Gingerbread dough recipe

Gingerbread dough recipe

This article was published by: Matthew

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Ingredients

• 2 eggs
• 6 cups all purpose flour
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 2/3 cups shortening
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon ground ginger
• 2 teaspoons double-acting baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 eight-ounce container sour cream

Preparation method

Making the Dough:

In a fairly large bowl, mix 3 1/2 cups of flour and the other ingredients using a mixer on low speed. Keep scraping the sides of the bowl with a spatula as you go.

Then, use your hands to knead in the remaining 2 1/2 cups of flour until you get a soft dough. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for about 2 hours, or until it’s not sticky and easy to handle.

Rolling the Dough:

Keep the dough in the fridge until you’re ready to work with it. Take out half of the dough at a time and knead it on a lightly floured surface until smooth.

Roll it out directly on a greased and floured cookie sheet to about 3/16″ or 1/8″ thick, using a rolling pin.

To make it even, place dowels of the same thickness on each side of the dough as a guide. Placing the cookie sheet on a damp cloth can keep it from sliding around while you roll.

Cutting and Baking:

Make cardboard templates for your shapes. Lay them on the dough, then cut around them with a sharp knife, leaving about 1/2″ space between pieces. Save any scraps to roll again later.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. While waiting, you can refrigerate the cookie sheet if there’s space.

Bake the dough until it’s golden brown and firm to the touch. Cool on the sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer the pieces to a wire rack to cool completely.

Tips: If you need to trim the pieces, do it while they’re still warm from the oven. You’ll likely need multiple batches of dough for big projects, but don’t try to make it all at once—working in smaller batches is much easier!