Gingerbread Roll-out Cookies-Bánh Tây với Đường Mật và g̣ừng

My daughter and I teamed up to learn how to make gingerbread cookies.  This recipe is adapted from Better Home and Garden.  Use fresh spices and mild flavor molasses. These are soft cookies-vinegar will make cookie more tender. Add 1 teaspoon ground ginger or grated fresh ginger (1 teaspoon to 1 Tablespoon) for more intense ginger flavor.  The dough is slightly sticky, so roll it on  floured surface and keep the remaining dough in the fridge.  My daughter had a good time dressing up these cookies.  Hope you can do it with your kids too.  

½ cup butter, soften at room temperature
2½ cup all purpose flour
½ cup sugar 
½ cup molasses
1 egg
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda 
1 teaspoon ground ginger
½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground clove 
Royal Icing for decoration
2 or more baking sheets, cooling rack, and parchment paper or silicone baking mat (optional)

1. In a mixing bowl, combine flour, spices, baking powder & baking soda. Stir to mix well and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer (handheld or standing mixer with paddle attached) on medium high speed until well combined.  Add egg, beat until well blended (about 1 minute). Scrape down the sides of the bowl if needed.
3. Turn mixer down to medium speed and blend in molasses and vinegar.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl if needed.
4. Turn mixer down to slow speed and add in flour mixture.  Beat until combined, scraping bowl occasionally.
5. Cover and chill till the dough is easy to handle (about 3 hours or overnight). 
6. Grease the baking sheets with butter or line them with parchment paper or silicone mat.
7. Divide chilled dough into two. Roll each half on lightly flour surface to 1/8 to 1/4 inch thickness.  Cut with floured cooked cutters (dipping cookie cutter into flour helps prevent sticking). Sprinkle more flour to working surface if needed.  If the dough becomes too sticky, put it into the fridge for 10-15 minutes. Carefully transfer the cookies to prepared baking sheets with an offset spatula. Place the cookies 1 inch apart.
8. Bake in 375°F preheated oven about 8-10 minutes  (for 2½ -inch round cookies) until slightly puffed and the edges look set.  Some recipes say that the cookies are done when the edges are lightly brown or firm but it's hard to see because these cookies are a brown color and when they are firm to the touch they will become harder once they cool down (which might be desired, especially for making ornaments).  Let the cookies cool down 1-2 minutes in the baking sheet before transferring them to wire racks.  Cool completely before decorating or storing them away.

Check out  The White house Holiday Gingerbread Cookies

Royal icing

1.5 cup powder sugar

1 pasteurized egg white, store bought or homemade pasteurized technique, and here

1/4 tsp vanilla or 1/2 tsp lemon/lime juice

Parchment paper or disposable piping bags, tip #1, 2, and 3.

Tooth picks

Gel colors

In a medium bowl, beat egg white and vanilla together with a whisk or electric mixer.  Add sugar and whisk until smooth.  Use a spoon to scoop some icing and drop it back into the bowl.  It needs to be thin enough to  disappear  into the icing in the bowl, leaving no trace almost instantly, and it also needs to be thick enough to form a thin line . Add more sugar if too thin, or water if too thick.

Check out more Piping technique here and    here.