Gingerbread Cookie Thins Recipes

SWEDISH GINGER THINS PEPPARKAKOR

Steps:

• Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blitz until the dough forms and gathers into a ball.
• Wrap the dough in cling film or baking paper and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
• Roll out the dough on a well floured surface to 1 mm thick. Cut out the cookies and using an angled spatula transfer them to a cookie tray lined with baking paper.
• Bake at 190°C (375°F) for about 8 minutes - thicker cookies may require one more minute. Remove the cookies from the hot tray and transfer to a wire rack to finish drying out as they cool off.

SWEDISH GINGER THINS

Steps:

• Into a large bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, and spices. In a medium bowl with electric mixer beat cream until it just slightly holds stiff peaks. In another large bowl beat butter and sugar until mixture is light and fluffy. On low speed, beat in the corn syrup and whipped cream, beating until cream is just combined. Add flour mixture and beat until combined well. Form dough into a log. Chill log, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, at least 2 hours, and up to 2 days.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• Cut dough into quarters and work with 1 quarter at a time, keeping remaining dough covered and chilled. Using a rolling pin dusted with flour, roll out dough into a round on a floured pastry cloth, rolling dough as thin as possible (less than 1/8" thick and about 14" in diameter) and with assorted 2" to 3" cutters cut out cookies. Carefully transfer cookies as cut to ungreased baking sheets with a metal spatula, arranging them about 1/2" apart, and top each with an almond slice. Reroll scraps and cut out more cookies in same manner.
• Bake cookies in batches in upper and lower thirds of oven, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until cookies puff and then collapse slightly, about 6 minutes. Cool cookies on sheets 1 minute and transfer with metal spatula to racks to cool completely. Make more cookies with remaining dough in same manner. Cookies keep in airtight containers at room temperature 1 week.

SPICY GINGERBREAD THINS

Steps:

• Into a bowl sift together flour, pepper, ground ginger, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. In a small bowl stir together molasses and coffee. In a bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed beat together butter and brown sugar until light and creamy. With mixer at low speed beat in gingerroot. Beat in flour mixture alternately with molasses mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Divide dough into thirds. Form each third into a ball and flatten to form disks. Chill disks, wrapped separately in plastic wrap, at least 4 hours and up to 3 days.
• Preheat oven to 350°F and line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. Break off egg-size pieces from 1 disk (keep remaining 2 disks chilled) and with heel of hand smear each piece once in a forward motion. Gather pieces together and give dough a few smears to bring together. Repeat procedure with remaining 2 disks.
• On a lightly floured work surface roll out one third of dough into a 22- by 8-inch rectangle (about 1/8 inch thick), making sure dough is not sticking to surface (use a pastry scraper to lift dough; sprinkle surface with additional flour if sticking). With a 2-inch gingerbread man cutter or 3 1/2-inch candy cane cutter cut out shapes, transferring with a spatula to baking sheets and arranging about 1/2 inch apart.
• Bake cookies in batches in lower third of oven 6 to 8 minutes, or until crisp (do not let cookies get too dark). With spatula transfer cookies to racks to cool. Make more cookies with scraps and remaining two thirds of dough in same manner. Cookies keep, in airtight containers at room temperature, 1 week.

TRADITIONAL SWEDISH PEPPARKAKOR

Steps:

• Sift the flour together with the baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and cardamom in a mixing bowl.
• Beat the butter together with the white and brown sugars in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Mix in the egg and corn syrup until smooth. Gradually stir in the flour mixture until evenly blended. Divide the dough into 4 equal portions and wrap tightly each with plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 1 hour, or overnight.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease baking sheets.
• Using 1 portion at a time, work on a floured surface and roll out dough to 1/8 inch thick. Cut into shapes with cookie cutter, and place 1 inch apart on prepared baking sheets.
• Bake in preheated oven until set, about 5 minutes. Cool completely. Store in tightly covered tins.

GINGER THINS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and 1/2 cup sugar until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes; set remaining sugar aside. Beat molasses and coffee into creamed mixture. Combine the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt; add to creamed mixture until well combined (dough will be soft). Cover and freeze for 15 minutes. Shape dough into a 7-in. roll; flatten to 1-in. thickness. Wrap and freeze for 8 hours or overnight., Preheat oven to 350°. Unwrap dough and cut into 1/8-in. slices; place 2 in. apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Sprinkle with reserved sugar. Bake 8-10 minutes or until firm. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool. If desired, dip cookies in melted chocolate and sprinkle with ginger.

THIN, CRISP GINGERBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• In food processor workbowl fitted with steel blade, process flour, sugar, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, salt, and baking soda until combined,.
• about 10 seconds. Scatter butter pieces over flour mixture and process until mixture is sandy and resembles very fine meal, about 15 seconds. With machine running, gradually add molasses and milk; process until dough is evenly moistened and forms soft mass, about 10 seconds. Alternatively, in bowl of standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment, stir together flour, sugar, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, salt, and baking soda at low speed until combined, about 30 seconds. Stop mixer and add butter pieces; mix at medium-low speed until mixture is sandy and resembles fine meal, about 1 1/2 minutes. Reduce speed to low and, with mixer running, gradually add molasses and milk; mix until dough is evenly moistened, about 20 seconds. Increase speed to medium and mix until thoroughly combined, about 10 seconds.
• Scrape dough onto work surface; divide into quarters. Working with one portion of dough at a time, roll 1/8-inch thick between two large sheets of parchment paper. Leaving dough sandwiched between parchment layers, stack on cookie sheet and freeze until firm, 15 to 20 minutes. Alternatively, refrigerate dough 2 hours or overnight.
• Adjust oven racks to upper- and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 325 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
• Remove one dough sheet from freezer; place on work surface. Peel off top parchment sheet and gently lay it back in place. Flip dough over; peel off and discard second parchment layer. Cut dough into 5-inch gingerbread people or 3-inch gingerbread cookies, transferring shapes to parchment-lined cookie sheets with wide metal spatula, spacing them 3/4 inch apart; set scraps aside. Repeat with remaining dough until cookie sheets are full. Bake cookies until slightly darkened and firm in centers when pressed with finger, about 15 to 20 minutes, rotating cookie sheets front to back and switching positions top to bottom halfway through baking time. Do not overbake. Cool cookies on sheets 2 minutes, then remove with wide metal spatula to wire rack; cool to room temperature.
• Gather scraps; repeat rolling, cutting, and baking in steps 2 and 4. Repeat with remaining dough until all dough is used.