Gingerbread Reindeer

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of premium flour + extra for working with the dough
• 1 tbsp. ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 0.5 tsp of soda
• 1/4 tsp ground allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
• 0.5 cup granulated sugar
• 55g unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into 2cm pieces.
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 1 large egg
• 450 g of powdered sugar
• 5 tbsp. dry egg white
• Black gel food coloring
• Brown gel food coloring
• 18 red jelly beans with cinnamon
• Special equipment: 10cm tall gingerbread man cookie cutter.

Preparation:

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, allspice, nutmeg, baking powder, and salt until evenly combined. In a large bowl, beat the granulated sugar and butter with a mixer on low speed, then increase to medium, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed, until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
2. Stir in the molasses and treacle, then add the egg (the mixture will appear stratified). Reduce the mixer speed to low and beat in the flour mixture a little at a time until the dough begins to come together. Then increase the speed to medium and beat until the dough is well combined and sticky.
3. Divide the dough in half, form two disks, and wrap each in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.
4. Position oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 175°C.
   
   
   When measuring flour, spoon it into a dry measuring cup and remove any excess. Scooping flour directly from the bag with a measuring cup will compact it, resulting in dry baked goods.
5. Refrigerate one disk, and roll out the other on a well-floured surface to a thickness of 0.3 cm, dusting the dough with flour as needed and occasionally inserting a spatula under the dough to prevent it from sticking. If the dough cracks, press it down. Shake off any excess flour.
6. Cut out gingerbread men from the dough as close together as possible. Remove any trimmings and, using a small spatula, transfer the figures to the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 2.5 cm apart. Gather up any trimmings, shaking off any excess flour, then knead the dough a few times until smooth.
7. Roll out the dough again and cut out the gingerbread men. If any bits of dough stick to the work surface, scrape them off with a spatula, dust the surface with flour again, and continue rolling.
8. Bake the cookies, rotating the baking sheets halfway through, until slightly firm to the touch but not browned, about 12 minutes. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting. The cookies will continue to firm up as they cool. Repeat with the remaining dough.
9. Meanwhile, prepare the royal icing for decoration..
   
   In a large bowl, combine the powdered sugar and dry egg whites. Add 6 tablespoons of water and beat with a mixer on low speed until the glaze thickens. The glaze should be snow-white and thick, but not fluffy or bubbly. If you overbeat the glaze, it will become air-filled and difficult to work with. If this happens, let the glaze sit for a while, then vigorously stir with a silicone spatula.
10. Spoon about 1/3 cup of frosting into three separate bowls (cover any remaining frosting with plastic wrap and set aside for later use). Leave the frosting white in one bowl. Tint the frosting black in another bowl, and light brown in the third. Thin the light brown frosting with 1 teaspoon of water.
11. Transfer the icing to separate zip-lock bags. Snip off a very small corner of the bags with white and black icing. Snip off a larger corner of the bag with light brown icing.
12. Place each gingerbread man in front of you. Using black icing, pipe an outline along the edge of each cookie's head, along the edge of the arms, and a curved line across the chest. Turn the gingerbread man upside down; you can now see the outline of a reindeer head. Pipe black antlers extending from the top of the head along the gingerbread man's legs.
13. Next, fill each deer's head with a thinner, lighter brown icing, using a toothpick to push it into the narrow corners. Press a red cinnamon candy into the center of each deer's face to create a nose. Let the icing set completely, 40 minutes to 1 hour.
14. Once the brown icing has dried, paint the rest of the face on each deer. Pipe two white dots above the nose for the eyes and two white dots on the bottom half of the ears for the fluff. Use black icing to paint a smiling mouth and eyebrows. When the white icing has dried slightly, pipe black pupils onto the eyes. Add a little personality to each deer by piping the mouth, eyebrows, and pupils differently!
15. Let the glaze dry for 1 hour, or preferably overnight. The cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days, but are best eaten fresh..