Gingerbread: Cookies
Ingredients
1½ sticks butter, softened
¾ cup packed brown sugar
⅔ cup molasses
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
3¼ cup flour
1 Tbsp ginger, ground
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp cloves, ground
¼ tsp nutmeg
½ tsp salt
Sugar cookie icing
Sprinkles
Directions
In a large bowl, beat butter, brown sugar and molasses until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add egg and vanilla and beat until combined. Next, in a medium bowl, whisk flour, spices, baking soda and salt until combined. Gradually add dry ingredients to butter mixture until the dough comes together. Be sure not to over mix.
Divide dough in half and create two discs. Roll each piece of dough between two pieces of parchment to 1/4-inch thick. Chill until firm, from 3 hours to overnight, based on your preference.
Preheat oven to 350°. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Peel off both sheets of parchment from dough, then replace one sheet of parchment back underneath dough. Cut out gingerbread men with a 3-inch wide cutter and transfer to baking sheets.
Bake for 4 minutes, then flip cookies and bake for another 4 minutes, until slightly puffed and set. Let cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Repeat with remaining disc of dough. Decorate with icing and sprinkles as desired.
Gingerbread: Layer Cake
Cake Ingredients
2⅔ cup all-purpose flour
1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp ground ginger
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg
½ tsp allspice
½ tsp ground cloves
12 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
½ cup vegetable or canola oil
¾ cup unsulphured molasses
3 large eggs (room temperature preferred)
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream
⅓ cup very hot water
Frosting Ingredients
8 oz cream cheese, softened (full-fat cream cheese preferred)
½ cup unsalted butter, softened
⅓ cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1½ tsp vanilla extract
⅛ tsp salt
4 cups powdered sugar
1 Tbsp heavy cream or milk (optional)
Cake Instructions
Preheat oven to 350° and grease three 8-inch round cake pans with baking spray and line the bottoms with rounds of parchment paper. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices.
Add melted butter and vegetable oil and stir well. Stir in molasses. Add eggs, vanilla, and sour cream and stir until thoroughly combined. Finally, stir in hot water. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl and ensure batter is uniform and well-combined.
Evenly divide batter into prepared pans and transfer to center rack oven. Bake for 28 minutes or until centers are set, cake lightly springs back to the touch, and a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean or with moist crumbs.
Allow cakes to cool in their pan for 10-15 minutes before running a knife around the edge and carefully inverting onto a cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.
Frosting Instructions
Combine cream cheese, butter, brown sugar, vanilla extract and salt and beat with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy.
Gradually add powdered sugar, stirring until completely combined. If frosting seems too thick, thin it by adding heavy cream or milk and beating briefly on high speed. Level cakes, if needed, and decorate with frosting.
Gingerbread: Waffles
Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
6 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled
3 Tbsp unsulfured molasses
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
¾ tsp salt
1½ tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
½ tsp ground cardamom
¼ tsp ground cloves
4 large eggs
1 cup whole milk
½ cup sour cream, plus more for serving
Preferred preserves for topping
Directions
Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices in a large bowl. Whisk together eggs, butter, milk, sour cream, and molasses in a medium bowl. Add egg mixture to flour mixture, and whisk until smooth.
Heat a waffle iron. Spoon one-third cup of batter into each mold and cook until golden brown. Serve warm waffles with sour cream and preserves.
Gingerbread: Hot Chocolate
Ingredients
1¾ oz Mozart Cream Chocolate liqueur
3⅓ oz whole milk
1½ tsp gingerbread spice
For Decorating
Whipped cream
Cinnamon
Cocoa powder
Gingerbread
Instructions
Heat the milk and gingerbread spice to desired temperature. Pour into a double-walled glass or any glass suitable for serving hot drinks. Add Mozart Cream Chocolate liqueur and stir well. Top with whipped cream, cinnamon and cocoa powder. Garnish with gingerbread and enjoy.
Gingerbread: Martini
Ingredients
1 oz vodka
1 oz Baileys Irish Cream liqueur
½ oz Kahlúa liqueur
½ oz gingerbread syrup
½ scoop vanilla ice cream, softened
Whipped cream
Instructions
Combine all ingredients with ice in a shaker.
Shake until smooth and pour into a chilled glass.
Top with whipped cream, if desired.
Gingerbread: Coconut Overnight Oats
Ingredients
¾ cup old-fashioned oats
¼ tsp ground ginger
¼ -½ cup coconut milk
1 Tbsp agave syrup
Toppings
¼ cup toasted raw coconut flakes
2 Tbsp candied ginger, chopped
Instructions
Make the oats: In a 1-pint mason jar, mix the oats with the ground ginger to combine. In a small bowl, mix the coconut milk (if you prefer a thicker oatmeal, use less milk) with the agave syrup. Pour the coconut milk mixture into the jar. Screw on the lid and refrigerate overnight, about 8 hours.
Make the toppings: In the morning, top the oatmeal with the coconut flakes and candied ginger. Eat immediately or screw the top on and take it on the go.
Gingerbread: Banana Loaf
Ingredients
1 stick unsalted butter, melted, plus more for pan
1¾ cup all-purpose flour
¾ cup light brown sugar
2½ tsp ground ginger
2½ tsp ground cinnamon
1¼ tsp baking powder
¾ tsp kosher salt
½ tsp ground cloves
½ tsp ground nutmeg
½ tsp baking soda
1½ cup powdered sugar
3 Tbsp whole milk
2 very ripe bananas, preferably frozen and thawed, mashed
2 large eggs, room temperature
¼ cup buttermilk
¼ cup molasses
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup walnut pieces
½ cup walnuts, chopped
½ cup fruit of choice (optional)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375°F and brush a standard 9-inch by 5-inch loaf pan with butter. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, brown sugar, ginger, cinnamon, baking powder, salt, baking soda, cloves and nutmeg until well combined. In another large bowl, whisk together butter, bananas, eggs, buttermilk, molasses and vanilla until smooth. Add dry ingredients and walnuts to the wet ingredients and stir until just combined. Scrape into prepared pan and spread into an even layer.
Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the bread comes out clean, about 1 hour. Let cool in pan 10 minutes, then transfer loaf to a wire rack and let cool completely.
In a medium bowl, whisk the powdered sugar and 2 Tbsp of the milk until combined. Add milk, ½ tsp at a time if too thick. Spread glaze over top of loaf and sprinkle with remaining walnuts. Let set at least 30 minutes before slicing and serving. CS