrape all the dough out onto the floured surface, and begin to knead, flouring your hands frequently while you incorporate the remaining flour.
• When the dough has become stiff and firm and far less sticky, roll it into a long tube and cut it into eight pieces, which will weigh roughly one pound each. Shape each ball into a disk, slapping the surface with your hands to smooth it (you'll see the lard rise to the surface, making each disk kind of shiny).
• Put four disks of dough in each of two large plastic bags and seal. Allow to sit overnight on the countertop. The dough will swell some and the spice flavors will mellow and blend.
• When you're ready to bake, preheat the oven to 250 degrees F. Cover a pastry or rolling board (or a square piece of plywood) with bleached muslin that's been washed several times, tacking it tightly around the edges. Flour the muslin and rub the flour into the cloth to coat it deeply. Roll the cookies as thin as possible, 1/16 to 1/32 of an inch. Cut with any cookie cutter you like, using tiny cutters such as hearts or circles to cut out little cookies in the spaces between larger cookies. (You can also gather the scraps and reroll, but these cookies won't be as tender.)
• Lift the cookies onto an ungreased baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Watch them, and don't let the cookies brown around the edges. Allow to cool on the pan for several minutes before lifting them onto cooling racks. As soon as they're completely cool, pack and store in an airtight container. If you're using cookie tins, seal the lid of the tin with masking tape. Any air creeping in will cause the cookies to soften.

Steps:

• Sift together into bowl the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and ginger.
• Add the brown sugar and mix well.
• With pastry blender, cut in butter and lard. (I use my Kitchen Aid for all).
• Gradually add the molasses and vinegar and mix thoroughly.
• Chill several hours or until firm enough to roll.
• Using a small amount of dough at a time, roll out on floured surface to about 1/8 inch or more thickness and cut with fancy cutters.
• Bake in preheated moderate oven 350 degrees F. for about ten minutes or until browned.
• Cool and decorate.

Steps:

• Make cookies:
• Pulse shortening, brown sugar, and molasses in a food processor until smooth. Meanwhile, whisk together flour, baking soda, spices, and salt. Add to processor and blend just until combined.
• Turn out dough onto a floured surface and knead briefly, allowing dough to absorb a little more flour if sticky. Divide dough in half and form each half into a 3-inch square. Wrap each in plastic wrap and chill at least 1 day.
• Preheat oven to 325°F with rack in middle. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Roll out 1 piece of dough on a floured pastry cloth using floured sleeve-covered rolling pin until very thin (less than 1/16 inch thick), about a 15-inch square. Cut out shapes with cookie cutters and, using offset spatula to transfer, arrange about 1/2 inch apart on baking sheets.
• Bake cookies, 1 sheet at a time, 10 minutes. Let stand 1 minute on sheet, then loosen with spatula and transfer on parchment to a rack to crisp, about 10 minutes. If first batch isn't crisp, bake 1 minute more (on baking sheet), then bake remaining batches 10 to 11 minutes. Cool cookies completely on rack.
• Repeat with remaining dough (cool baking sheets and line with fresh parchment). Reroll scraps once for extra cookies if desired.
• Make icing:
• Beat together icing ingredients in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until just combined, about 1 minute. Increase speed to high and beat until icing holds soft peaks, about 3 minutes more. If desired, divide icing and add food coloring.
• Fill pastry bags with icing and pipe decoratively on cookies, then let set, about 1 hour.