Page 73 - A Literary Holiday Cookbook

3” x 3½” gingerbread woman cookie cutter

Food Pen

INSTRUCTIONS

1 In a medium bowl, stir together the first 7 ingredients and set

aside.

2 Cream the butter, shortening, and sugars in a standing mixer on

medium speed until smooth. Beat in the egg and molasses.
Gradually beat in the dry mix until combined, stopping to scrape the

bowl if necessary.

3 Gather the dough into a ball and cover with plastic wrap. Chill in
the refrigerator for 2½ hours or until easy to handle. While you wait,

preheat oven to 350°F.

4 Between two sheets of wax paper, roll out half the dough to a little

under ¼-inch thickness (wrap the remaining dough in plastic wrap

and chill in the refrigerator until ready to use). Keeping the paper in
place, lay the rolled dough on a baking sheet and chill in the

refrigerator for 10 minutes. Remove the top sheet of wax paper and
discard. Use a cookie cutter to cut out gingerbread women shapes. If

you would like the Meg cookies to have their hair in a bun like the

ones shown in the picture, shape small scraps of dough into circles
and gently press them on top of the heads of one quarter of the

gingerbread women.

5 Place cookies 2 inches apart on a baking sheet lined with

parchment paper (if the shapes are too delicate to lift from the paper
without tearing, slide an offset spatula or frosting knife underneath to

lift them). Bake for 7 minutes or until the edges are set. Allow the

cookies to cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet before moving
them to a wire rack to cool completely.