Maple Almond Butter Gingerbread People

Maple Almond Butter Gingerbread Cookies

SERVING SIZE:

8 (5-inch) cookies

PREP TIME:

20 minutes

COOK TIME:

10 minutes

TOTAL TIME:

30 minutes

MADE WITH:

JUSTIN'S® Maple Almond Butter

INGREDIENTS

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt
½ cup unsalted butter (or vegan butter), at room temperature
¼ cup JUSTIN’S® Maple Almond Butter
½ cup + 2 tablespoons packed maple sugar (or dark brown sugar)
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup blackstrap molasses
White frosting (such as Simple Mills Organic Vanilla)
1 bag JUSTIN’S® Mini Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Combine the flours, baking soda, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, allspice and salt in a medium-sized bowl and set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter, almond butter, and sugar on medium speed for 2 minutes. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Add the molasses, and mix until well combined. Carefully add the dry ingredients and mix just until just combined.
Divide the dough into two. Using a rolling pin, roll each half to 1/2” thickness between two pieces of parchment paper.
Place the parchment sheet with the rolled-out cookie dough onto a cookie sheet and refrigerate for 10 minutes. Once chilled, use your cookie cutter to immediately cut the gingerbread people about an inch apart. Peel off excess dough, leaving the gingerbread cutouts on the cookie sheet.
Before baking, use your fingers to slightly stretch the arms of the gingerbread people, careful not to break. Crumple a small piece of aluminum foil into a ball about 1-inch in diameter. Place it in the center of each gingerbread person, and gently wrap the stretched dough arms around it so it looks like it’s holding a ball. Repeat with remaining dough.
Bake 9-12 minutes, or until edges begin to darken. Remove from oven and cool completely.
Once cooled, transfer the frosting to a piping bag fitted with a small round piping tip and decorate your cookies. Very carefully remove aluminum foil balls and replace them with Mini Peanut Butter Cups.
Store in an air-tight container for up to 5 days.