Article and Recipe by Stephanie Grant
Images by Ali Lamoureux
My holiday season usually kicks off with the sound of Karen Carpenter, the Temptations, and Johnny Mathis. Next come decorations, holiday movies, and old Christmas episodes of favorite TV shows. My husband and I move through the season checking off this imaginary to-do list. Do we have hot chocolate in the pantry? What’s our budget for gifts? Are we finally going to get around to decorating the outside of our house like “real” grown ups? And perhaps my favorite—do we have enough butter and flour?
The stand mixer is busiest this time of year. Thoughts of chocolate chip, chocolate crinkle, sugar, gingerbread, snickerdoodles, shortbread, and butter cookies consume me. Butter takes up residence on my counter, sometimes never making it into the fridge. Yes, cookie season has arrived.
One of my favorite traditions of the season started several years ago when I had the idea of creating cookie boxes for my loved ones. That first year, and if I’m honest, the years following, left me spent and my kitchen in ruins. But I wouldn’t have it any other way. The joy of sharing those small tins is worth all the effort, especially when I have one all to myself. Because we should be able to enjoy the fruits—or cookies—-of our labor, right?
While chocolate chip cookies are my go-to year round, during the holiday season, I love mixing it up with seasonal cookies—and gingerbread cookies are at the top of that list. Of course, we can enjoy them with a glass of milk, but let’s be honest, beer is better.
Since this is a special occasion, there’s no better time to break out one of the best. First brewed back in 2004, Curieux is a golden ale aged for approximately seven weeks in freshly emptied bourbon barrels, resulting in notes of vanilla, caramel, oak, and a hint of bourbon.
It’s then blended with a portion of fresh Tripel, to bring out the beer’s notes of passion fruit and honey. The result is a flavorful and multi-layered ale with a crisp, dry finish, and it pairs perfectly with those spicy notes you find in gingerbread cookies.
For this recipe, I wanted to capture my childhood excitement of eating my favorite mall treat—sandwich cookies—but with holiday flavor. And of course, I added a little Curieux to the icing to amp up the natural harmony of the pairing. These cookies are soft, chewy, and so irresistible. I can’t imagine another holiday without them.
INGREDIENTS
For the Cookies
3/4 cup butter (1.5 sticks), softened
1 cup sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
1/4 cup molasses
2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour (270g)
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
For the Icing
½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
2 teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoon Curieux, room temperature
PROCESS
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Whisk together flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt to a medium bowl.
- In a stand mixer or with a handheld mixer, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. About 2 minutes with a stand mixer. Scrape down bowl and beater as needed.
- Add egg and mix in completely and then mix in molasses.
- With the mixer on low, add in flour mixture, scraping down the bowl as needed.
- Use a 2-tablespoon (1 ounce) scoop, to scoop cookie dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes.
- Remove cookies from the oven and let cool completely.
- Use a stand or hand mixer to blend butter and confectioners’ sugar.
- Add in vanilla, salt, and Curieux.
- Put icing to a piping bag and add enough icing to cover the middle of the cookie, avoiding the edges.
- Place another cookie on top to complete the sandwich.
- Store in an airtight container for 4-5 days in the refrigerator to ensure the icing doesn’t melt.
