Ginger cutout cookies decorated with candy jack-o-lantern faces. Fun for kids!
Ingredients
2-3/4 cups flour
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter or margarine, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup molasses
1/4 cup buttermilk
Frosting
1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips, melted
Decorations for faces: candy corn, cinnamon red hots, jelly beans, licorice laces, other candies
Directions
- Mix flour, ginger, baking soda and salt. In large bowl with electric mixer beat butter, sugar and molasses until well blended and smooth. Stir in flour mixture alternately with buttermilk until well blended. Wrap dough, chill overnight. Heat oven to 375 degrees. On lightly floured board roll 3/8″ thick. Cut out pumpkin shapes. Place 1″ apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 1 cookie sheet at time in middle of oven for 15 minutes until puffy and golden brown. Cool on sheets a few minutes. Remove to rack to cool completely. Frost cookies except stems with frosting. Frost stems with melted chocolate.
- Before frosting sets, make “faces” with candies.
- Frosting: In a small bowl with electric mixer on high speed beat whites from 2 large eggs and 2 1/2 cups confectioners” sugar until white, fluffy and spreadable. Beat in about 1/2 teaspoon yellow and 1/4 teaspoon red liquid food coloring until mixture is pumpkin colored.