You really can’t have too many gingerbread recipes, and this year I decided to try a new one, which has rapidly become my favorite.  The key to this recipe is giving the dough a 48 hour rest in the refrigerator to allow the flavors to develop.  The recipe is out of The Nordic Cook Book with my own American twist – bring on the molasses.  I’ve also shaped my cookies with a stamp cookie cutter to resemble mosaic tiles, and then glazed them in my favorite lemon glaze.  This recipe produces a large amount of gingerbread, or as quoted in the cook book “enough for a traditional, Nordic family gingerbread free-for-all.”

Ingredients:

• 350 g (1 3/4 cup) Sugar
• 280 g (3/4 cup) Molasses
• 200 ml (3/4 cup + 1 tbsp) Milk
• 250 g (1 cup) Butter
• 2 tsp Salt
• 1 tbsp ground Cloves
• 1 tbsp ground Cardamon
• 1 tbsp ground Ginger
• 2 tbsp ground Cinnamon
• 1 tbsp ground Allspice
• 1 tbsp Baking Soda
• 1 kg (8 1/2 cups) Flour

Directions:

1. In a sauce pan combine together the sugar, molasses, and milk.  Bring it to a boil, and then remove it from the heat and allow it to cool slightly.
2. Place the butter, spices, and salt into the bottom of a large mixing bowl, and pour the sugar/milk mixture over them.
3. Stir the mixture until the butter has melted, and allow it to cool down to room temperature.
4. Meanwhile, sift together the flour and baking soda.
5. Use your hands to work the flour into the wet ingredients until fully combined.
6. Divid the dough in half, wrap it tightly in plastic, and set it in the refrigerator for 48 hours.
7. Remove the dough form the fridge 30 minutes before baking.
8. Preheat the oven to 400 F (200 C).
9. Roll and cut out your gingerbread.  You may want to roll out your gingerbread between two sheets of parchment or wax paper since using flour can discolor the surface of the gingerbread.
10. Place your cookies on lined or greased baking sheets.
11. Bake the gingerbread for 5 minutes.
12. Leave them to cool on the baking sheets.