101 Days of Christmas: Gingerbread Snowflake Creams

The following post is from Shaina of Food for My Family and Olmanson Photography:

source: Food for My Family

I love ginger. Beyond marinating chicken, spicing up my fried rice and making salad dressing zing, ginger is great for baking. It makes me instantly think of the holiday season, curled up in front of my *imaginary* fireplace (someday, someday) with the warmest booty slippers covering my toes to stay warm from the winter wind and drinking a hot cup of spice. No, I don’t really care if it’s spice cider, a gingerbread latte or a cup of hot spiced milk. I’ll take them all, please.

These cookies are just like your favorite gingerbread men, chewy in the center with crisp edges, but they have a secret ginger-spiked surprise inside.

Supplies:

For the gingerbread

• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 teaspoons ground ginger
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 cup molasses

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, cloves, nutmeg and salt. Set aside. Cream together brown sugar and butter. Add in eggs and molasses and blend until combined, scraping down the bowl halfway through. Mix in flour mixture until a soft dough forms. Split the dough into two balls and chill in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours.

Preheat oven to 350º F. Lightly flour a flat work surface. Roll out gingerbread dough and cut into snowflake or other holiday shapes using a 1-2″ cookie cutter. Bake on a parchment-lined sheet for 8-10 minutes until edges just start to brown. Allow to cool completely.

For the ginger buttercream

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 3/4 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, smashed and squeezed for juice (optional)
• 1-2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 1/4 cup crystallized ginger, minced

Cream together butter and confectioners’ sugar. Mix in extracted ginger juice. Add in cream, 1-2 teaspoons at a time, mixing well after each addition and stopping when the frosting is a spreadable consistency with no lumps. Stir in the minced ginger pieces.

For decorating

• White decorator icing or royal icing

Outline half of the snowflakes with white frosting, if desired. Spread a small amount of ginger buttercream on one cookie and top with a decorated cookie. Repeat until all pairs are matched.

Is gingerbread a tradition in your family, whether in house, man or any other form?

Join us as we celebrate 101 Days of Christmas with new DIY projects, gift ideas, traditions and more every day from now through Christmas!

	Shaina Olmanson is the home cook and photographer behind Food for My Family and Olmanson Photography, a daily contributor to Babble.com’s Family Kitchen Blog and the editor of the food channel for Lifetime Moms. Shaina can usually be found in one of three places: cooking, at the computer or behind the camera.