Driving Miss Zilla #1: Honey-Gingerbread Cookies

Posted: October 18, 2010 | Author: Bakezilla | Filed under: Bakezilla | 4 Comments »

So, here’s some personal information for the world: I have had some real, serious anxiety about driving. Yes, I’m a grown woman, yes I have a driver’s license, yes I took driver’s ed and practiced and all that stuff, but driving has always made me nervous (the roots of this are something I won’t go into here, but I have gotten treatment for anxiety, no worries). So I’ve avoided driving like the plague for years, which is pretty easy when you live in New York City. But recently, I’ve realized, it is really good to know how to drive. It is a very practical skill. Especially when you have both a zip car and costco membership at hand. So I decided to take this issue head on. I enlisted my dear friend and fellow pretty girl Johanna, and arranged a driving lesson/practice session in exchange for baked goods. I must say, she was an extremely patient and kind driving companion, and really helped me feel a lot better about my ability to drive like the rest of American adults, and, well, she got some honey-gingerbread cookies.

I made these halloween themed because it’s October.  And I had ghost and cat cookie cutters.  I like gingerbread a lot, and the honey works really well… it’s a great flavor addition.  I have to work on my royal icing technique – they were a little sloppy – but the taste results were great.  Note: the dough needs refrigeration and then the cut out shapes need freezing – so A. make sure you give yourself a while to make these and B. make some room in your fridge and freezer for them.

Ice them with royal icing.  I have written about this previously… but the kind I use has raw egg whites.  I mix one box confectioner’s sugar, 1 tbs. lemon juice, 1 egg white, and 1/8-1/4 cup water to make it… and I like using gel as opposed to liquid food coloring if available.   Ice cooled cookies as desired.