Three Children's Christmas Cookies Printable Recipe

Grandpa's Soft Ginger Molasses Cookies Recipe

• 5 cups flour ( I used 1/2 sprouted wheat flour and 1/2 white wheat pastry flour)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger (I altered this and used 1 tsp. of fresh ginger)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 cup molasses
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup shortening or margarine, melted (I used 1/2 cup organic coconut oil, 1/2 cup butter)
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 teaspoons vinegar
• 2 teaspoons baking soda dissolved in 2 tablespoons water
• (I also threw in 1/2 lb of spinach and 3 sweet potatoes......okay, I'm JUST kidding!)  

1. Sift together the flour, salt, ginger, and cloves into a large bowl and set aside.
2. In another large bowl stir together the molasses, brown sugar, and shortening or margarine with a wooden spoon until well combined.
3. Beat in the eggs, vinegar, and baking soda mixture then stir the flour into the molasses mixture until blended.
4. Cover the bowl and refrigerate it until well chilled. This will take at least 2 to 3 hours.
5. When you are ready to bake your soft molasses cookies, make sure one of your oven racks is in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 400F degrees.
6. Line your cookie sheets with silicone liners, parchment paper, or nonstick foil or lightly grease them and set aside.
7. Scoop out your dough a generous cupful at a time onto a floured surface.
8. Roll the dough out to 3/4-inch thickness, flouring lightly as necessary to prevent sticking.
9. Cut your cookies out using your favorite cookie cutters and place on the prepared cookie sheets about 2 inches apart.
10. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until set, and then remove from the oven and allow to cool for 1 to 2 minutes before transferring your cookies to wire racks to cool completely.
11. Once completely cool, store your cookies in an airtight container with a slice of soft bread to keep them soft.

This recipe yields about 4 to 5 dozen soft molasses cookies, but will vary greatly depending on the size and shape of cookie cutters used.

(This recipe used from this source: Best-ever-cookie-collection.com: molasses-cookies-recipe)



I used a basic butter cream recipe for the frosting:

Ingredients

• 3 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1 cup butter (I used 1/2 cup butter/ 1/2 cup coconut oil)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 to 2 tablespoons whipping cream (I used milk: only ad a tiny bit if using cranberry concentrate to dye the frosting).

Directions

In a standing mixer fitted with a whisk, mix together sugar and butter. Mix on low speed until well blended and then increase speed to medium and beat for another 3 minutes.

Add vanilla and cream and continue to beat on medium speed for 1 minute more, adding more cream if needed for spreading consistency.

(This recipe was obtained from: Foodnetwork.com)