I am counting down to Christmas… less than a week to go… HO-HO-HO!!! I was so busy with all the Christmas crafts, decorations, and shopping, plus planning for a short weekend getaway with family [actually, I am in Singapore now]. I ran out of time to bake (except the Gingerbread man cookies we baked last week), glad that Mandy came in to bake some Giant Ginger Snap Cookies to share with us.
I did the decoration part though, stencil-dusting on the cookies 🙂 I always believe that things will get done faster if we work as a team with a correct person!
This recipe was adapted from a recipe in Better Homes and Gardens magazine (not sure if there is an online version). We reduced the sugar a little as we did not want the cookies to be too sweet after the dusting. If you skipped the dusting, you may add back the deducted 1/2 cup of granulated sugar to the recipe.
Since I don’t have store-bought stencil in the holiday theme, I made my own stencil by using the snowflakes and star paper punches; simply punch on a clean round card stock.
Merry Christmas and have a blessed Holiday!!!
Recipe: Giant Ginger Snap Cookie
Makes 20-24 | Prep Time: 40 minutes | Bake Time: 12 minutes per batch
Recipe adapted and modified from Better Homes and Gardens Holiday 2013 – 100 Best Cookies
Ingredients:
4 ½ cups all-purpose flour
5 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp baking soda
1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
¼ tsp salt
1 ½ cups shortening
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs
½ cup molasses
Decorations:
¾ cup coarse sugar
Powdered sugar or confectioners’ sugar & choice of the stencil for dusting decoration.
Method:
Preheat oven to 350F. In a medium bowl sift together flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt; set aside.
In a large mixing bowl beat shortening with an electric mixer on high speed for 30 seconds. Gradually add the 2 cups granulated sugar. Beat until combined, scraping sides of the bowl. Beat in eggs and molasses until combined. Beat in as much of the flour mixture as you can with the mixer. Stir in any remaining flour mixture.
Place the ¾ cup coarse sugar in a small bowl. Using ¼ cup of the dough for each cookie (you may use a smaller ice cream scoop to measure), shape dough into balls.
Roll balls in coarse sugar to coat. Place balls about 1 inch apart on a non-greased cookie sheet. Lightly press the dough with hand to flatten it a little.
Bake for 12 to 14 minutes (5 to 7 minutes for smaller cookie) or until the cookies is lightly browned and puffed. (Do not over bake or cookies will not be chewy.) Cool on cookie sheet for 2 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
Place stencil on the completely cooled giant gingersnap cookies, dust powdered sugar on the cookie. Remove stencil carefully.
Cook’s Note:
1. We reduced the sugar a little as we did not want the cookies to be too sweet after the dusting. If you skipped the dusting, you may add another 1/2 cup of granulated sugar to the recipe.
2. To store: Layer cookies between sheets of waxed paper in an airtight container: cover. Store at room temperature for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
Conversion:
For your convenience, please use this unit conversion, powered by UnitConversion.org to convert the measurement to other units.
