Well this is the last recipe in the 2020 Christmas Treat series. An unusual year no doubt and I really hope I have given you recipes that made you hungry and blogs that made you smile. This is an old standby, thousands of recipes out there, I put my twist on the spice mix (well it is a “spice” mix right). This is Christmas Treat #12 – Gingerbread Cookies.
Growing up, one of my favorite store bought cookies was the gingerbread cookie (Peak Freans I think). It was the only hard biscuit I really liked. Something about that cinnamon taste that to me perfectly offset the sugar in the cookie. They were delightfully dunkable when stacked together (less likely to end up at the bottom of the cup when dunked). When I had kids of my own, we would bake gingerbread houses from scratch. Martha Stewart recipes and designs that I would painstakingly cut out templates for (oh you know how much I like fiddly stuff right!). So much fun to do with them. In addition to making them, I think their favorite part was breaking it up. They couldn’t wait for Christmas Day when after the meal, they got to smash it up with their cousins and gobble up the gingerbread, candies and icing. I think this is when we left them with the grandparents – just kidding.
I had not made gingerbread in a while so when I wanted to do a decorated (and I do mean decorating in the most base of definitions – see above) cookie for the final Christmas Treat, my wife suggested gingerbread instead of sugar cookies. Everybody has their own mix of spices, I added my twist to the traditional recipe – freshly ground black pepper and pumpkin pie spice mix. So the pumpkin pie mix is just a natural fit as most gingerbread recipes contain the same ingredients. The ground black pepper is the big change and one that I think you should try if you like spicy gingerbread – it isn’t a lot, but you can adjust to taste and does make a difference. This is a sticky dough that needs to be rolled to the right thickness – use a little extra flour at a time when rolling. I also found it helpful to start rolling on the counter first, then transferring to a piece of floured parchment (using the rolling pin to assist moving it) and finished the rolling on the parchment. Decorating is an art, I leave professional decorating up to the many professionals (like Linda at sweet_enuf, Alicia at aint.she.sweet and natalie.grusko to name but a few – and I’m leaving out so many more, all very talented. You can catch their brilliance on instagram and drool) artists, I prefer the ahem – more rustic approach as presented. But you must try the base cookie with my spice mix (am I allowed to say I like it ok, I like it).
I think when Christmas 2021 comes along, we will look back at this year wondering how we survived all the sacrifices we have made, the adjustments to life and living, the compromising to a new different way of normal life. This Christmas, I learned to have a greater appreciation for front line workers – care givers, service providers and everyone in support roles that have to work during these dangerous times. Where safe and in your purview, do drive by visits to family and friends from the comfort of your car. Make some cookies and drop them off at a neighbor’s house, have an outdoor Christmas, watch “The Sound of Music” or any of your favorite movies. Working from home (or not working at all), home schooling, lockdowns, missed celebrations, parents wondering where their grandchildren are – you/we survived it. Thank heavens for “WhatsApp”, “Zoom” and all the other social media applications that let us virtually be with those we wanted/needed to see. Celebrate the end of 2020 safely and let’s hope for a great (I’ll settle for good) 2021! From me and mine to you and yours, Merry and Safe Christmas wishes to all! Wash your hands, wear a mask, socialize responsibly and be safe. As always – enjoy!
Ingredients
10 tbsps (145g) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup (150g) packed light or dark brown sugar
2/3 cup (200g) molasses
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
3 ½ cups (437g) all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1 tbsp. ground ginger
1 tbsp. ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground cardamom
¼ tsp ground cloves
½ tsp pumpkin pie spice mix
¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
Helpful Tips
This is a sticky dough so you may end up using more flour (1/4 – 1/2 cup) than the recipe calls for
There are tons of icing recipes out there, I bought a package of royal icing and made different colors and consistencies – piping, filling and dunking – have fun with this (it is just a cookie)
Watch the baking times – use the times in the recipes as a guide – every oven is different
You can also determine doneness by touching the surface – be careful it’s hot, and if it leaves an indent, it needs to bake longer. Keep in mind that the longer the cookies bake, the harder and crunchier they’ll be – remember they will harden slightly as they cool. I prefer my cookies softer (unless I’m dunking them) and usually go with the minimum amount of time required
Directions
Using a hand or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter for 1 minute on medium speed until completely smooth and creamy
Add the brown sugar and molasses and beat on medium high speed until combined and smooth – scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed
Next, beat in egg and vanilla on high speed for 2 full minutes scraping down as necessary
In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, pumpkin pie spice mix and black pepper together until combined
On low speed, slowly add the flour mix into the wet ingredients until combined – the dough will be quite thick and slightly sticky – if it is too sticky, add another tablespoon of flour at a time and mix – it should only be slightly sticky
Divide dough in half and wrap each up tightly creating a disc shape, chill for at least 3 hours or longer
Remove the dough from the fridge 20 – 30 minutes before you are ready to bake
Preheat the oven to 350f and line 2-3 large baking trays with parchment or silicone mats – set aside
Generously flour the counter and rolling pin – roll out the dough into about ¼” thickness – note, when I got to 10” diameter, I transferred to a floured piece of parchment and finished rolling to ¼” thickness or slightly less
Cut into shapes and carefully transfer the cut cookies to the parchment lined baking tray – or cut the shapes out leaving 1” of space between each cutout and pull out the scraps – transfer the sheet to the baking tray – repeat by rolling out the scraps and using either method to transfer the cut cookies
Bake cookies for about 9-12 minutes – note this is a guide, I cut large and small cookies – the last tray had all the small shapes on it and didn’t quite take 9 minutes, the bigger gingerbread shapes took about 10 minutes on average – do the shift test – nudge the cookie and if it moves slightly it’s ready, if not bake a little longer. You can also determine doneness by touching the surface – be careful it’s hot, and if it leaves an indent, it needs to bake longer. Keep in mind that the longer the cookies bake, the harder and crunchier they’ll be – remember they will harden slightly as they cool
Allow cookies to cool before moving to a baking rack
While they cool, make the icing if you like or just enjoy the taste of gingerbread on its own
Cookies stay fresh covered at room temperature for up to 1 week
