Gingerbread Christmas Cookies
1/2 cup butter, cubed
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup molasses
2 teaspoons white vinegar
1 egg, lightly beaten
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
Ganache Icing, below
Reindeer Decorations: Ganache Icing, green decorating icing, colored sprinkles, Tiny White Mighty Mint candies and red M&M's Minis
Elf Decorations: Ganache Icing, white and black decorating icings, red and green Fruit Roll-Ups, holly berry quins, AirHeads Xtremes Sour Belt candies, red jimmies and yellow M&M's Minis
Santa Decorations: Canned vanilla frosting, vanilla frosting tinted with red food coloring, black decorating icing, red-colored sugar, red nonpareils, snowflake sprinkles, white large dot quins, black licorice twists, white sugar pearls and yellow diamond-shaped sprinkles
In a large saucepan, combine the butter, sugar, molasses and vinegar; bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat; cool to lukewarm. Stir in egg. Combine the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon and salt; stir into molasses mixture to form a soft dough. Divide dough into thirds. Shape each portion into a disk; wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or until easy to handle.
On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to 1/4-in. thickness. Cut with a floured 3-1/2-in. gingerbread boy cookie cutter. Place on greased baking sheets. Bake at 375° for 7-9 minutes or until edges are firm. Remove to wire racks; cool completely. Decorate as desired. Makes 3 dozen.
To make Ganache Icing: Microwave 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips, 3 tablespoons half-and-half cream, 2 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons corn syrup until blended, stopping once or twice to stir. Pipe as desired.
.
.