Yield: Varies, depending on shape/size of cutters
Note: Plan accordingly for the first step of this recipe! This is usually a two-day affair for me!
Ingredients
For the cookies:
3/4 cup butter
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 cup molasses
1 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp anise seeds
3 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
For the Royal Icing:
3 egg whites (at room temperature)
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1 (16-oz) package of powdered sugar
1/2 tsp extract (almond, vanilla, or even lemon)
Food coloring gel
Special equipment: an off-set spatula
Directions
The night before: In a medium sauce pan, combine the butter, brown sugar, molasses, allspice, cinnamon, cloves, and anise seeds. Bring it to a boil, stirring frequently as the butter melts. Remove the pan from heat, cover, and let sit at room temperature for 8 hours (overnight).
The next morning, finish making the dough. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; stir with a whisk.
Transfer the molasses mixture to a large bowl. Add the dry ingredients 1/4 at a time, stirring well after each addition.
Divide the dough into 4 portions. Wrap each portion with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours.
When ready to proceed, preheat the oven to 375°F. Line some baking sheets with parchment paper. Working with one portion at a time, place the dough onto a generously floured surface, and dust the top of the dough as well. Roll out to 1/8-inch thickness. If the rolling pin starts to stick to the dough, dust with more flour.
Cut the flattened dough with cookie cutter shapes of your choice. Transfer the shaped dough to the baking sheet, leaving 1 to 2 inches in between each cookie. This part is impossible to do without a floured spatula - this is where my offset spatula comes in.
Bake for 7 to 9 minutes. Allow to cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes before transferring the cookies to wire rack to cool completely before decorating.
Decorate as desired with royal icing, candies, and sprinkles. Allow the icing to harden on the cookies before storing them in an air-tight container.
To make the royal icing, combine the egg whites and cream of tartar in a large mixing bowl. Beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until frothy. Gradually add the powdered sugar, mixing well after each addition. Add the extract, then beat for 5 to 7 minutes. Divide the icing according to how many different colors you wish to use. Transfer the colored icing to piping bags fitted with your choice of tip. (See my trick for this below!)
Visuals
Combine the butter, molasses, spices, and brown sugar in a saucepan.
As soon as it boils, move it off the heat, cover, and let it sit at room temperature for 8 hours.
To finish the dough, transfer the syrup to a large bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients and whisk to combine. Add the dry ingredients to the syrup, 1/4 at at time, mixing well after each addition. When it all comes together, it should look like Play-dough. Divide into 4 portions and wrap with plastic wrap. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours.
When ready to proceed, work with one portion of dough at a time on a generously floured surface.
Roll the dough out to 1/8-inch thickness. Add more flour, as needed, if the rolling pin starts to stick to the dough.
Cut your desired shapes. Transfer the cut dough to a parchment-lined baking sheet. This is where the offset spatula comes in handy. Actually, don't try transferring the cut dough without some sort of spatula if you want to maintain the shape you just cut!
Bake for 7 to 9 minutes in a preheated 375°F oven. I always let my cookies sit on the baking sheet for 2 minutes before moving them to a cooling rack.
After you make and color your royal icing, you're going to want to get them into piping bags. Here is a trick I learned that was a game changer for me!
Step one: Wrap the icing in plastic wrap. Do this by placing the icing in the middle of a piece of plastic wrap. Fold the top and bottom of the plastic over the icing. Gather each side and twist (so it looks like a piece of wrapped candy).
Step two: place the wrapped icing into a piping bag, feeding one end of the twisted sides all the way through the coupler.
Step three: Secure the open end of the piping bag with a clip or tightly with a rubber band. A clip works so much better, but I didn't have any at the time I took this photo. I do now, though! Cut the excess plastic sticking out of the coupler, then attach your desired tip. You're ready to pipe!
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