My darling daughter Zoe is sol-sol smart!
Those who know me well know that I've been making gingerbread every year since I was 14, using pretty much the same recipe. I usually make lots of men and put candy buttons on them, or I make some houses using a form my sister-in-law Amy gave me as a gift (thanks again, Amy!).
Each year I made six batches, so I would have enough to share, even with my music students and their parents. I can do 3x batch in my Bosch mixer if you have a Bosch, start with cookie paddles, then switch to the bread hook before adding flour. I decided to make the cookies show the Solfeg hand signs (now that's one smart cookie!) for music class.
Since many asked, here's the recipe. It came home from my baby brother Jacob's kindergarten teacher 20+ years ago.
1 cup shortening (I use 1/2 cup butter and 1/4 cup applesauce)
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 cup molasses
2 Tb vinegar
5 cups flour
1 1/2 teas. soda
1 1/2 teas. salt
1 1/2 teas. ginger
1 teas. cinnamon
1/2 teas. cloves
Cream shortening and sugar. Stir in egg, molasses, vinegar. Sift dry ingredients and add. Chill dough, then roll out. (I like mine to be a bit thick and soft.) Bake on lightly greased pan at 350 for 8-10 minutes.
To frost these guys, I use about 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, 1/2 teas. cream of tartar, and one egg white. I whip it until all is smooth, then put in my decorator's piping bag. I have tip sizes 1,2, and 3. I used size 2 in these photos. This frosting will dry up hard so you can toss them in a cookie jar without worrying that the designs will get smudged.
We play the game "Who stole the cookies from the cookie jar?" and when the kids perform their parts correctly, keeping the beat, I reward them with a real cookie from the jar!
Those are some smart cookies!
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