Continuing the Tradition of Gingerbread Men Without Hurting the Environment

As
all of you, or at the very least most of you, already know
gingerbread men cookies is a big tradition when it comes to baking
cookies during the Christmas holiday. I tried desperately to locate
an eco-friendly gingerbread cookies recipe for all of you, however, I
was unable to find such a thing. So, instead I have a regular recipe
called “Gingerbread People” for you, which was by
http://www.christmas-joy.com/.
While this recipe may not be eco-friendly it can be turned into an
eco-friendly recipe quite easily. Simple replace the ingredients with
organic ingredients and then you’re good to go. Fortunately, these
days it is extremely easy to come across organic ingredients, such as
organic sugars, etc. I live in a small town, and organic ingredients
can be found even at the local grocery stores.

Follow
the following recipe to make “Gingerbread People”:

Gingerbread
People:

Ingredients:
4
cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
2
teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons each ground ginger and
ground cloves
1 tsp. each baking soda, ground nutmeg, and salt
1
cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter (not margarine), at room temperature
1
cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs (separated)
1 cup molasses
1
tablespoon cold water

Optional
decorations:
Currants for
eyes
Strips of candied cherries for smiles
Red hot cinnamon
candies for buttons
For the icing:
2 1/2 cups sifted
confectioners sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 to 4
tablespoons cold water
assorted food colors

Nutritional
Information -
1
cookie:
Calories 127
Saturated Fat 3g
Total Fat 4g
Protein
1g
Carbohydrate 21g
Fiber 0g
Sodium 80mg
Cholesterol 20mg

Makes
about 4 dozen cookies.
Preparation time: 1 hour.
Chilling
time: 1 hour.
Cooking time: 8 minutes.
Cooling time: 10
minutes.

Step 1:
Onto
a piece of wax paper, sift 3 1/2 cups of the flour, the cinnamon,
baking powder, ginger, cloves, baking soda, nutmeg, and salt. In a
large bowl, with an electric mixer on High, cream the butter and
sugar until light yellow and fluffy. Beat in the egg yolks, one at a
time, then the molasses. Using a wooden spoon, stir in the flour
mixture. Cover and refrigerate the dough for at least 1 hour or
overnight.

Step 2:
Preheat
the oven to 350°F. Butter three baking sheets. On a pastry cloth
or board, sprinkle 1/4 cup of the remaining flour and roll out half
of the dough, 1/4 inch thick. With cookie cutters, cut out
gingerbread people. With a spatula, transfer them back to the baking
sheets. Decorate with currants, cherries, and cinnamon candies if you
wish.

Step 3:
In
a cup, whisk the egg whites with the water. Bake the cookies for 5
minutes, then brush lightly with egg whites. Bake 2 to 3 minutes
more. Let cool on the baking sheets for 2 minutes. With a spatula,
transfer to racks to cool. Repeat with the remaining dough and flour.

Step 4:
To
make the icing: In a small bowl, stir the sugar with the vanilla,
then add enough water to make a stiff icing. Divide into small cups
and color as you wish. When the cookies are cold, pipe out designs,
such as smiling faces, zigzags, bow ties, and aprons. If using
different colors of icing, let one color dry before piping the next.
Store cookies in an airtight container for up to two weeks. Do not
freeze, as the icing could crack.

jennl | My Bio & Articles

Jennifer is a freelance writer, and has written for various health and environmental blogs, which includes running her own green living blog. Currently she is studying to become a C++ Programmer.