Gingerbread Dipped With Chocolate And Sugar
Recipe & Food Styling Marisa Curatolo, Photography Cory Aronec
Ahh, the smell of baking gingerbread. Here, a recipe that is one of our very favourite for the holidays. Gingerbread, chocolate and crunchy sugar. And the aroma fills your house as it shud.
Ingredients
1⁄2 cup shortening
1⁄2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1⁄2 cup fancy molasses
1⁄4 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups all-purpose flour
1⁄2 teaspoon baking soda
1⁄2 teaspoon baking powder
1⁄2 teaspoon coarse salt
1 tablespoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1⁄2 teaspoon cloves
1⁄2 teaspoon allspice
1⁄4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1⁄2 cup finely chopped candied ginger
1⁄2 cup sanding sugar (coarse-grained, sparkling sugar)
2 cups good quality semisweet chocolate
Preparation
In bowl of electric mixer, beat sugar with shortening until fluffy; then beat in egg, molasses, water and vanilla. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and powder, salt, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, allspice and pepper. Stir into sugar mixture; add candied ginger and mix well. Divide dough in half. Form into flat round disks. Wrap and chill 1 hour.
Roll dough rounds to 1⁄4-inch thickness. using a 3-inch wide gingerbread cookie cutter, cut into shapes. Sprinkle top half of gingerbread with sanding sugar. Place on parchment lined baking sheet; chill 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake cookies 10 to 12 minutes; cool on rack. Meanwhile, melt chocolate in small bowl over pot of barely simmering water. Dip non-sugared part of cookie into chocolate or brush on melted chocolate. Return to baking sheet to harden. Makes 24.
