GINGERBREAD COOKIE FROSTING RECIPES

Steps:

• Cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and molasses. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt and spices; gradually beat into creamed mixture. Divide dough in half; shape each into a disk. Wrap in plastic; refrigerate, covered, until firm enough to roll, 4 hours or overnight., Preheat oven to 350°. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to 1/8-in. thickness. Cut 60 gingerbread men using a floured 3-1/2-in. cookie cutter. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. If desired, cut sixty 1-1/4-in. triangles for hats; attach to gingerbread cutouts, pressing edges to seal. If desired, cut sixty 1/4-in. circles; attach to hats for pompoms. , Bake cookies until edges are firm, 8-10 minutes. Remove to wire racks; cool completely., Tint some of the frosting red; use red frosting for hats and buttons. Cut a small hole in the corner of a pastry bag or heavy-duty resealable plastic bag; insert #3 round pastry tip. Fill bag with white frosting; pipe faces and trim on hands and feet. Using a #16 star pastry tip, pipe decorations on hats.

Steps:

• 1. Make the Cake: Preheat oven to 350�F. Lightly grease a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan with nonstick spray and line with parchment paper. 2. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, baking soda, baking powder and cloves. Set aside. 3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and both sugars until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well between each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract. 4. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet, mixing just until the batter is homogenous with no streaks of flour. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and smooth out the top with a spatula. Bake until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out with very few crumbs, 50 to 55 minutes. Cool for about 10 minutes in the pan, then remove to a cooling rack to cool completely. 5. Make the Frosting: While the cake is cooling, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the cream cheese and butter and mix on medium speed until combined and creamy, about 1 minute. Add the sour cream and mix for about 1 minute more. 6. With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the confectioners' sugar, then increase the speed to medium and mix until creamy, about 1 minute. Mix in the vanilla extract and salt. 7. When the cake is completely cool, frost the cake, using an offset spatula or spoon to create swoops and swirls in the frosting. Garnish with candied ginger as desired. The cake is best eaten the day it's made, but will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.