Making Hanukkah Cookies at Willow Creek Ranch

Recipe for Hanukkah Sugar Cookies And Gingerbread Cookies

Hanukkah Sugar Cookies

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Bake cookies 8-10 min (lightly browned)

1 C butter

2 C sugar

4 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

2 Tablsp Orange juice 2 tsp orange zest

4 C all purpose flour

4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp kosher salt

Cream together 1st 6 ingredients. Sift together dry ingredients (next 3 ingredients) Fold flour ingredients into creamed ingredients. Divide into 3 parts and wrap each part in plastic wrap.

Chill 3 hours for gluten to relax. Roll out each part to about 1/8th in. Cut cookies with cookie cutter Bake 8-10 min. Cool completely. Ice with Royal or butter cream icing. Cool and eat.

Gingerbread Cookies

preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake 8-10 minutes (Better to have cookies thin and crispy)

Sift together and set aside:

6 cups all-purpose flour, 1 Tblsp. baking powder, 1 Tbsp ground ginger (I use 2 Tblsp. fresh ginger pureed with two Tblsp. water), 1 tsp ground nutmeg, 1 tsp ground cloves, 1 tsp. ground cinnamon.

Cream: 1 C. shortening, melted and cooled slightly, 1 C. molasses ( I use unsulphered), 1 C. packed brown sugar, 1/2 C water, 1 egg, 1 tsp vanilla extract.

Sift together the flour and dry ingredients. Set aside. Cream remaining wet ingredients including the pureed fresh ginger. Fold dry ingredients into the wet creamed ingredients. Chill 3 hours so afor the gluten in the flour to relax. (Divide dough into three parts. wrap each part in plastic. Then take one part out at a time to roll out. rolling dough thinner will make crispier cookies. Bake 8-10 min. Cool and frost

Cool and frost with Royal or buttercream frosting