Cookie Exchange!

Sally and I are always up for giving away baked goods.  It's great to know you've brightened someone's day by handing them a fresh chocolate chip cookie (or by sending several dozen through the mail) and we bake too much for just the two of us anyway.  Receiving cookies is just as good - we get to try out things we might never bake in our own kitchen.  So when we heard about this cookie exchange over at Steph Chows, we didn't even have to consult each other before deciding to put our name on the list.

That was over a month ago, before the crazy holidays, and before we knew how crazy the holidays were going to be.  In fact, it almost feels like holiday season is still here with these gingerbread cookies covered in orange glaze.  It's always a relief to find a cookie recipe that uses molasses, because I usually end up buying a bottle to make gingerbread men during the holidays and never know what to do with it after.  It's good to know you can make these cookies year round.

Gingerbread Cookies with Orange Glaze

modified from Sweet Pea's Kitchen recipe here

Ingredients:

¾ cup packed dark brown sugar 

2 tablespoons grated zest from 1 orange 

3 cups all-purpose flour 

1 tablespoon cinnamon 

1 tablespoon ground ginger 

½ teaspoon ground cloves 

¾ teaspoon baking soda 

½ teaspoon salt 

12 tablespoons (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 12 pieces and softened slightly 

¾ cup molasses 

4 tablespoons milk, divided 

2 cups confectioner's sugar 

2 tablespoons orange juice

Directions: 

1. Adjust the oven racks to the upper- and lower-middle positions and heat the oven to 350 degrees F. 

2. Place brown sugar and zest  in a bowl, mix together until combined.  Add flour, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, baking soda, and salt, mix until combined.  Sprinkle the butter evenly over the dry ingredients and mix until sandy- 5 minutes by hand, and you should see the dough become a little darker/yellower. Add molasses and two tablespoons of milk; mix dough until it comes together and is evenly moistened.  If still dry, add a little more milk.

4. Roll into 1 inch balls and flatten.  Place on prepared baking sheets spacing cookies 1 inch apart. Bake until centers are just set, 8 to 11 minutes. rotating the baking sheets halfway through. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack and cool to room temperature. 

5. For the frosting: In a medium bowl, whisk together confectioners sugar, orange juice, and remaining 2 tablespoons milk until smooth. Spread a heaping teaspoon of glaze on each cookie; let dry 30 minutes before serving.

We sent these cookies off to our cookie partner last week - hope she likes them as much as we did!  And a special thanks to Steph for organizing the cookie exchange!