Go Back

Grandmother's Gingerbread Boys

This perfectly spicy and pillowy soft cookies are a highlight of every Christmas season.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 8 minutes
Resting time 30 minutes
Servings: 24
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Ingredients Equipment Method

Ingredients
  

Gingerbread
  • 1 Cup Shortening
  • 1 Cup Sugar
  • 1 Egg
  • 1 Cup Molasses or Dark Syrup
  • 2 Tsp Vinegar
  • 5 Cups Flour
  • 1 1/2 Tsp Soda
  • 1.2 Tsp Salt
  • 2 Tsp Ginger
  • 1 Tsp Cinnamon
  • 1 Tsp Cloves
Buttercream Icing
  • 1/2 plus 1/8 Cup All Vegetable Shortening
  • 1/4 Cup Warm Water
  • 1 Box Powdered Sugar
  • 1/8 Tsp Lemon Extract
  • 1/8 Tsp Orange Extract
  • 1/8 Tsp Vanilla Extract
  • Dash Salt
  • Red and Green Food Coloring

Equipment

  • 1 Mixing Bowl
  • 1 Cookie sheet

Method
 

Gingerbread
  1. Preheat oven to 350
  2. Cream together shortening and sugar
  3. Add egg, molasses, vinegar, and flour
  4. Sift together soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves
  5. Combine spice mixture and flour mixture
  6. Add mixture to freezer to chill
  7. When chilled, lay down wax paper and roll dough into a thin layer (as thick as an Oreo cookie)
  8. Use desired cookie cutter to create shapes
  9. Arrange cookies on a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet and bake for about 8 minutes, watching closely (designate an oven watcher). Cookies should be removed from oven when they puff up and begin to deflate
  10. Let cookies cool completely before decorating
Buttercream Icing
  1. Cream together all ingredients and adjust to taste
  2. Separate icing in half, add food coloring until desired tint
  3. Add icing to piping bags with star-shaped tips, then decorate cookies as desired (we add one red and one green dot to their head to create hair/bows, dot buttons, and swirled shoes, plus a smiley face)