Today's baking books often exhort readers to produce technically advanced marvels. Not so The Family Baker, Susan G. Purdy's collection of 150 basic but delicious recipes. "These are meant to look as homemade as they taste," the award-winning baking book author says, encouraging whole-family participation in their creation--and everyone can get into the act with Purdy's reliable
Children love to make these traditional holiday spice cookies. You can cut them with cookie cutters or design your own shapes by drawing around handmade stencils. This recipe for pepparkakor comes from Sweden, where cut-outs of pigs, horses, and roosters decorated with white sugar icing are popular Christmas motifs. Try angels, trees, teddy bears, and of course, gingerbread men and women. For Chanukah, cut out dreidel (top) shapes or six-pointed stars.
For Good Measure
To make Cookie Tree Ornaments: use a drinking straw or a toothpick to poke 1/8-inch holes in the top of cut-out cookies before baking, then widen holes as soon as cookies come out of the oven. Decorate cookies, then tie thin red ribbons through the holes to make hanging loops.
To make Party Placecards: cut out and bake 2 x 3-inch dough rectangles and write guests' names in icing.
To make Cookie Gift Tags: cut out cookie cutter shapes and poke a hanging hole in one end; bake, write name in icing, and tie the tag onto a gift.
To measure molasses easily, use an oiled measuring cup.
To avoid possible risk from salmonella bacteria arising from use of uncooked egg whites, you can make icing with meringue powder sold in gourmet shops. As a general rule of thumb, 1 tablespoon dried egg white powder + 2 tablespoons warm water = 1 fresh egg white. If you prefer to use fresh egg whites, see recipe below for classic royal icing.
special equipment: Cookie sheets; baking parchment, optional; sifter; rolling pin; cookie cutters or stiff paper and scissors; paring knife; drinking straw or toothpick (to make hanging holes); plastic wrap; decorating tube fitted with #5 or #6 plain round tip, or a self-sealing freezer-style pint size plastic bag with tiny hole cut in one corner; red ribbon, optional, for hanging shapes
advance preparation: Dough can be prepared 1 or 2 days before rolling out and kept covered in the refrigerator. Baked cookies can be doublewrapped and frozen up to 2 months.
temperature and time: 350 degrees F for 8 to 10 minutes
yield: About 50 cookies (3-inch diameter)
or about 30 figures (5 inches tall)
dough
Butter-flavor no-stick vegetable spray or solid shortening for preparing pans
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter or solid stick margarine, softened
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1 large egg, at room temperature
3 to 3 1/3 cups unsifted all-purpose flour, plus extra as needed for rolling out
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice or cardamom
2 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
decorations
Raisins, chopped nuts, cherries, silver dragies, cinnamon hot candies, vegetable food coloring (liquid, powder, or paste type)
choose one:
meringue powder royal icing
3 tablespoons meringue powder
6 tablespoons warm water, or as needed
4 cups (1 pound) sifted confectioners' sugar
or classic royal icing
2 large egg whites, at room temperature
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 1/2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar, or as needed
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, or as needed
Position racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat it to 350 degrees F. Lightly coat the cookie sheets with vegetable spray or solid shortening or cover them with baking parchment.
In a large bowl using a sturdy spoon or an electric mixer, beat together the butter and brown sugar until very soft, well blended, and without lumps. Beat in the molasses and egg. Scrape down the bowl and beater.
Sift directly onto the butter mixture 3 cups of the flour, plus the salt, baking soda, and all spices. Slowly mix all the ingredients together until thoroughly incorporated. If the dough feels sticky to the touch, add more flour 1 tablespoon at a time, up to 1/3 cup, until the dough is soft and pliable but not sticky.
To shape cookies: Use about one-third of the dough at a time; wrap and refrigerate the remainder until needed. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to about 1/8 inch thick (a little thicker if the cookies will be hung on a tree). Cut shapes with the floured cookie cutters or use a sharp paring knife to cut around your own handmade paper stencils (rub flour on paper stencil before placing it on the dough so it will not stick). Peel away the dough from between the cut shapes and use a wide floured spatula to transfer the cookies to a baking sheet, placing them about 1 inch apart. Reroll the scraps and cut more shapes. Press on the raisins, nuts, or candies for eyes, nose, and buttons. Use a drinking straw or toothpick to poke a 1/8-inch-wide hole in the top of the cookies that will be hung up by a ribbon loop or tied onto a gift package.
Bake the cookies for 8 to 10 minutes, or until firm to the touch and a slightly darker color around the edges. Cool the cookies on the pan set on a wire rack for 3 or 4 minutes; use a straw or toothpick to widen precut hanging holes. With a spatula, slide the cookies onto a wire rack to cool completely. You should not have to regrease the pans before baking additional batches of cookies.
Select one of the icing recipes. If using the meringue powder royal icing, whisk together the powder and warm water, then let it sit about 3 minutes so the powder call absorb some liquid. Add the sifted sugar and beat with all electric mixer on lowest speed until the icing is smooth and about the consistency of softly whipped cream, forming soft peaks. Add a teaspoon or two more warm water if the icing is too stiff to spread.
If using the classic royal icing, combine all the ingredients and beat with all electric mixer oil lowest speed until the icing is smooth and thick. Adjust the consistency by adding sugar or liquid until spreadable.
Note: Both types of royal icing air-harden quickly; keep the bowl covered at all times with plastic wrap or a damp towel. You may need to add a few drops more water after the icing stands for a period of time.
To decorate completely cooled cookies: Place the icing in a decorating tube or a small plastic bag with a very tiny hole cut in a comer, and draw designs oil the cookies. To add colors, place a small amount of icing in cups and tint it by stirring in a drop or two of food coloring. To paint on the icing, thin it with a little water. When the icing is dry and hard to the touch, tie ribbons through the cookies that will hang on a tree. Store the cookies layered with wax paper in an airtight container.
