A while ago I ate a `gingerbread white chocolate blondie`and it was delicious. Better than gingerbread cookies - it was sweet and rich and comforting. But also very sweet and very buttery. I liked the idea of a somewhat different holiday treat though, and decided to try to recreate a healthier, vegan version of the treat. I cam up with a pumpkin version, where the pumpkin provides the moisture and texture, but not too much flavor - that`s what the ginger and molasses are for. I can`t call it a brownie, because there is surprisingly no chocolate, but I can call it tasty.
Pumpkin Gingerbread Blondies
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup raisins
2 Tablespoons ground flaxseed
2 Tablespoons sugar or brown sugar or coconut sugar, optional
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
pinch salt, optional
1 cup pumpkin purée
1/3 cup blackstrap molasses
2 Tablespoons oil (optional) can also sub applesauce
up to 2 Tablespoons water or non-dairy milk, optional, use only if mixture is very dry
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 325◦F. Line an 8x8 inch square pan with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, combine first ten dry ingredients.
In a separate small bowl, combine remaining wet ingredients.
Add the wet to the dry and mix well.
Spread batter in prepared pan evenly and bake for 15 minutes until set. Cool before cutting and serving.
Optional ingredients will add extra flavor and richness, but can be omitted for a healthier version. I also made a quick frosting for these, colored green by avocado, which I will share the recipe for soon.
As I have mentioned the past four years, every year it is a family tradition to purchase a gingerbread house kit and assemble and it as a family. Fortunately, we have been able to spend all of our Christmas holidays together as a family. Unfortunately, we do not always get to assemble the gingerbread house together, because we always do it quite early - a few weeks before Christmas - so we can have it on display throughout the holiday season.
Here is this year's house that my parents did a great job of. Every year we try to get a slightly different kit, as every store seems to have a different version, but we have run out of different types a few years ago. One year we did a train, and I would like to do some of the new kits out there, such as carousels, palaces, horse and carriages, etc. but we seem to like the traditional house.
Ginger Cake
2 cups all-purpose (plain) flour
1/2 cup granulated (white) sugar
1 teaspoon each; ground cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup molasses
3 large eggs, beaten
1 cup hot water
2 teaspoons baking soda
Preheat oven to 350◦F. Grease or line a 9x13 inch rectangular pan.
In a large bowl, place the first eight ingredients. Stir the soda into the hot water until it bubbles then add to bowl. Mix well until smooth. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 35-40 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Here is a really quick gingerbread cake recipe that is a real saver at Christmastime. It is basically a one bowl recipe for a nice gingerbread, with a cake-like texture. It is baked in a long rectangular cake pan and is easy to serve. It is great warm or old as is, or with ice cream, whipped cream, a dusting of icing sugar, or a sauce - caramel, eggnog, spiced, crème anglaise, or a spiked sauce such as brown sugar rum, bourbon butterscotch, or a simple hard sauce.
Gingerbread isn't just for cookies or cakes - it can work for cupcakes or muffins as well! These gingerbread cupcakes my mother made are moist and sweet enough to be cupcakes, but we eat them as muffins. If you would like them to be cupcakes, I would recommend a cream cheese icing, brown butter icing, or salted caramel buttercream. An eggnog flavored frosting would be nice as well.
Gingerbread Cupcakes
1 1/2 cups all-purpose (plain) flour
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1/4 cup molasses
1/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350◦F. Grease or line a twelve cup muffin pan.
In a medium bowl, stir together the first six dry ingredients.
In a separate large bowl, whisk together the last six wet ingredients.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix until fully incorporated.
Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups. Bake for abut 20 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Last year, we went with decorating a gingerbread train instead of a gingerbread house, to try out a new gingerbread kit. This year, we made both a gingerbread house and a gingerbread train. We had bought a reduced gingerbread train at the end of season last year, but forgot about it. So we bought a house this year, because although the train is cute, the house seemed cuter and more traditional. While we were putting out Christmas decorations this year, we found the gingerbread train set, and decided to put that together as well. So here is this year's gingerbread train, displayed on the shelf below our gingerbread house.
The houses for the past few years can be found at these links: 2011 and 2012.
Here is the link for last year's gingerbread train: Train.
In keeping with the tradition of constructing a family gingerbread house each year, here is the 2014 edition. Unfortunately, this year it was only my parents who were around to decorate the house, but I think they did a great job! Although we get pretty much the same, or a very similar, house every year, it always ends up being decorated differently, or we trade which parts each person decorates. These kits never seem to include enough candy to mimic the fancy designs given on the box as suggestions, and they never account for the small little candies that roll away - to be found later in the day. I particularly like the wreath on the front of this house, I think it is quite creative.
I am happy and thankful to be home with my family now in order to celebrate the holidays.
Happy Holidays to all!
Here are some more gingerbread cookies! I made these one miniature for some bite-sized cookies. What I like about these cookies is they are so small and extra crisp - almost like crackers - so you can eat a bunch of them. You can also make so many more different shapes, and you get way more cookies from one batch of dough. Also since they are so tiny, they really don't require any decorating. though they would probably be really good in a dip - try a sweet frosting, cream cheese, and eggnog dip, etc. Pictured here are two different angel shapes, a candy cane, and a star.
Gingerbread cookies are definitely one of my favorite Christmas cookies. I love the soft texture, and the molasses and spice flavor of these cookies. I seem to make them every year, but I always seem to use different recipes. Not that I haven't found a good recipe, I just like to try different ones I guess. This one makes a fairly large batch - anywhere from three to six dozen, depending upon size.
Gingerbread Shapes
1 cup butter or hard margarine, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup molasses
2/3 cup water
6 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon salt
Preheat oven to 350◦F. Grease or line cookie sheets.
In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Beat in the molasses, then slowly beat in the water.
In a separate bowl, mix together the remaining dry ingredients. Stir into butter mixture until combined. This dough may seem dry at first, but will turn into a soft and sticky dough. It should not need to be chilled before rolling, but it can be.
Roll dough out to desired thickness (about 1/4 inch) and cut with floured cutters. Bake for about 10 minutes until beginning to turn golden around the edges.
These cookies can be decorated by pressing candies, chocolate chips, sprinkles, or dried fruit into the dough before baking. Alternately, brush the cookies with warmed corn syrup to attach decorations after baking, or decorate with icing.
This is a deep, dark, spicy gingerbread loaf that is easy to make. It has a robust, spicy flavor and goes well with a nice toffee sauce.
Sticky Gingerbread
1 cup all-purpose (plain) flour
1/4 cup granulated (white) sugar
1/2 teaspoon each: ground cinnamon, ground ginger, ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1/2 cup cooking molasses
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup hot water
Preheat oven to 325◦F. Grease or line a 9x5x2 inch loaf pan.
In a large bowl, measure the first eight ingredients. Add the baking soda to the water and stir until it foams, add to bowl. Beat all together well.
Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for about 45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Well, the Christmas season may have come and gone, but winter, and unfortunately the snow, is still sticking around. So I still love having a warm hearty bowl of oatmeal for breakfast. I also love gingerbread, and recreated the flavors in this bowl of oatmeal. It really does remind me of gingerbread - whether it is a loaf or a cookie, the unmistakable flavors of ginger, molasses, raisins, and spice bring me back to memories of the Christmas season.
Gingerbread Overnight Oatmeal
1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
1 Tablespoon ground flaxseed
1/4 teaspoon each ground cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves
1 Tablespoon molasses
2 Tablespoons raisins
1/2 cup milk
Place all ingredients in a bowl or jar, mix well, cover and refrigerate overnight. In the morning, eat as is or heat it up. Makes one simple pre-prepared breakfast with lots of coconut flavor! For similar ideas, type "overnight oatmeal" in my blog's searchbar at the top.
Every year when my mother makes up her gingerbread cookie dough for Christmas, she makes some trees and stars and bells, but she also makes some people. Each member of the family gets a person to decorate themselves - loading it up as much or as little as pleases them! This year my brothers were not around at the time to decorate their cookies, so I dd for them, trying to match their cookie-decorating habits. Since they weren't around, they both got extra big gingerbread men. The top left and middle are my brothers' cookies - one decorated more than the other (with chocolate), the one next to it is my father's, the bottom left is my mother's, the bottom middle is mine (all chocolate) and the bottom right is an extra, yet to be decorated. We usually use candy-coated chocolates, chocolate pieces, and sprinkles to decorate our gingerbread and decorate them before baking. This is just another little example of Christmas tradition and baking. How do you like your gingerbread?
Here is another Christmas gingerbread creation that was inspired by a lack of resources, a lack of time, and a lack of patience. You see, we were supposed to be creating full, free-standing gingerbread houses. The gingerbread dough was already done, but needed to be cut and baked. Then quickly cooled, assembled, and decorated with icing that was yet to be made. All of this was to be completed within a period of about an hour and a half. That would be no easy feat. We could not decide what type of house to make, or how to cut the dough, or what template to use, but knew it had to be quickly baked so it could be quickly cooled. So we rolled the dough out to fit a cookie sheet and baked it that way. Because we had a lot of dough, but not enough to make a big house, and the dough was still fairly warm, we weren't confident in assembling a house. We also wanted to try something a little different than the typical gingerbread house; in stores these days you'll see trains, carousals, and more. So the idea to cut the gingerbread rectangle into a snowman was formed, giving us the leftover corners to munch on. A gingerbread snowman was much quicker and easier to decorate, and there were no worries of stability issues.
As you can see, this is not a very elaborately decorated gingersnowman, but it could be. It could be completely frosted to make it white if desired. Candies, chocolates, jelly beans, sprinkles, coconut, and more could be used for decoration. Licorice makes great arms.
Here is another quick little gingerbread house I made with a few others. This gingerbread dough is actually from scratch and cut-out by hand. To do this, we whipped up a batch if gingerbread cookie dough, then rolled it out to fit on a cookie sheet. We decided it would be easier to cut out the shapes after baking rather than before. This proved to be true, the only problem with this is there may be more waste or not enough dough for all the pieces, as scraps cannot be re-rolled. Oh well, that just means more little pieces to eat and taste! This house is pretty simplistic, and just uses a can of frosting and some bagged candy. So the walls are just long pentagon shapes, decorated with licorice trip, jelly beans, colored sprinkles, and chocolate squares for doors and windows. We kept it pretty simple since it was demolished and eaten pretty quickly, but I though I would share since Christmas is fast approaching. Every gingerbread house is different!
Every year, our family decorates a gingerbread house. We buy a simple, inexpensive kit from the grocery store, divide up the decorating equally, then put it together. We have tried to get a slightly different kit each year, but it is difficult to find many more different variations on the standard house. So this year we did something a little different and decided to go with a gingerbread train that we found with the houses. They are beginning to put some new, different kits out there, not simply houses and people, but also trains, carousals, sleighs, and trees. I think the carousal is pretty cute, almost like a Christmas merry-go-round, so maybe we'll try that one next year.
As I have said in previous years, we never eat any of the gingerbread house, we simply decorate it and put it on display for Christmas, and well, sometimes it doesn't come down until nearly Easter time. It doesn't go bad since it is all sugar and preservatives, and that is another reason we do not eat it. My mother makes her own gingerbread cookies that we usually munch on while decorating. I have considered making the gingerbread dough for the kit myself, but it would be a lot of effort and ingredients wasted since we don't eat it anyway, plus we would need to purchase candies and make royal icing as well.
The train seemed a bit more tedious to put together than a house, and initially had some stability issues as usual. The plastic tray provided to use as the base wasn't ideal, since it didn't really allow room for the wheels, so instead we just used a white piece of cardboard. The train stays up now, and looks quite nice on its platform.
I decorated the roof and the sides of the main train. I decorated the gingerbread man, which was not included in the kit but it was my idea to use one of my mother's gingerbread cookies. I wanted to prop him up a bit in the coal car, and thought it might be cool to add some coal. Chocolate chips were ideal, but that's a waste of good chocolate chips, so my father came up with the idea of using crumpled up balls of black construction paper. It's always funny how the kit contains candies of a variety of different colors, but always seems to be short on red and green candies.
If you would like to check out the houses from the past two years, just follow these links: 2011 and 2012.
As I mentioned last year as well, our family decorates a gingerbread house together every year in late November or early December, and we display it in our house until close to springtime. We always buy a kit from the store, we have tried to get a different kit each year, but there are only so many variations out there, and we have ended up with the same kit the past few years. That's okay though, because every year we decorate it, it looks different. We actually considered maybe doing something a little different this year and getting a gingerbread train, tree, or family to decorate, but we decided to stick with tradition in the end. We always buy a kit rather than go through all of the trouble of making one, because we never eat the house. The house is simply for display purposes and not eating. With a kit, we don't end up wasting a lot of ingredients and effort, and this way we also get a nice variety of candies we would not normally buy, without having to deal with leftovers. The icing is also the perfect consistency to use, which can be difficult to achieve at home! I was slightly disappointed with the candies this year though as they were definitely lacking in red and green, the primary colors we wanted to use for Christmas. We also supplement the kit with a few of our own candies, particularly sprinkles.
Every family member chooses a different part of the house to decorate, and we switch from year to year. We all input our overall ideas, and my father assembles the house, which can be quite the task. Sometimes it requires the support of a few soup cans or other random containers, but our house has never fallen apart! This year, I chose to decorate the front of the house and the gingerbread man. I decided to make the door resemble a candy cane using red sprinkles and icing, and I added a wreath at the top using a peppermint and all of the green candies we had. I cut a yellow gumdrop in pieces to put candles in the windows. For the gingerbread man, I covered his head, feet, and hands in white icing and sprinkled them with Christmas colored sprinkles for a matching hat, mittens, and boots set. My oldest brother decorated the roof and the tree, my mother did the back and the walkway, and my dad did the sides and the assemble. A wonderful group effort, and the house looks beautiful, just as it does every year!
Every year my mother bakes some gingerbread people around Christmastime. She usually bakes them around the same time our family decorates our gingerbread house, which I will feature soon! Everyone in the family gets to decorate their own gingerbread person, loading it with as much or as little candy as they would like. I love Mom's gingerbread, and I love this family tradition. Mom also decorates a few specially to give away to people we know, and the rest of the gingerbread she usually cuts into shapes. She usually uses stars, bells, and trees. We normally decorate the gingerbread cookies with red and green candy coated chocolates and Christmas colored sprinkles. I used to put candies on most of the cookies when I was little, after Mom would cut the dough into shapes for me, and then she would put them in the oven. I love then smell of gingerbread warming up the house. Gingerbread is one of my favorite types of Christmas cookies, and it always seems so special because it only seems to appear around Christmastime. A lot of these cookies will be frozen for later occasions, and if there are any still left then, I might get to enjoy some in January as well!
Well Christmas Day may have come and gone, but that certainly does not mean the entire holiday season is over. We are still entertaining and visiting guests, and of course that means food. There is still quite the stockpile of Christmas cookies, cakes, and goodies stored carefully in the freezer, which are easy and convenient to pop out for guests. This way, there is no need to worry about whipping something up last minute, and your guests can enjoy a wide variety of treats without you having to worry about a ton of leftovers. Here we have a nice display of Christmas goodies, most of which have already been displayed and talked about on my blog. On the top plate, there are Hershey's Kiss chocolate chip cookies, and my mother's decadent chocolate fruitcake. The bottom level contains crispy chocolate smartie cookies made by my mom and button shortbread cookies my mother and I made together. The front plate contains iced gingerbread cookies I made and shortbread cookies my mom prepared and I helped decorate. This all makes for a very colorful and tasty array of Christmas goodies to enjoy! Happy Holidays!
I was in the holiday mood again today, so I decided to make some ginger cookies. I made some gingerbread men, as well as some trees and some bells. I used a very basic recipe that makes quite sturdy cookies, which withstand decorations, and can even be made into hanging ornaments. The dough was firm and easy to roll out. It also did not require refrigeration time before rolling, which saved some time. I decided to decorate my cookies with red and green piping. Here is the recipe, from Company's Coming "Cookies".
Rolled Ginger Cookies
1/2 cup butter or hard margarine, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1/3 cup water
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. cloves
1/2 tsp. salt
decorations
In mixing bowl cream butter and sugar together. Add molasses and water. Mix in remaining ingredients.
Roll out on lightly floured board. Cut dough into shapes. For ornaments, make hole 1/2 inch from top edge using drinking straw. Arrange on greased cookie sheet. Bake in 350◦F oven for 8 to 10 minutes. Cook thicker cookies a bit longer. Makes about 2 dozen.
Decorations: The recipe recommends brushing the tops of the cooled cookies with warm corn syrup, and applying decorations. The glaze will stay sticky for about thirty minutes. Decorating the cooled cookies with icing also works.
These cookies can also be decorated before baking. Just press sprinkles, colored sugar, or candy-coated chocolates into the cookies before baking.
Paré, Jean. "Rolled Ginger Cookies." Recipe. Cookies, Edmonton Alberta: Company's Coming Publishing Limited, 1989. 92-93.
Here is a new twist on an old holiday favorite: gingerbread with a coffee-flavored frosting. Not your typical gingerbread, but the flavors of ginger, molasses, and coffee compliment each other very nicely. It was surprisingly delicious. The cake was spicy and had a nice tender crumb, and the frosting suited it perfectly. The recipe came from an old booklet I found lying around the house.
Espresso Gingerbread Cake
CAKE
1/2 cup boiling water
1/2 cup softened butter
1/2 cup fancy molasses
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 large egg
3 Tbsp finely grated fresh ginger
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp cardamom
FROSTING
1 1/2 tsp boiling water
2 tsp instant coffee granules
1/3 cup 35% whipping cream
2 Tbsp softened butter
2 cups icing sugar
Butter an 8-inch round springform pan and line the bottom with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 350◦F.
CAKE In a large, heatproof bowl, pour the boiling water over the butter and stir with a wooden spoon until smooth. Whisk in the molasses and brown sugar, egg and ginger.
Stir the flour with the baking soda, ground ginger, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, and cardamom. Add to the butter mixture in two additions, blending with a spoon until smooth.
Transfer batter to prepared pan and bake 30 to 40 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.
FROSTING
Place boiling water in a large bowl. Add the coffee and stir to dissolve. Add cream and butter, blend well. Gradually beat in icing sugar until smooth. Spread over just the top pf the cooled cake and allow some frosting to run down the sides.
The recipe recommends garnishing this cake with crystallized ginger strips, but I didn't have any. So I garnished with chocolate chips, because everyone loves chocolate (at least in this house).
As I mentioned yesterday, along with our gingerbread house, it is also tradition to decorate and bake homemade gingerbread cookies. Each family member gets to decorate one person for themselves. Then we decorate some extra people to give to friends, and the rest we make into other shapes, such as stars, bells, and trees. We like to decorate them with candy-coated chocolates, especially the jumbo red and green ones that come out specifically for Christmas. We also like to use some sprinkles too. Of course, it is also tradition for one specific family member (I won't mention any names) to overload his gingerbread man with as much candy as the cookie can possibly hold. But that's all just part of the fun. Above is a picture of some of our gingerbread cookies being packaged for the freezer. I love continuing family traditions, especially those involving baked goodies!
