Christmas Countdown: Gingerbread Snowflakes

I told you before that I am a hoarder. But I'm not only a hoarder of dried goods. I'm also doing very well in the kitchen utensils/machines/gadgets department.

Like cookie cutters. I have a big jar full of them, and they look mighty pretty on my shelf, in my office - they're not even in the kitchen any longer. But truth be told, I've hardly ever used them.Yet, when I'm abroad (they're expensive around here, so I seem to be able to control myself) one or two always seem to sneak themselves into my suitcase. I have no idea how this happens.

The truth is, I don't really care for cut-out cookies. They're often bland, buttery, boring affairs with their biggest asset being their shape (and perhaps their frosting). I know, you shouldn't judge a cookie - or anything else, except maybe a new haircut - by it's shape alone, but I do. I like the rugged, crumbly, fat discs of joy - not the controlled, straight-lined kind.

Still, those cutters needed some excercise (and I needed the jar for cookies) so I went looking for a recipe, and again, Gourmet to the rescue. These are delicately spiced Gingerbread cookies that keep well and stay crisp. They even, for this cut-out cookie disbeliever, were deemed worthy of their calories, even when competing against five other kinds of cookies. That is pretty high marks, I tell you.

You'll find the recipe here. I used only 1½ teaspoon baking powder and rolled them just short of 1 cm. thick. They were glazed with a mix of powdered sugar and lemon, because I wanted them all white, like Shauna's pretty things. And I used my latest investment, the snowflake cookie cutter, because 'tis the season, right? I think I got about 40-50 cookies, but it will of course depend on the size of the cutters you're using.

Now at least I feel a little bit better for having used my cutters...