Ingredients
3¼cupsall-purpose flour
cupcocoa powder,unsweetened
1tbspground ginger
2tspground cinnamon
1tspground cloves
1tbspbaking soda
½tspbaking powder
1tspsalt
5tbspunsalted butter
cupsolid vegetable shortening
½cupdark brown sugar,packed
1largeegg
½cupmolasses
2ozbittersweet chocolate
1¼cupsconfectioners’ sugar
1largeegg white
1tspfresh lemon juice
Mascarpone Filling
Preparation
In a medium bowl, whisk the flour with the cocoa powder, ground ginger, ground cinnamon, ground cloves, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
In the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with the paddle, beat the softened butter with the shortening at medium speed until the mixture is smooth. Add the brown sugar and beat for about 2 minutes until fluffy.
Add the egg to the cookie batter and beat until incorporated. Beat in the molasses and then the melted bittersweet chocolate. Add the flour mixture in 3 batches, beating between additions.
Divide the dough into 3 equal parts. Shape each part into a disk, then wrap each one in plastic wrap and refrigerate the cookie dough until chilled for about 2 hours.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out 1 disk of dough ¼ inch thick.
Using 4- to 5-inch cookie cutters, cut the dough into shapes and transfer to the prepared baking sheets. Reroll the dough scraps and cut out more cookies.
Bake the cookies for about 7 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking until the tops are dry. Let the cookies cool on the pans for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely. Repeat the process with the remaining dough.
In a medium bowl, combine the confectioners’ sugar with the egg white and lemon juice and whisk until the icing is completely smooth.
Scrape the Mascarpone Filling into a piping bag fitted with a medium tip. Turn half of the gingerbread cookies flat side up and pipe a thin layer of filling over the cookies. Top with the remaining cookies, flat side down.
Scrape the icing into a piping bag fitted with a very small tip. Decorate the cookies as desired. Let stand for about 30 minutes, until the icing dries.
