MINNA Kitchen with Cate Collins: Gingerbread Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted butter softened
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup molasses
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 5 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon ground ginger
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Step One: Make the Dough

• Combine the sugar and butter in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer on a medium - high speed, once your ingredients are fully mixed, lower your electric mixer speed to medium-low, and add in the egg, molasses, vinegar and vanilla extract.
• In a separate bowl combine your flour, baking soda, salt, ground cinnamon, ground allspice, ground cloves, and ground nutmeg.
• Finally combine your dry mixture and molasses mixture together and mix on low speed- be careful not to overmix the dough.

Step Two: Chill the Dough

• Cover your cookie dough and chill in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours or overnight. (if you chill your dough overnight, remove it from the refrigerator 15 minutes prior to use for an easier roll.)

Step Three: Cut Your Cookies

• Preheat the oven to 350°F
• On a lightly floured surface, split the dough into two and roll each half out until they are ¼ inch thick.
• Cut out your cookies into your desired shapes, and place them about 1 inch apart on a lined baking sheet.

Step Four: Bake the Cookies

• Bake your cookies for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown around the edges.
• Once baked, remove your cookies from the oven and carefully transfer them to a drying rack.

Step Five: Decorate the Cookies

• Make your royal icing using 2 cups of powdered sugar and 1 egg white, color your icing using food coloring.