Christmas Traditions and Recipes: Gingerbread Cookies

The gingerbread cookies are slightly more complicated to make when compared to the sugar cookies.  They require more ingredients but overall, are still relatively simple.  The recipe is written on an index card in my great-grandmother’s handwriting that is now beginning to fade, but I expect no one has the heart to rewrite this significant piece of family history.  So in an effort to protect the sacred artifact, it is kept in a plastic covering 51 of the 52 weeks of the year, and is only allowed out of its casing when it is absolutely needed- for the baking of the cookies.

While each year we make the gingerbread cookies, my family has never been one to do any sort of decorating, of even gingerbread house-making.  Why this is, I’ve never know, but any time that I’ve ever participated in any of those activities it was always through Church religious education class of school activities.

Despite the lack of fancy decorating that occurs, the gingerbread cookies still remain a Christmas staple in our family, and the holiday season just wouldn’t be the same without them.  There is something about the taste of the spices in this cookie that is almost refreshing in your mouth.  And for some reason, the cookies baked using the shape of our elf cookie cutter always taste just a bit sweeter to me.

Gingerbread Cookies

1 cup butter

1 ½ cups sugar

1 egg

2 tsp cinnamon

4 tbs grated orange peel (my mother only puts in 2 tbs)

2 tbs of dark corn syrup

½ tsp salt

3 cups flour

2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp ginger

½ tsp cloves

1.      Cream butter and sugar

2.      Add egg- beat until light and fluffy

3.      Add orange peel and corn syrup.  Mix well.

4.      Sift together dry ingredients and then stir into creamed mixture well.

5.      Chill dough for 2 hours.

6.      Cut dough into 4 largge pieces and roll onto lightly floured surface to a ¼ inch thickness

7.      Cut using various desired cookie cutters

8.      Lay 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet

9.      Bake 375 degrees F 8-10 minutes until edges are lightly browned.

10. Cool 1 minutes before removing from cookie sheet.