Gingerbread Cookie Cutouts

Add a little snow hat (complete with a pompom) to a classic gingerbread shape to create adorable gingerbread Santas.

Gingerbread Cookie Cutouts

Average Rating: 5

TOTAL TIME: Prep: 30 min. + chilling Bake: 10 min./batch + cooling
YIELD: 5 dozen.

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup butter, softened
  • 1 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 3/4 cup molasses
  • 4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons ground ginger
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 3/4 teaspoon ground cloves
  • Vanilla frosting of choice
  • Red paste food coloring

Instructions

  • 1. Cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and molasses. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt and spices; gradually beat into creamed mixture. Divide dough in half; shape each into a disk. Wrap in plastic; refrigerate, covered, until firm enough to roll, 4 hours or overnight.
  • 2. Preheat oven to 350°. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to 1/8-in. thickness. Cut 60 gingerbread men using a floured 3-1/2-in. cookie cutter. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. If desired, cut sixty 1-1/4-in. triangles for hats; attach to gingerbread cutouts, pressing edges to seal. If desired, cut sixty 1/4-in. circles; attach to hats for pompoms.
  • 3. Bake cookies until edges are firm, 8-10 minutes. Remove to wire racks; cool completely.
  • 4. Tint some of the frosting red; use red frosting for hats and buttons. Cut a small hole in the corner of a pastry bag or heavy-duty resealable plastic bag; insert #3 round pastry tip. Fill bag with white frosting; pipe faces and trim on hands and feet. Using a #16 star pastry tip, pipe decorations on hats.

Nutrition Facts

1 cookie: 78 calories, 2g fat (2g saturated fat), 9mg cholesterol, 64mg sodium, 13g carbohydrate (7g sugars, 0 fiber), 1g protein.