Cutout Cookie Gingerbread Dough

You’ve been asking, and so here it is: a full-blown tutorial about how to make my Cutout Cookie Gingerbread, the dough I typically use in all of my 3-D cookie construction projects! In addition to taking you through the dough-making process (which is super simple, BTW), I get a little geeky on you by sharing some food science to help you tweak your own recipes for 3-D and contoured cookie work. You’ll learn about four recipe- and process-related variables that, in my opinion, most contribute to the spreading of dough, and how to control them to minimize spreading (naturally!), cracking, and misshaping. Last but not least, I share some substitutes for the molasses and shortening in my recipe, so that, if you can’t find these items in your area, you can still make 3-D and contoured cookies with success!

IMPORTANT: I've fine-tuned my measurements in this recipe over time, especially those for the flour. The most accurate measurements are in the recipe link below, not in the video. However, the difference is relatively minor - about 2.5 ounces of flour across a large mass of dough (this recipe yields about 3 pounds 4 ounces of dough). If you are making curved 3-D cookies, the bit of extra flour (noted in the video) will only help by making your results a bit sturdier and more crack-free!

RELATED VIDEOS:
Seven Steps to Flawless Rolled Cookies: https://tinyurl.com/mgccfhy
How to Contour Cookie Dough: https://tinyurl.com/l5tthz8

RELATED RECIPES AND PHOTOS:
Gingerbread Cookie Recipe: https://tinyurl.com/z4d82rb (again, this link contains the most accurate flour measurements, but the difference is minor: 2.5 ounces across 3-plus pounds of dough)
Photo of Cookie Tests in Video (to the right in this link; click on the photo to blow it up): https://tinyurl.com/mbmz38b

RELATED INGREDIENTS: (These links are to the products/brands that I use, though other brands should, of course, work too, provided you haven’t made any ingredient substitutions in the process. These brands are readily availble in most grocery stores in the US.)
Vegetable shortening (i.e., Crisco): https://tinyurl.com/l3qs467
Molasses (i.e., Grandma’s): https://tinyurl.com/k3zxpm7
Coconut oil (i.e., Spectrum): https://tinyurl.com/kc6hcxs
Honey: (i.e., Miller’s clover honey): https://tinyurl.com/kb3cnag

MEASURING NOTES: For the most reliable results, it is always best to weigh all ingredients. However, if you don’t own a scale, you can also measure the ingredients by volume. Just be sure to measure the flour using my scoop-and-scrape method, meaning spoon unsifted all-purpose flour into a one-cup measure, lightly tap the cup top two or three times (to remove any big voids in the cup), and then level the top with a spatula. One cup of unsifted all-purpose flour measured this way weighs about 4.5 ounces or 128 grams, though results can vary as not all one-cup measures are exactly the same size!

INGREDIENT SUBSTITUTIONS: If you can’t find shortening or molasses in your area, you can substitute coconut oil and honey (see links above), respectively, in the same quantities by weight.

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CREDITS:
Music by: Kevin MacLeod, http://www.incompetech.com
Videography/Editing by: Joe Baran, Workingman's Film, http://www.workingmansfilm.com

Видео Cutout Cookie Gingerbread Dough канала JuliaMUsher