Holiday Ornament Cookies
(Chef Rachel Magaña)
2 ¼ cup flour
½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
3 ½ Tbs. butter
½ cup powdered sugar
¼ cup molasses
½ of a beaten egg (about 1 1/2 Tbsp.)
Whisk together flour baking powder and baking soda in a bowl. Set aside. Heat butter, sugar, and molasses in a medium saucepan, stirring occasionally, until butter has melted and mixture is smooth. Remove from heat and add dry ingredients. Stir until crumbly. Add in the egg and turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and work until well combined.
If dough feels dry – add a little water, if dough feels too wet – add a little flour. Roll out about 1/4-inch thick and cut into holiday shapes.
Skewer the top of each cookie to create a hole for the twine to hang on tree. (Make the hole bigger so that when it bakes it doesn’t close up.) Arrange on a baking sheet and chill for 20 minutes before baking. (These cookies don’t spread much so you can put cookies close together on baking sheet.)
Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 min., until golden and firm.
Royal Icing for Ornaments
6 cups powdered sugar
½ cup egg whites
¼ cup water (may need more or less – add slowly)
¼ tsp. vanilla extract
food coloring (if desired)
sprinkles, sparkling sugar, etc. for decorating
Combine dry ingredients in a bowl. Add egg whites and combine. Slowly add water, making sure there are no dry lumps in batter, until icing is thick but able to spread with a spatula or pipe in a piping bag. Always start with the smallest amount of liquids before adding more. A little bit goes a long way! If the frosting gets too thin, add powdered sugar until desired thickness.
Notes:
- I started with a simple gingerbread dough that I rolled out fairly thick to help keep my ornaments sturdy after baking. Poke a hole with a skewer through the top of your ornament.
- You will want to make the hole larger than you probably think you will need. This way when the cookie bakes, the hole to hang the ornaments doesn’t close up.
- Once cookies are cooled from the oven, you can prepare your royal icing which is a simple combination of powdered sugar, egg whites and water.
- You can add food dye if you want color and make sure to top with some fun sprinkles!
- To hang your ornaments, you can use ribbon, twine or fishing wire for whichever look you are going for.
- Its a fun project to decorate with family and friends and a cup of hot cocoa!
