1993 1st Place Ginger Cookies

Title:
1993 1st Place Ginger Cookies

Yield:
80 Servings

Categories:
Cookies,
Holiday




Ingredients:





     1 c  Granulated sugar


   1/2 c  Dark corn syrup


   1/2 c  Water


     1 tb Ground ginger


     2 ts Cinnamon


     2 ts Ground cloves


     1 c  Unsalted butter or margarine


     4 c  All-purpose flour


 1 1/2 ts Baking soda


          Liquid food coloring,


          If desired






  Preparation time: 1 1/2 hours Chilling time: 12 hours or more Cooking


 time: 7 minutes


 


  1. Put sugar, syrup, water, ginger, cinnamon and cloves into a large


 saucepan. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture boils and sugar


 dissolves. Remove from heat. Add butter. Stir until butter is melted and


 mixture is no longer very hot.


 


  2. Mix flour and baking soda. Gradually add flour mixture to butter


 mixture and stir to blend thoroughly. Dough will have a soft texture. Place


 dough in an airtight container and refrigerate overnight or at least 12


 hours or as long as 1 week.


 


  3. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Remove about one-sixth of the dough and knead


 it until it is slightly softened. Roll dough directly onto ungreased cookie


 sheets until it is about 1/4-inch thick. Use a cookie cutter to stamp


 shapes in dough, allowing a 1-inch margin between each cookie. Remove


 excess dough by lifting it and peeling it away. Scraps of dough can be


 kneaded together and re-rolled.


 


  4. Bake until golden brown, about 7 minutes. Allow cookies to cool


 slightly and become crisp before removing them from the cookie sheet. Cool


 thoroughly on wire racks. If desired, you may "paint" the cooled cookies


 using a clean, small paintbrush and food coloring that has been watered


 down slightly. Store cookies in airtight containers.


   Note: After the 12-hour resting period, this cookie dough can be


 hand-molded like clay--rolled, pinched, poked and pressed--and it will keep


 its shape, expanding slightly while baking. Thin cookies will become brown


 and bake quickly, large and thick shapes will require longer baking. Can be


 cut into any shape desired but make the cookies uniformly thick. The


 microwave oven can be used to cook the sugar mixture in step 1.


 


 Judith Taylor, Highland Park from the Chicago Tribune sixth annual Food


 Guide Holiday Cookie Contest December 2, 1993


 Posted to MM-Recipes Digest V3 #339


 


 From: Linda Place 


 


 Date: Wed, 11 Dec 1996 04:11:40 +0000