Recipe - Orange Spiced Gingerbread Cutouts

For dough
1/3 cup Packed dark brown sugar
1/3 cup Unsalted butter; softened
2/3 cup Light molasses
1 Egg
2 teaspoon Grated fresh orange peel
2 Three fourths cup Allpurpose flour; plus more
to roll out dough
1 teaspoon Ground ginger
One half teaspoon Baking soda
One half teaspoon Salt
For frosting
4 cup Powdered sugar
One half cup Unsalted butter; softened
3 tablespoon Milk; (3 to 4)
2 teaspoon Vanilla
Food color

To prepare dough: In large mixer bowl, combine brown sugar, butter,
molasses, egg and orange peel. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often,
until smooth and creamy, about 1 to 2 minutes. Add 2 Three fourths cups flour,
ginger, baking soda and salt. Reduce speed to low. Continue beating,
scraping bowl often, until well mixed, about 1 to 2 minutes. Cover;
refrigerate at least 2 hours.

On wellfloured surface, roll out dough, half at a time, to 1/4inch
thickness. (Keep remaining dough refrigerated.) Cut with 3 to 4inch
cookie cutters. Place 1 inch apart on wellgreased cookie sheets. If
cookies are to be hung as decorations, make a hole in each, One fourth inch from
top with end of plastic straw. Bake in a preheated 375degree oven 6 to 8
minutes or until no indentation remains when touched. Remove to racks and
let cool completely.

To prepare frosting: In small mixer bowl, combine powdered sugar, butter,
milk and vanilla. Beat at low speed, scraping bowl often, 1 to 2 minutes or
until fluffy. If desired, beat in a few drops of food color. Decorate
cookies with frosting.

Yield: 4 dozen cookies.

Tester's notes: These can be frozen. Store in an airtight container. The
flavor increases with age. This is a winner for flavor and texture. I
recommend this recipe highly.

Recipe adapted from Land O'Lakes.

Recipe by: St. Louis PostDispatch 12/5/94

Posted to MCRecipe Digest by Nancy Berry nlberry@prodigy.net on Feb 16,
1998