Ugly Christmas Sweater Gingerbread Cookies
Whip up delightful gingerbread cookies with royal icing for a festive and delicious holiday treat.
Ingredients
FOR GINGERBREAD COOKIES:
- 3 cups flour
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 egg room temperature
- ¼ cup honey OR molasses
- 3 tablespoons ginger powder
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
FOR ROYAL ICING:
- 16 oz powdered sugar
- ⅓ cup milk
- 2 egg whites
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Whisk together dry cookie ingredients in one bowl, excluding the brown and white sugar.
- Use a stand mixer to beat together the sugars and butter until creamed together. Then add the egg, vanilla, and honey.
- Combine the whisked dry ingredients with the creamed sugar mixture, adding 1/4 cup at a time until incorporated into a smooth batter that shouldn't be too sticky to the touch. Add more flour if the dough is too sticky to work with until you can grab balls of it that don't stick to your fingers.
- Dust a smooth surface with flour and roll out the dough to be about 1/2 to 1/4 inch thick. Use your favorite cookie cutter to make shapes.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and arrange the cookies on the baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the cookies are slightly puffed up and beginning to brown.
- Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for a few minutes to finish cooking, then transfer the cookies to a cooling rack to cool down completely.
- Make the icing by whipping together all of the ingredients, adding more powdered sugar if it's too runny and more milk if it's too dry. You want it to be about the thickness of toothpaste, maybe a tad smoother.
- If you are going to use different colors, separate the icing into smaller bowls, color them, then spoon the icing into plastic baggies and cut off just the tip of one corner to make a simple pastry bag. Decorate with gumdrops, cinnamon buttons, chocolate chips, or whatever you desire.
- Serve the cookies to Santa and enjoy!
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