I am fortunate to have two aunts I can call upon who have fabulous “secret” recipes. When we talked about doing the SavvyMom bake-off, I immediately jumped on the idea of gingerbread. I’ve always loved gingerbread cookies, but I’ve found that sometimes it’s too thick and hard, or the cookies are too bready. So when it came time to find a new recipe, I called Aunt Dorothy. Having grown up on a farm, there was lots of opportunity for baking (her strudel is phenomenal). She gave me this recipe (why I haven’t ever asked her before, I’ll never know). The ingredients were surprising when I first looked at it, but I have to say, I’ve never loved gingerbread more. It seemed to do well at Savvy HQ too! The only thing I realized when I started baking is I’ve got to find myself some more traditional cookie cutters (even though my daughter loved the gingerbread ladybugs).
The HQ cookie tasters had this to say: “Soft and sweet with a little citrus tang. Kids will love these!”
Aunt Dorothy’s Orange Gingerbread Cookies
Makes 40 – 50 (depending on your cookie cutter)
You’ll Need
Cookies
- 1 ⅓ cup butter
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 cup light molasses
- ½ cup hot coffee
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
- 2 tsp ginger
- 2 tsp grated orange peel
- 1 tsp salt
- 6 – 7 cups flour
Icing
- 2 ½ cups icing sugar
- 2 ½ tbsp cream
- 4 tbsp butter
- 1 tsp vanilla
- Splash of lemon (or orange) juice
Prep and Cook
Cookies
- Cream the butter and sugar.
- Add molasses and coffee.
- Add cinnamon, ginger, salt and orange peel.
- Transfer to a mixing bowl and slowly add the flour, mixing as you go (you’ll need a strong arm).
- Once the dough is stiff but soft, kneed it on a lightly floured cutting board for 10 minutes (this is key). Put into a container and cover, refrigerating for up to two hours.
- Once it’s ready, take small amounts, roll it out, and create your shapes. If you keep the dough thicker, the cookies will be softer. For crunchier cookies, make it thinner.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
- Cook for 12 – 15 minutes (cook longer if you want crispier cookies)
- Let cool for 20 minutes before icing.
Icing
- Blend ingredients together.
- Let it sit in the refrigerator covered for an hour.
- If you don’t have an icing tube, use a plastic sandwich bag. Just cut a tiny corner off at the bottom, and put your icing inside, zipping it up. Squeeze and decorate.
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