Wonderful Christmas Time

We do a lot of baking around here anyway, but the holidays have provided the perfect excuse to go overboard in the dessert department. I've never been a fan of stove top cooking, per se...but anything I can mix and stick in the oven is worth a shot. And pouring flour in a mixer is a whole lot more kid-friendly than sautéing onions. So as long as there are preschoolers in this house, we're sticking to cooking projects that don't involve hot oil.

These deliciously chewy gingerbread cookies were the perfect indoor activity for a cold day. Abby rolled dough and counted to make sure we had the right number of each cookie shape, and Caleb kept our cookie cutters organized by making sure they stayed in a straight line when they weren't in use. We have Abby to thank for the gazillion star-shaped cookies, and Caleb is responsible for the 13 trains and infinite number of gingerbread bears we ended up with. Thankfully I was there to round out our cookie inventory with some gingerbread men and women and a couple of Christmas trees.

These are by far the best gingerbread cookies I've ever had. Bonus: they stayed chewy for days.

Chewy Gingerbread Cookies*

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

3 tablespoons ground ginger

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup packed dark-brown sugar

1/2 cup molasses

2 tablespoons baking soda, dissolved in 2 tablespoons boiling water

1/3 cup granulated sugar (optional)

Beat butter and brown sugar together with an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy. Beat in molasses.

Sift together flour, cocoa powder and spices in a separate bowl. Alternately add flour mixture and baking soda mixture to butter mixture and beat until well mixed. Shape dough into a ball and place in sealed plastic bag. Refrigerate dough for at least two hours, until firm.

When you're ready to bake, remove dough from refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

For round cookies:

Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place balls of uncooked dough in a bag with the granulated sugar and shake gently to coat. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or cooking spray and place dough about 2 inches apart. Using the flat bottom of a glass, press cookies to flatten until they are about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick.

Bake at 325 for 8-10 minutes until surface of cookies crack slightly. Remove cookies to wire racks and allow to cool.

For cookie cutouts:

Roll out dough to 1/4-inch thickness and cut out desired shapes. Bake at 325 for 8 minutes. Cool on cookie sheets for about 5 minutes before removing to wire racks.

Unused dough can be refrigerated for up to a week.

*adapted from Martha Stewart's Chewy Gingerbread Cookie recipe

Martha Stewart Living October 2006