We’re well into the holiday baking season. And on the nights we’re not entertaining friends and family for dinner, we’re often invited to others’ homes for food and fun. So I wanted to make cookies that everyone could enjoy. These gingerbread stars fit the bill perfectly.
After freezing the rolled dough, I cut them into 3 1/2-inch stars and then froze them again (I find the cookies keep their shape when baking when I do it this way). When I was ready to bake them, I sprinkled the cookies with turbinado sugar and added some white nonpareils.
I had so many cookies that I decided to make cream sandwiches out of half of them, though they are perfectly delicious on their own. I whipped up a batch of white-chocolate ganache, but you can use whatever frosting you have on hand or make your own.
Chocolate Gingerbread Stars
Makes 30 sandwich cookies
Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
2/3 cup brown sugar, packed
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
Turbinado sugar for sprinkling
Vanilla frosting or white-chocolate ganache
White nonpareils
Directions:
Heat the oven to 350 degrees, and line two baking sheets with parchment.
Whisk together the flour, cocoa, cinnamon, ginger, salt, baking powder, baking soda and cloves. Set aside.
Use a stand mixer to cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the egg, and blend. Slowly add the flour mixture until well combined.
Divide the dough in half, and roll out each piece 1/8-inch thick. Set on parchment paper, and place in the freezer for 1 hour.
Remove the dough from the fridge, and cut into desired shapes. Place the cookies on prepared cookie sheets, 1 inch apart. Sprinkle with coarse sugar. Chill again for 30 minutes.
Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time, until they are firm to the touch and lightly brown around the edges, 13 to 15 minutes. Transfer the cookie sheet to a wire rack, and let the cookies cool on the sheet for 5 minutes.
Spread your favorite vanilla frosting (or white-chocolate ganache) between two cookies, sprinkle some white nonpareils on top, and serve.
Susan Salzman writes The Urban Baker blog to explore her dedication to good food in the hope of adding beauty to the lives of her family and friends. She also writes articles for One for the Table, Amy Ephron’s online magazine that specializes in food, politics and love at www.oneforthetable.com.