Spicy Gingerbread Trees

 In my hunt for the perfect gingerbread cookies, I'm trying this Saveur recipe.  The base of this is very similar to the winning gingerbread cookie by Erin Campbell in the Food Network Holiday Baking Championship Season 1, but much more highly spiced.  In fact, this has more spices in it than any other recipe I've looked at.  I was a little concerned, but I like spicy gingerbread, and these are mostly for me.

The recipe is quite fussy in that the dough needs to be chilled once (it was very soft), then you roll it out and chill it again, then you cut it and chill it again... and lots of sheets of parchment paper. I get annoyed by these recipes that require you to chill a whole baking sheet.  I don't have that kind of room in my refrigerator or freezer!  It's always a hassle. So if you want the exact directions, please refer to their recipe page. And ironically, although the description states that "the additional protein in the bread flour helps to retain gingerbread’s sharply cut shapes," the photo on the recipe page shows cookies with typically rounded edges.  (There's also supposed to be a photo of mini gingerbread houses, but I'm getting a video for some savory casserole in its place.  Way to go Saveur.)

I made slight modifications in the recipe, shown in italics and strikeout.  Here's what I used:

12 tablespoons (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
3/4 cup unsulphured molasses*
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 tablespoon whole milk
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 cups bread flour (11-13% protein)
1¹/₂ cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon anise seed, ground

In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar until smooth, 3–4 minutes. Add the molasses and continue mixing until smooth, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl occasionally. Add the egg, milk, and vanilla and continue mixing until homogeneous, about 2 minutes more. In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients; add to the butter mixture and mix on low speed until completely blended. Divide the dough into two equal halves and, on a lightly floured sheet of waxed paper, press each half into a 1-inch-thick rectangle. Wrap each tightly and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour or up to 3 days.

When you're ready to bake the cookies, roll the dough out to between 1/8" and 1/4" thick, depending on your preference and the handling of your dough.  Chill between activities as necessary for ease of handling, which might mean placing the rolled dough and/or cut cookies in the refrigerator or freezer for several minutes.  Bake at 350F for 8 to 10 minutes, depending on the thickness and preference for soft or crisp cookies.  (For soft cookies, the edges should be semi-firm but the centers still soft.)  Cool on baking sheet for about 5 minutes, until quite firm, then move to a wire rack.

*Saveur used regular molasses in their modified version of the original recipe.  This would make their cookies sweeter.

                        

I was undecided whether or not to add the cardamom (because I think it gets lost in spice mixes), but in the end I did.  I wasn't sure whether I liked the addition of anise seed, but eventually I forgot it was there.  I sifted my flour before I measured, which I think had me using less flour than the recipe should have had because my dough was so soft.  I refrigerated it for two days, but my dough was so soft right out of the refrigerator I didn't need to let it sit on the counter as directed in the original recipe.  Throughout rolling and cutting, I chilled the dough as needed; sometimes I needed to chill between actions and sometimes not. 

I rolled the first batch to 1/4" thick, or perhaps a little thicker, and baked them on an air-bake pan for 8 minutes -- they were underbaked.  The trees deflated, leaving the surface crinkly, and the larger house pieces were still raw in the middle.  They also cracked on the edges when I tried to recut them after baking.  The rest of the cookies were baked on a standard cookie sheet, which worked much better.  The thicker ones I baked for 9 minutes and they turned out well, but after that I rolled them thinner. 

      

Conclusion:  True to the originator's word, these cookies stayed soft!  Amazing, since there was only butter, no shortening.  Not too sweet, and nicely spiced.  I found a few of these forgotten in the cupboard months later and they were still just as tasty.  I craved them after that.   These might have to become a personal winter staple.

Recipe:  "Spiced Gingerbread Cookies" from The Cookie Book by Rebecca Firth
Another tempting recipe of hers to try is Spiced Chewy Molasses Cookies!