Gingerbread Cookies

 
The Art.
    This holiday season, I wanted to make beautiful rolled gingerbread cookies with amazing royal icing lacework.  In the end it was nothing more than a disappointing case of unrealistic expectations set by Pinterest. However, I did manage to pull through with some cute royal icing designs, and the flavor of the cookies turned out wonderfully. To give these cookies a powerful gingerbread flavor, I used full-flavored dark molasses instead of light. I also introduced more ginger by adding some bubbly ginger ale to the royal icing before piping it onto the cookies. Edible pearls, a sprinkle of pearl dust, and some beautiful tins from the dollar store made for a great way to present these cookies to all my friends!

The Science.
    So, what is the difference between dark molasses and light molasses? Molasses is a byproduct of sugar production, made from the liquid produced when sugar cane juices are boiled to crystallize the sugar. The cane juice is boiled down several times during this process. The liquid from the first boil is light molasses, and contains the most sugar and has the lightest flavor. The second boil produces dark molasses, which is more full-flavored and has less sugar. Blackstrap molasses comes from the third boil...and is absolutely terrible and nobody should ever eat it.  Molasses gets its dark color by the Maillard reaction, the process that causes sugars to brown [1]. This is the same reaction that causes caramelization and browning in baked goods. The distinctive flavor of molasses is made up of a variety of compounds (there have been many publications on this topic), but is mostly due to dimethylsulfide that is produced by enzymes when the sugar cane leaves are crushed [2]. By using dark molasses in these cookies, we maximize the robust gingerbread flavor.

The Recipe.

Gingerbread Cookies: (Makes ~36 cookies)
2 3/4 cup flour
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon cloves
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup shortening
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup dark molasses
1 egg

    Combine flour, spices, and baking soda in a medium bowl. In a large bowl, beat together shortening, butter, and sugar until fluffy. Beat in molasses and egg until combined. Stir in the dry ingredients until combined, then form the dough into two 8 inch disks. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least one hour.
    Preheat oven to 350°F. Once chilled, roll one of the disks out between two pieces of waxed paper to approximately 1/8th inch thick. Cut out cookies with your favorite cutters and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake on center rack for 11-13 minutes. Cool cookies on wire racks before decorating. Gather together dough scraps and re-chill while you work with the other disk. Repeat until you have used up all the dough.

Ginger Royal Icing:

1 egg white

3 tablespoons ginger ale

3 to 4 cups powdered sugar

 

    Beat together egg white and ginger ale. Gradually add powdered sugar until the icing is slightly thicker than toothpaste. For flooding icing, you can add slightly more ginger ale so it's the consistency of ketchup (I know, gross thought). Divide and dye whatever colors you wish. For these colors, I used Wilton Icing Colors Sky Blue and No-Taste Red. If you're making red icing, keep in mind that dyes with Red 40 can impart a bitter flavor.

 

Decorating:
    The great thing about these cookies is you can decorate them any way you wish! Here, I used Wilton #1 and #2 tips. For directions on how to flood cookies, you can reference my Gluten-free Corset Cookies post. Place edible pearls on the cookies before the icing dries, and dust with the Wilton pearl dust using a small brush after they are completely dry. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature.
 

References:
1.  Steely, J.S. and Zeller, K.R. "Molasses Flavor Investigations with Sulfur Chemiluminescence Detection." Thermally Generated Flavors, ACS Symposium Series, 1993. Vol. 543.
http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/bk-1994-0543.ch008
2.  Clarke, M.A. and Godshall, M.A. Chemistry and Processing of Sugarbeet and Sugarcane. Elsevier, 1987.