It's time to start pulling out your favourite seasonal dishes as the holiday season approaches. Christmas for many means it's time to bake cookies with the family, and there are a variety of cookies to pick from. It's enjoyable to decorate Christmas cookies, and a recipe for traditional Christmas cookies gives the ideal foundation for heaps of icing and decorative sprinkles. You can sate your sweet tooth with the chocolate crinkle cookies. However, gingerbread cookies are your best holiday option if you're not searching for an overly sweet treat. These cookies have a bit of a savoury bite and all the goodness of a dessert thanks to a variety of spices. These delicious Christmas sweets combine chocolate with gingerbread that's been spiced up. The soft dough is really easy to work with and the leftover scraps can be rerolled and cut out, which is an added bonus to these cookies. Filling these cookies with a creamy, sweet mascarpone mixture will transform them into a luxury sandwich version.
Ingredients:
3 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tbsp ground ginger
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tbsp baking soda
½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
5 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup solid vegetable shortening
½ cup (packed) dark brown sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature\
½ cup molasses
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled
For Icing
1 ¼ cups confectioners' sugar
1 large egg white
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
Mascarpone Filling
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 (8-ounce) container mascarpone cheese, softened
3 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Method:
Mix the flour with the baking soda, baking powder, salt, ground ginger, ground cinnamon, and ground cloves in a medium basin. Place aside. Beat the softened butter and shortening at medium speed in the bowl of a standing electric mixer equipped with the paddle for about 30 seconds, or until the mixture is smooth. Add the brown sugar and mix for 2 minutes or until frothy. Beat the egg until it is completely integrated into the cookie batter. Melted bittersweet chocolate is added after the molasses. In three batches, add the flour mixture, beating in between each addition. Make three equal portions of the dough. The cookie dough should be refrigerated for about two hours after being formed into discs, wrapped in plastic, and placed in the refrigerator. Set the oven's temperature to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Put parchment paper on two sizable baking sheets. Roll out 1 disc of dough to a thickness of 1/4 inch on a work surface that has been lightly dusted with flour. Cut the dough into desired shapes using 4 to 5-inch cookie cutters, and then transfer to the baking sheets that have been prepped. In order to make extra cookies, reroll the leftover dough. When the tops of the cookies are dry, bake them for about 7 minutes, flipping the pans halfway through. Allow the cookies to cool on the pans for five minutes before transferring them to wire racks to finish cooling. With the leftover dough, repeat the procedure. Whisk the confectioners' sugar, egg white, and lemon juice together in a medium bowl until the frosting is entirely smooth. The butter should be smoothed out in a bowl. Mascarpone cheese should be blended in after that. Blend in the sugar and vanilla after adding them. For about two hours, chill the filling until it is just beginning to firm up. Scrape the frosting into a piping bag with an extremely tiny tip. Decorate the cookies however you like. Allow them stand for 30 minutes or until the frosting has dried.
Storing Tips
For up to five days, the chocolate-gingerbread cookies can be stored in an airtight container. The mascarpone filling can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a day; before using, let it rest at room temperature to slightly soften.