Gingerbread dogs

Today I made gingerbread cookies and I used a couple of cookie cutters that I had bought from "Sur La Table".  They have the biggest selection of cookie cutters!  The cookies turned out cute, and tasty.  I love making gingerbread during the holidays cause it really hits the spot.  A spicy cookie with a cup of coffee by the fire is perfect on a gloomy day. 

For the cookies you will need:
1/4 cup molasses
2 TBSP water
2/3 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
2 1/2 cup flour
1 tsp ground ginger
1tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda (for high elevation use 1/4 tsp baking soda)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 ground cloves

In a 3 quart saucepan stir the molasses and water on medium heat.  Just heat up the mollasses don't boil it.  When the molasses has heated up take it off the heat and add the butter and brown sugar.  I suggest cutting your butter into small cubes before hand so that you can immediately toss them into the warm molasses and it will melt easily.

After the butter has fully melted and your mixture is smooth combine the rest of the ingredients.  Then divide the dough in half and place the two pieces in plastic wrap.  refridgerate the dough for at least one hour.








When your dough has fully chilled, pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Pull one of your disks of dough and let it warm up a bit.  On a slightly floured surface roll the dough out until it is about an 1/8 inch thick.  Use cookie cutters of your choice.

Place the cookies on an ungreased cookie sheet (I use a slipat but it isn't necessary) and bake in the oven for 7-10 minutes.  Make sure you check on your cookies at about 5 minutes, you don't want to overbake them!  One trick to see if your cookies are done is to gently press on one of the cookies with the tip of your finger.  If the indent stays your cookie is not done.  If the indent goes away It is time to pull them out!

For decorating I used Candy Coating, peppermint extract, and little cinnamon candies.  I put about three blocks of the candy coating in the microwave for about 20 seconds at a time, stirring it everytime until it was completely melted.  I then added about 1/4 tsp of peppermint.  I suggest first adding 1/8 of a tsp and giving it a taste test.  If you want more peppermint add a bit more.   You can always add more but once it's in...you can't take it back.

I piped the chocolate on the tennis balls and the dogs, and then I drizzled chocolate on the bones.  The chocolate hardens fast so if you need too re-heat it so it is easy to work with.