The ritual boomer effigies to the jolly red communist gift giver have been presented on the traditional offering altar.
Hopefully the ritual will bring about the downfall of the bourgeois, and usher in the new communist era.
<<Snipped Image>>
Ngl, those look great
Recipe?
Sorry, I missed this-- Here you go.
Both recipes come from my ancient DoubleDay cookbook set from the '50s. (which is actually a reprint, since the recipes are even older, probably from the '20s)
First:
Let the children help make and decorate these.
Makes 2 dzen.
2 1/2 cps sifted flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ginger
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup molasses
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup hot water
Decorations:
Cinnamon candies (red hots)
Seedless raisins
Easy Icing:
1 cup sifted confectioner's sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon heavy cream (about)
Sift flour with salt and ginger and set aside. Melt butter in a alarge sauce-pan over low heat, remove from heat, and mix in sugar, then molasses.
Dissolve soda in hot water. Add dry ingredients to the molasses mixture alternately with soda-water, beginning and ending with dry ingredients.
Chill dough 2-3 hours. Preheat oven to 350F. Roll out dough a small portion at a time, 1/8" thick. cut with gingerbread boy cutter, handling dough carefully, and transfer cookies to ungreased baking sheets (they should be spaced about 2" apart). Press on cinnamon candies for buttons and raisins for eyes, and bake 10-12 minutes until lightly browned. Cool 2-3 minutes on sheets, then lift to wire racks. While cookies cool, prepare icing: Mix sugar, salt, and vanilla; add cream, a few drops at a time mixing well after each addition until icing is smooth and will hold a shape. Using a decorating tube, pipe outlines for collars, boots, cuffs, and belts. If you like, mae a little extra icing, tint yellow, and use to pipe in hair When frosting has hardened store airtight. (Note: Gingerbread boys can be made several days ahead, and piped with icing shortly before serving. If they soften in storage, warm 3-5 minutes at 350F to crispen, then cool on racks.) About 130 calories each.
I did not have time to make frosting, so I used a pastry bag I had loaded with storebought creamcheese frosting, and used it to glue down some candy googly eyes I got at walmart.
You can make a pastry bag out of a triangle of parchment paper using these instructions. (Similar instructions are given in my ancient, antique cookbook) I suggest baking on a sheet of parchment paper to easily de-pan the cookies.
A good basic cookie with plenty of flavor variations to try. Makes about 7 dozen.
3 3/4 cups sifted flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter or margarine
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 eggs
Preaheat oven to 375F. Sift flour with baking powder and salt, and set aside. Cream butter, sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Slowly mix in dry ingredients until just blended (lowest speed if you use mixer.) If your kitchen is very hot, wrap dough in wax paper and chill about 1 hour so it will roll more easily. Roll 1/4 of the dough at a time on a lightly floured board to 1/16 to 1/8" thickness and cut with plain or fluted cutters (a 2" or 3" size is good). Transfer to lightly greased baking sheets with a pancake turner, spacing cookies 2" apart. If you like brush with milk and sprinkle lightly with sugar. Bake on top 1/3 of oven 8-9 minutes until pale tan. Transfer to wire racks to cool. Re-roll and cut trimmings.
For softer cookies:
Roll dough 1/8-1/4" thick and cut with a 3" cutter; bake as directed 10-12 minutes until edges are just golden.
For slice and bake cookies:
Shape dough into a log about 2" in diameter, then chill several hours until firm or freeze. Slice 1/4" thick and bake about 19 minute until firm but not brown. About 55 calories per cookie.
You can use any ordinary cookie cutter, as my picture demonstrated. Bake until the edges are JUST barely turning tan. These are very easy to over-cook, so stay near the oven the entire time.
I suggest baking on parchment paper rather than a greased cookie sheet. They will be easier to de-pan, will have less overall cleanup, and will not be as oily after de-panning. Use colored decorative sugar, or cookie decorating stuff, like I did. You can find lots of such things in the baking isle of your grocer.