STAMPED COOKIE 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:

• In a bowl, cream the butter, shortening and sugar. Beat in the honey, egg and vanilla. Gradually add the flour and salt., Turn the dough onto a floured surface and roll to an 1/8-in. thickness. Cut into shapes using cookie cutters dipped in flour. Transfer cutouts to ungreased baking sheets., Using a straw, make a hole in the top of each cookie. Remove the center circle of dough. Bake the cookies at 350° for 6 minutes until the edges are lightly browned. Remove the cookies to wire racks to cool., For frosting, combine the confectioners' sugar, water, corn syrup and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Tint the frosting with liquid or paste food coloring in desired colors., Place each color of frosting in a pastry or plastic bag. Cut a small hole in the tip of each bag. Spread and pipe frosting onto cookies as desired., If desired, create stitch marks on a stocking or veins on holly leaves by dipping a toothpick in food coloring and painting on the lines., For hanging loops, cut forty 8-in. strips of 1/8-in.-wide ribbon. Thread a ribbon strip through the hole in each cookie and tie the ends into a bow.