Bouchon Bakery: Gingerbread Cookies
Bouchon Bakery is the product of famed chef Thomas Keller, an 11-time James Beard award winner and chef of two three-Michelin-Star-rated restaurants. He wrote the Bouchon Bakery cookbook based on all the sensory memories of food he had living and learning the art of baking in Paris, France, as well as adult versions of his childhood favorites. These recipes are a collection of those years.
Bouchon Bakery’s Gingerbread Cookies are simple but very delicious. They would appeal to any gingerbread-loving cheater or satisfy your gingerbread craving. They are soft, flavorful and perfect for the holidays. We found the recipe very easy and didn’t encounter any challenges. That is, until we baked our cookies. For some reason our gingerbread men kept snapping in half. This was a baker’s error and nothing to do with the recipe. But because we lost four gingerbread men to this fate, you’ll see in the end we started to have fun with it.
Recipe
Ingredients
5 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
⅜ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
1½ tsp. dried ginger
1½ tsp. cinnamon
⅜ tsp. ground cloves
2 sticks of butter, room temperature
1 cup molasses
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1½ cups dark brown sugar
Directions
1. Combine all the dry ingredients except the brown sugar. Sift or whisk them to combine and set aside in a bowl.
2. In a standing mixer or with a handheld electric mixer, mix the softened butter with the sugar and the molasses on low until combined together.
3. Add the eggs and the vanilla and mix on low speed.
4. Add the dry-ingredient mixture in three equal batches, mixing on low speed, stopping after the ingredients form a dough.
5. Form a block and cover in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 2 hours (we usually refrigerate overnight).
6. Roll out dough on a lightly floured work surface. Cut out your preferred shapes and refrigerate for 30 minutes before baking.
7. Bake at 350F for 10 to 12 minutes. Cool on a wire rack before decorating.
Royal Icing
Makes about 2 cups
4 cups confectioners sugar
½ cup liquid egg whites
1 tsp. lemon juice
Food coloring
1. In a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or with a handheld electric mixer, mix the whites until soft peaks form.
2. Add all of the sugar and mix until smooth.
3. Add the lemon juice and mix until smooth.
4. Add food coloring or powder if desired, mixing until ideal shade is reached.
5. Pipe onto cookies using a pastry bag or a freezer bag with a small hole cut from a corner. Allow icing to harden and store cookies in a tightly sealed container at room temperature.
