Continuing with my week of gingerbread, Kara and I chose to pair together some of our favorite flavors for our next recipe…2 ingredients that are an unlikely pair. Gingerbread and lemon curd. Whhhaaa? Weird, I know. But hear me out.
As Joey Tribbiani once said…”I mean, what’s not to like? Custard, good. Jam, good. Meat, good!”
I know this is not a trifle. Still, I second what Joey says. I mean really, what’s not to like?!? Gingerbread cookies, good. Lemon curd, gooood! Kara and I both loved these cookies! Lemon curd is ridiculously delicious, so we incorporate it into recipes whenever possible. It wasn’t fun waiting 2 hours for the dough to chill and waiting for the cookies to bake and then waiting for them to cool, but the finished product ended up being well worth the wait.
Here’s what you’ll need
Add molasses and egg
In a large bowl, whisk dry ingredients
Slowly incorporate the dry ingredients, scraping down the bowl as needed
Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours
Use a rolling pin to roll to 1/4 inch thickness, then use a cookie cutter to shape
Once cooled, spread on lemon curd
An unlikely but delicious combo!
Yield: 15 sandwich cookies, depending on size
Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup sugar
1 large egg
2/3 cup molasses
lemon curd (Trader Joe’s is our favorite)
Directions
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add egg and molasses and continue beating until well combined.
Gradually add the dry ingredients, scraping down the bowl after each addition. Mix until incorporated. Form the dough into a disk shape, then wrap the dough in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or overnight.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to ¼ inch thickness. Use a cookie cutter to shape the cookies, carefully placing them on the lined baking sheets with a spatula. We used flower shapes, half of which had holes in the center so that the filling can show through.
Bake for 8 to 12 minutes, until the edges turn golden brown. Exact time varies depending on the size of your cookie. Remove from oven and let cool for 4 or 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Once cooled, spread about 1 tablespoon of lemon curd on half the cookies, then place on cookie tops.
Source: adapted from Joy of Baking
