Gingerbread Boy And Girl Cakes Recipes

GINGERBREAD BOYS AND GIRLS

Steps:

• Using an electric mixer at low speed, cream the sugar and butter until thoroughly combined. Add the eggs and molasses and mix until combined. Sift together the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and combine with a spoon or spatula.
• Remove the dough from the bowl and wrap in plastic wrap; place in the refrigerator until firm, about 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 350 °F.
• Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Allow the dough to sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes, until pliable. Take about 1/2 cup of dough at a time and roll onto a floured board until about 1/8 inch thick. Cut out with gingerbread boy and girl cookie cutters. You can reroll the scraps. Using a spatula, transfer the cookies from the board to the prepared cookie sheets.
• Bake for 10 minutes, until just beginning to brown at the edges. Transfer to wire racks to cool.
• To make the icing, combine the confectioner's sugar and milk. Divide the mixture into thirds; leave one-third white, and color one-third green and the final third red. Decorate piping eyes, mouths, buttons, and bow ties. Makes between 18-24 cookies.

GINGERBREAD BOYS

Steps:

• In a bowl, cream shortening and sugar. Add molasses and egg; mix well. Combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, salt and nutmeg; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Divide dough in half. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours., On a lightly floured surface, roll out each portion of dough to 1/8-in. thickness. Cut with a 4-in. cookie cutter dipped in flour. Place 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets. , Bake at 350° for 9-11 minutes or until edges are firm. Remove to wire racks to cool. Decorate as desired.

HERE'S MY HEART GINGERBREAD PALS

Steps:

• In 3-quart saucepan, cook and stir molasses and water over medium heat until hot; remove from heat. Stir in butter and brown sugar until smooth. Stir in remaining ingredients except candy coating and decorating sugar. Divide dough in half; shape into 2 disks. Wrap each in plastic wrap; refrigerate 1 hour.
• Heat oven to 350°F. On floured surface, roll 1 disk of dough 1/8 inch thick. Cut with floured 3- to 3 1/2-inch gingerbread boy and girl cookie cutters. With 1-inch heart-shaped cutter, cut out small heart in center of each cookie. On 1 ungreased cookie sheet, place gingerbread cutouts. On second ungreased cookie sheet, place hearts. Repeat with second disk.
• Bake hearts 5 to 7 minutes, gingerbread cookies 7 to 9 minutes, or until set. Remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks.
• In small microwavable bowl, microwave candy coating on High 1 minute; stir until smooth. Frost each heart with coating; immediately sprinkle with red sugar. Place dot of melted coating on back of heart; place on hand of each gingerbread cookie or near cutout heart on body of cookie. Decorate as desired.

GINGERBREAD BOY AND GIRL CAKES

Steps:

• In a bowl, cream shortening and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. In a bowl, combine the molasses and water. In another bowl, combine flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon and salt. Add to creamed mixture alternately with molasses mixture. Pour into a greased 15x10x1-in. baking pan lined with waxed paper. Bake at 325° for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 15 minutes; invert onto a wire rack. Remove waxed paper; cool completely., In a bowl, cream shortening, butter and vanilla. Beat in confectioners' sugar and milk. Place 1/2 cup of frosting each in two bowls. Tint one red and leave the other white. Place 1/4 cup frosting in another bowl; tint gold. Place 1 cup of frosting in another bowl; tint dark tan., Trace patterns onto waxed paper as directed and cut out. With a sharp knife, cut around patterns on gingerbread. Transfer cutouts onto a 16x11-in. covered board. , With tan frosting, frost girl's head, upper torso and bottom edge and boy's head, arms and legs. With gold, frost boy's overalls and make a heart centered at girl's waistline. Frost hear skirt red., Cut a small hole in the corner of a pastry or plastic bag; insert round tip. Fill with remaining red frosting. Pipe buttons on boy, bow on girl and smile on both., Prepare another bag; insert star tip and fill with white frosting. On both boy and girl, pipe a zigzag border at neckline and 1 in. from the tip of each arm. On the girl, pipe above and below the skirt and 1/4 in. from her feet. On the boy, pipe 1/4 in. from the top of his head, below shorts and 1/2 in. from the bottom of his feet. Insert M&M's for eyes.

GINGERBREAD BOYS WITH A BITE

Steps:

• For the cookies:
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a medium bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, ginger and nutmeg. Set aside. In a mixer, beat the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add egg and molasses, and beat until smooth. Add the flour mixture, a little at a time, and mix until incorporated and a dough is formed. Refrigerate until firm, at least 3 hours.
• Roll dough out to 1/4-inch thick, and cut gingerbread men with cookie cutters. Transfer to an ungreased cookie sheet and bake until set, about 6 to 8 minutes. Cool on wire racks.
• For the icing:
• In a mixer, combine sugar, cream of tartar, and egg whites*, and beat until stiff peaks form, about 7 minutes. Mix in the lemon juice to taste. Transfer icing to a piping bag and decorate gingerbread men.

GINGERBREAD BOYS AND GIRLS

Steps:

• Mix shortening, brown sugar, and molasses thoroughly. Stir in 2/3 cup water. Blend flour, soda, salt, and spices; stir into molasses mixture. Chill for about 1 hour.
• Roll the dough about 1/4 inch thick. Cut with boy and girl cookie cutters.
• Make egg yolk paint by blending egg yolks and 1/2 teaspoon water. Divide the yolk among a few small bowls, and add food coloring to each cup for desired color. Paint the clothes and decorations on the cookies as desired. Carefully transfer to a lightly greased baking sheet. Using a toothpick, make a hole in the top of each cookie. Press raisins into dough for eyes, nose, mouth. Use bits of candied cherries for coat buttons, and strips of citron for ties.
• Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 10 to 12 minutes. Cool slightly, then carefully remove from baking sheet.

GINGERBREAD BOYS

Steps:

• Cream the butter and the sugar together. Add the egg and mix well. Mix in the orange peel and dark corn syrup. Add the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, ground cloves and salt, mixing until well combined. Chill dough for at least 2 hours, I like to chill overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough out to 1/4 inch thick. Cut into desired shapes using cookie cutters. Place cookies 1 inch apart on the prepared cookie sheets.
• Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven, until cookies are firm and lightly toasted on the edges.