Recipe(tried): Gingerbread Dough (Pepparkakor)

I made these last year and everyone loved them. Even my 2-year-old grand daughter.

Gingerbread Dough /Pepparkakor

Recipe By : TVFN
Serving Size : 48 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Christmas Cookies
Holidays

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
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1/2 cup butter (1 stick) -- room temperature
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup light molasses (or dark corn syrup)
1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 Tablespoon ground ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 Tablespoons water
melted white chocolate or Royal Icing -- for decoration

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter, brown sugar, molasses, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and baking soda together unti the mixture is smooth. Blend in the flour and mix it to form a stiff dough. Add the water as needed.

Chill at least 30 minutes or until firm. (I found that 2 hours or overnight worked best. 30 minutes just wasn't long enough in my fridge that was overstuffed with Christmas food already.)

Preheat oven to 375-deg. F.

On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/8 inch (1/16-inch for more crisp cookies.) and cut into desired shapes using cookie cutters dipped in flour. Place about 2 inches apart on parchment covered baking sheet. (I used Magic Baking Sheets on my cookie sheets, but parchment should work just fine.) Bake cookies for 8 to 10 minutes until lightly browned. (Watch them, if you don't want crisp cookies. I found 8 minutes gave a crisp edge and soft cookie using 4-inch tall cookie cutters.)

Dip cooled cookies into melted white chocolate to decorate, or decorate with Royal Icing.

I thought the icing detracted from the wonderful taste of the cookies. These were the best gingerbread cookies that I've ever eaten. They remained soft and had the most delicious clear ginger taste and refreshing after-taste. I found the dough to be very soft and had to be stuck back into the fridge to harden between batches. I did add the 2 Tablespoons of water and think that next time I may add it according to necessity, since the water may be what made the dough so soft. Sufice it to say that my gingerbread men did not turn out in perfect shapes, but they were so good, no one cared.

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