A Gross of Cookies

I just finished a four hour bake-a-thon of gingerbread cookies. I doubled the recipe which was supposed to yield a total of a hundred cookies, but I bet it turned out more like 150. Now we definitely have to con someone into helping us decorating them.

I used the same recipe as last year, but the dough had a very different consistency. I think last year I didn't melt the butter, but it looks like the cookies turned out pretty much the same.

I also made an interesting discovery. I forgot to brush my first batch of cookies with eggs and, as expected, they looked a bit dull. However, they also didn't rise nearly as much as the subsequent batches. So the egg glaze is not just for show -- I assume it helps trap the CO₂ generated by the baking soda and thus the cookie rise more and stay fluffier.