Gingerbread cookies

This recipe is amazing and I got it from Gimme some oven. Your home is guaranteed to smell amazing. This one has fresh orange zest and it really does the trick.

Vegan substitutes included.
Makes 40 cookies.

Ingredients

• 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

• 1 tablespoon ground ginger

• 3/4 teaspoon ground cloves

• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg (all from our baking spice dabba)

• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt

• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature (use vegan butter here if vegan)

• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar (or maple syrup, agave syrup)

• 1 large egg (flax egg if vegan)

• 1/2 cup molasses

• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

• zest of one small orange(optional)

  Icing

• 2 cups Icing sugar

• 2–3 tablespoons milk (soy, oat or almond milk)

• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Whisk together your dry ingredients. Flour, cinnamon, ginger, baking soda,, cloves, salt and nutmeg.

2. Beat the dough. Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add in eggs and molasses, and beat on medium speed until combined. Then gradually add in the flour mixture, and beat on medium-low speed until just combined.

3. Chill the dough. Divide the dough into two equal portions and form each into a ball. then gently use your hands to flatten each ball into a 1 “ thick disk, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerator for an hour or so until the dough is pliable.

4. Roll and cut the dough. Unwrap one of the discs and place it on a lightly-floured surface. Use a floured rolling pin to roll the dough evenly until it is approximately 1.8 inch thick. Then use your favourite cookie cutters to cut your desired shapes, re rolling the dough as needed to cut more. Transfer the shapes to parchment covered baking sheet.

5. Bake at 350 degrees for about 8-10 minutes or until the cookies are crisp around the edges and on the top. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes., then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling

6. Decorate: Once the cookies cool to room temperature, feel free to decorate as desired with the icing.