Sweets

Gift Idea for the Pet Lover (Gingerbread Cookies)

December 23, 2020July 11, 2022 by Azilde Elizabeth

There are some people you never know what to get them. A few reasons are, they have everything, are picky or just don’t have hobbies. They just go to work and go home. This is where edible gifts win. The perfect gift idea for the pet lover. Make gingerbread cookies shaped like an animal! In my case, I made gingerbread cookies shaped like dogs and dog bones! If you don’t like gingerbread cookies, make sugar cookies!

Gingerbread Mouse Book

My kids have the Gingerbread Mouse book, written by Katy Bratun. At the end of the book she shares her Gingerbread Mouse Cookie Recipe. I’ve been wanting to make gingerbread cookies but the gingerbread cookie cutters have been sold out. I then decided to make them using dog and dog bone cookie cutters! Then I thought, why not make them for my sister, who loves dogs! What a great gift!

Gingerbread Cookie Recipe

The recipe was delicious and not too sweet. A few changes in my recipe was adding almond extract, as I had run out of vanilla extract. Also, the recipe calls for 1 large egg. My eggs were on the smaller side and I had to use 2 eggs, as one egg made the dough too dry. I only buy unsalted butter and so I added salt to my cookies. I only made half a batch but plan to make the rest. Too much baking is making me tired, lately. However, I am still enjoying it!

Icing Recipe

Along with the recipe is the icing recipe. It calls for 1 cup of confectioner’s sugar, 1 tbsp of milk and 1/8 of vanilla extract. Since I only made half a batch I also made half of the icing. I ended up needing a 1 tbsp of milk for 1/2 a cup of confectioner’s sugar and I used a splash of almond extract. Mix until it thickens. Then spoon into a pipping bag or sandwich bag. I used a sandwich bag and snipped off the tip.

*Tip- The icing dries within seconds, if you plan on adding sprinkles to the cookie. Do it after each cookie is frosted.

Gift Idea for the Pet Lover (Gingerbread Cookies)

Recipe by Azilde ElizabethCourse: DessertCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy

Servings

servings

Prep time

minutes

Cooking time

minutes

Chill Dough

minute

Total time

minutes

Gingerbread Cookie Recipe – Recipe by Katy Bratun (Author of Gingerbread Mouse) I made a few minor changes on how I made the cookies.

Gingerbread cookies Ingredients

2 2/3 cups of all purpose flour
1/2 tsp of baking soda
2 1/2 tsp of ginger powder
1 1/2 tsp of cinnamon powder
1/4 tsp of salt
14 tbsps of unsalted butter
1 cup of light brown sugar
2 small eggs or 1 large egg
splash of almond extract
extra flour, when rolling out the dough
ICING RECIPE
1 cup of confectioner’s sugar
2 tbsps of milk
splash of almond extract
Makes 36 cookies (dog and dog bone shapes)

Directions

Sift the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon and salt.
Add the butter, almond extract, sugar and eggs. Mix with a hand mixer. To fully incorporate, I used my hands to form dough. Then wrap in plastic wrap and stick in fridge for about an hour until firm.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
On a clean surface, add some flour and cut the dough in half. Save the other half in the fridge. Start rolling out the dough until a bit thin. I eye balled this. Start cutting out the cookie with a cookie cutter.
Bake on a sheet pan for 13 minutes. While the cookies cool, (which only takes a few minutes) bake the second batch and start making the icing.
Make the Icing
Mix the confectioner’s sugar, milk and almond extract with a spoon until it thickens. Spoon into a pipping bag or a sandwich bag. If using a sandwich bag, snip the end off.
Start decorating the cookies. If adding, sprinkles or other decorations, add them after icing each cookie; as the icing dries VERY fast.

Notes

I made 18 cookies, reserving the other half of dough for another day. You can always half the recipe
You can substitute the almond extract for vanilla extract
I always have unsalted butter but if using salted butter, skip the salt in this recipe
Number of cookies depends on the size of your cookie cutters
Dough will not rise much, therefore, make sure cookie is on the thinner side