Ginger Bears

🧂 Ingredients

• 6 cups all-purpose flour

  plus extra for rolling
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp baking powder
• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 3 tsp ground ginger
• 3 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 ½ tsp coarse salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup molasses
• 1 lb confectioners' sugar
• 5 tbsp meringue powder
• ¼ cup water

Instructions

• 1 Sift your flour, baking soda, and baking powder over a large bowl. Set aside.
• 2 In a stand mixer, with a paddle attachment, mix your brown sugar and butter. You
  want to mix it on medium speed until the mixture is fluffy.
• 3 Now mix in the spices and salt. After that add the eggs and the molasses. Turn
  the speed down to low.
• 4 Slowly add the flour mixture; mix slowly until it's barely combined. Divide the
  dough into 3 pieces and wrap each one separately in plastic wrap, or pop in a
  container.
• 5 Stick in the fridge until it's cold, at least for an hour, preferably overnight.
• 6 When you're ready to make the cookies preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
• 7 Now you can roll out your dough on a lightly floured work surface. You want the
  dough to be about ¼ inch thick. Cut out your bears, and pop them on a parchment
  lined cookie sheet. Stick the sheets in the fridge for about 30 minutes, or
  freezer for about 15 minutes.
• 8 Pop them in the oven and bake for about 10 to 14 minutes.
• 9 Remove and allow to cool for a few minutes, transfer to wire racks and allow to
  cool completely.
• 10 In a stand mixer combine your sugar, meringue powder and water, use a paddle
  attachment and mix on low. You want the mixture to be smooth, which should take
  about 7 to 9 minutes.
• 11 You can adjust the icing if needed. If it's too thick add more water, if it's
  too thin add more confectoners' sugar.
• 12 Transfer to a piping bag if desired. I just smoothed on with an offset spatula.
• 13 Sprinkle with fancy sugars or sprinkles.
• 14 Serve with a big old don't feed (or pet) the bears smile!

Nutrition Info