Monday, October 31, 2016

Gingerdead Men for a Happy Halloween!


For Halloween this year, why not bake these lovely little fellows. These cookies are a cinch to prepare and they smell wonderful while baking. Kids will love rolling out the dough, using a fun cookie cutter and icing to decorate these spooky yet cute Gingerdead Men for Halloween.




Gingerdead Men

(Yield: 16-18 cookies)

Ingredients for the gingerbread cookies
  • 380 grams (3 cups) all purpose (plain) wheat flour
  • 150 grams (3/4 cup) light brown sugar, packed
  • 3/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tbsp  ground cinnamon
  • 1 tbsp ground ginger
  • 1/2 tsp ground cloves
  • 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
  • 2 tsps pure vanilla sugar or 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 170 grams (3/4 cup) unsalted butter
  • 205 grams (3/4 cup) molasses (I used sugar beet syrup from a regional producer called „Grafschafter“)
  • 2 tbsps milk (3.5%)

For the icing
  • some confectioners' sugar
  • a few tbsps milk or half and half
  • a few drops of pure vanilla extract (optional)




Preparation
  1. In a food processor, mix flour, sugar, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, salt, baking soda, and vanilla until combined
  2. Add butter and mix.
  3. With food processor running, add molasses and milk and mix until dough is evenly moistened.
  4. Divide dough in half and roll each half out to 0.6 cm (¼ inch) thickness between two sheets of parchment paper.
  5. Chill in refrigerator for at least 2 hours (or overnight) or until the dough is firm.
  6. Once dough has been chilled, preheat your oven to 175 ° Celsius (350° Fahrenheit).
  7. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
  8. Remove parchment paper from dough, stamp and cut out cookies using the Gingerdead Men cookie cutter or any other gingerbread men cookie cutter you have on hand. NOTE: while it is easier to cut when the dough is cool, you will get a better impression when the dough has softened slightly. To stamp cookies, dip both sides of the cutter into flour and tap off any excess. Using the stamp side, press it evenly into the dough until it is flush with the dough. Flip over the cutter, center it over the impression and press it down to cut out the shape. If the dough sticks to the cutter, just give it a couple taps.
  9. Place cut-outs on prepared baking sheet, leaving 2.5 cm (1 inch) of space in between cookies.
  10. Bake for about 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown
  11. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for a few minutes, then transfer to wire rack to completely cool.
  12. Gather scraps; repeat rolling, cutting, and baking with remaining dough until used up
  13. While cookies are cooling, add confectioners' sugar, vanilla extract and milk to a bowl and whisk until you have a piping consistency.
  14. Then use a piping bag and tip to flood the icing into the "bone areas"
  15. Allow icing to harden, then store cookies in an airtight container.



Happy Baking and Happy Halloween!


14 comments:

  1. Happy Halloween 👻 to you Andrea. . The gingerbread cookies are so cute. Are you going trick or treating with your daughter tonight?

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    Replies
    1. Liebe Gerlinde, we do not really do "trick or treating" around these parts but the kids will go around the neighbourhood on Saint Martin´s Day with their paper lanterns and get sweets and things and those "Weckmänner" (Sweet Dough Men).
      Liebe Grüße,
      Andrea

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  2. Awwwwwwwww, so sweet, Andrea!
    Is Halloween big in Germany.
    I should have kids at my door any moment!
    Bye! xx

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    Replies
    1. Dear Kim, no, around here Halloween is not a big thing with kids yet but it is gaining a lot of attention, mostly with young adults that dress up and love a reasonably good excuse for another party. We do a bit of Halloween celebration at our house though, just for the kids and us... scary food and dessets and all. I still love it, having lived in Canada for a while I cannot quite get it out of my system.
      Lots of love,
      Andrea

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  3. My family loves ginger cookies and these are adorable! I'm going to have to hunt down a cookie cutter with the skeleton design---love how that helps assist with the frosting application. Happy Halloween!!! xo

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    Replies
    1. Liz, you can order them from amazon and from "Fred and Friends" - I do not have a steady "frosting hand", so I am totally grateful for these cookie cutters which make the decorating a lot easier for me (and the kids).
      Hope you had a wonderful Halloween!
      Andrea

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  4. Happy Halloween to you too Andrea, and it looks like you've been having fun baking!

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    Replies
    1. Chris, kids love cookies and decorations and Halloween and they loved helping me with these!
      Thank you for stopping by!

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  5. These are fab! Happy Halloween Andrea.

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    Replies
    1. Dear Gaye, hope you had a wonderful Halloween and thank you for stopping by!

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  6. Oh Andrea, these gingerbread man dressed for Halloween are so cute!
    Hope you all had a great Halooween...have a wonderful week ahead :)

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    Replies
    1. Dear Juliana, same here - hope you had a smashing time, dear friend!

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  7. Ganz toll! Perfect for our Day of the Dead (All Saints) ceremony and parade! Liebe Grüße, D

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    Replies
    1. Dear David, we call the "Day of the Dead" or the "All Saints Day" that we celebrate on November 1st "Allerheiligen" and it is a day off from work and school and a day to remember all those Saints, the famous and not so famous ones...These cookies were just as a fun way to celebrate a bit of Halloween with the kids - they love that they taste like gingerbread.
      Liebe Grüße,
      Andrea

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