Ingredients
Cookies
3 cups Swany White Flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly milled black pepper
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup vegetable shortening, at room temperature
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
2/3 cup unsulfured molasses
1 large egg
Royal Icing
4 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
2 tablespoons dried egg-white powder
6 tablespoons water
Directions
- Position the racks in the top and bottom thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.
- In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, cloves, salt and pepper and set aside.
- In another large bowl, beat the butter and vegetable shortening until well-combined, about 1 minute using a hand mixer on high.
- Add the brown sugar to the butter mixture and beat until it is light in texture and color, about 2 minutes.
- Next, beat in the molasses and egg until mixed throughly.
- With a spoon, mix in the flour mixture gradually until a stiff dough forms.
- Divide the dough into two thick disks, wrap each in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 3 hours.
- Remove the one disk of dough from the refrigerator and let stand at room temperature, about 10 minutes, Dough should be warm enough to roll out without cracking.
- Place the dough on a lightly floured work surface and sprinkle the top of the dough with flour and roll out the dough 1/8 inch thick. **For a softer cookie, roll out slightly thicker.**
- Using cookie cutters, cut out the cookies and transfer to nonstick cookie sheets, placing the cookies 1 inch apart.
- You can knead the scraps together and form into another disk. Wrap and chill for 5 minutes before rolling out again to cut out more cookies, repeat until dough is gone and then start on the next disk.
- Bake, being sure to switch the cookies from top to bottom and back to front halfway through baking, until the edges of the cookies are set and crisp, 10 to 12 minutes.
- Cool for 2 minutes, then transfer to wire cake racks to cool completely.
- Decorate with Royal Icing.
Royal Icing
- In a medium bowl, beat the confectioners’ sugar, egg-white powder and water using a hand-held electric mixer at low speed until combined.
- Increase the speed to high and beat 3 to 5 minutes or until very stiff, shiny and thick enough to pipe. Be sure to scrape the sides of the bowl while beating.
Notes:
- The cookies can be prepared up to 1 week ahead, stored in airtight containers at room temperature.
- The icing can prepared up to 2 days ahead, stored in an airtight container and refrigerated.
- This icing hardens into shiny white lines, and is used for piping decorations on cookies
- Traditional royal icing uses raw egg whites, you can substitute 3 large egg whites for the powder and water.