Indulge in the delightful aroma and irresistible taste of homemade gingerbread, a classic holiday treat that evokes fond memories and brings joy to the festive season. This timeless dessert holds a special place in many cultures, passed down through generations of bakers. With its warm, spicy flavor and chewy texture, gingerbread has become a beloved symbol of the holiday spirit.
This article presents a collection of carefully curated gingerbread recipes, each offering a unique twist on this traditional delight. From the classic gingerbread cookies, perfect for decorating and gifting, to the indulgent gingerbread cake with its moist, flavorful crumb, this article has something for every gingerbread enthusiast. Explore the secrets of creating the perfect gingerbread house, a centerpiece that combines creativity and deliciousness. And for those seeking a non-traditional take on gingerbread, discover the surprising yet delightful gingerbread waffles, a delightful breakfast or brunch option.
FAVORITE OLD FASHIONED GINGERBREAD
This is everyone's holiday favorite, even the busy cook's, because it is so easy to make.
Provided by Charles
Categories Desserts Cakes Spice Cake Recipes
Time 1h45m
Yield 9
Number Of Ingredients 11
Steps:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9-inch square pan.
- In a large bowl, cream together the sugar and butter. Beat in the egg, and mix in the molasses.
- In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. Blend into the creamed mixture. Stir in the hot water. Pour into the prepared pan.
- Bake 1 hour in the preheated oven, until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in pan before serving.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 375.1 calories, Carbohydrate 65.3 g, Cholesterol 47.8 mg, Fat 11.2 g, Fiber 1.1 g, Protein 4.4 g, SaturatedFat 6.7 g, Sodium 434.7 mg, Sugar 31.5 g
GINGERBREAD
My grandmother first used this recipe for gingerbread over 100 years ago. I remember that the kitchen smelled like heaven when Grandmother baked her gingerbread. The only thing better was when she took it out of the oven and served it with a generous topping of fresh whipped cream! -Ellouise Halstead, Union Grove, Wisconsin
Provided by Taste of Home
Categories Desserts
Time 35m
Yield 9 servings.
Number Of Ingredients 10
Steps:
- Combine egg, sugar, molasses, butter and water; mix well. In a large bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, ginger and salt; add molasses mixture. Beat until well mixed. Pour into a greased 8-in. square baking pan. Bake at 350° until cake tests done, 20-25 minutes. Cut into squares; serve warm with whipped cream.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 232 calories, Fat 7g fat (4g saturated fat), Cholesterol 41mg cholesterol, Sodium 350mg sodium, Carbohydrate 40g carbohydrate (22g sugars, Fiber 1g fiber), Protein 3g protein.
REAL GINGERBREAD
Categories Cake Mixer Egg Ginger Dessert Bake Cinnamon Molasses Gourmet Vegetarian Pescatarian Peanut Free Tree Nut Free Soy Free Kosher
Yield Makes 9 squares
Number Of Ingredients 11
Steps:
- Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a 9-inch square baking pan.
- Whisk together flour, baking soda, spices, and salt in a bowl.
- Beat together butter, molasses, brown sugar, eggs, and ginger in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until combined. Reduce speed to low and mix in flour mixture until smooth, then add hot water and mix until combined (batter may appear curdled).
- Pour batter into pan and bake until a wooden pick or skewer inserted in center of cake comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool to warm in pan on a rack.
BEST-EVER GINGERBREAD
This recipe produces a high-rising cake that is moist and delicious with or without added embellishments such as whipped cream, lemon sauce, ice cream or a sifting of powdered sugar. From a 1969 "Sunset" Favorite Recipes book.
Provided by superbuna
Categories Dessert
Time 55m
Yield 12 serving(s)
Number Of Ingredients 11
Steps:
- Set oven to 350°.
- In a bowl, combine sugar, salt, ginger, cinnamon and cloves.
- Stir in the oil, then the molasses, mixing well.
- Mix soda with boiling water and immediately stir into the mixture.
- Gradually blend in the flour, to prevent lumping.
- Then mix in eggs.
- Turn into greased 9 x 13x2-inch pan and bake in a 350° oven about 40-45 minutes.
GINGERBREAD DOUGH
Steps:
- Whisk all the dry ingredients together thoroughly and set aside. Beat butter and brown sugar together in the bowl of a mixer on medium speed until fluffy. Add the eggs, molasses, and water and beat until well combined.
- Beat half of the flour mixture into the mixer until blended and smooth. Add the remaining flour mixture and then knead the dough until firm and manageable, but not dry. Add more flour if the dough is wet.
- Place the dough in a sealable container or zip-top bag in a cool place for up to 2 hours. If you make the dough ahead of time and refrigerate it, bring to room temperature before working the dough.
- When ready to roll out the dough, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray your cookie sheets with nonstick spray.
- Roll out dough and cut into desired shapes, working in small batches and keeping the remaining dough in an airtight container so that it does not dry out. Bake for 11 to 15 minutes, depending on the size of the pieces. The gingerbread will be light brown when it is done. Let cool before icing.
- Combine egg white and powdered sugar in a microwaveable bowl and microwave until the mixture reaches 160 degrees F. The best way to do this is to microwave the mixture on high power, stopping every 20 seconds to take the temperature; it will take about 2 minutes and 40 seconds, but cook time will vary based on microwaves. Make sure to use clean utensils each time you check the icing. The other option is to microwave the mixture for 45 seconds on high, but the consistency will not be as good.
- Beat on high speed until the icing cools and holds a stiff peak, about 2 minutes. If the icing needs to be thicker, add up to 2/3 cup more sugar; you will probably need to add about 1/3 cup more sugar. Food coloring can be added, if desired. Work with the icing in small amounts, keeping the remaining icing in an airtight container, as it will dry quickly.
- Beat all ingredients together in the bowl of a mixer until stiff peaks form. Food coloring can be added, if desired. Work with the icing in small amounts, keeping the remaining icing in an airtight container, as it will dry quickly. The icing can be re-beaten if necessary.
GINGERBREAD HOUSE
You'll be surprised at how easy it is to make a gingerbread house from scratch. Equipped with gumdrops, licorice, peppermint and, of course, royal icing, this recipe is as fun to make as it is delicious.
Provided by Food Network
Categories dessert
Time 1h30m
Yield One recipe of dough makes one
Number Of Ingredients 14
Steps:
- Gingerbread House: In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter, brown sugar, molasses, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and baking soda together until the mixture is smooth. Blend in the flour and water to make a stiff dough. Chill at least 30 minutes or until firm.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Cut out the following paper patterns for the gingerbread house template: Two rectangles, 3 by 5 inches, to make the front and back of the house. Two rectangles, 3 by 5 1/2 inches for the roof. Two pieces for the ends of the house, 3 inches wide at the base, 3 inches to the roof line, and slanted to a peak 5 1/2 inches from the bottom. Four smaller rectangles, 1 1/2 by 1 inch for the roof and sides of the entryway. And one piece, 2 inches wide at the base, 1 1/2 inches to the roof line, and slanted to a peak 2 1/2 inches from the bottom for the front of the entryway.
- Roll gingerbread dough out to edges on a large, rimless cookie sheet. Place paper patterns onto the rolled out dough. With a sharp, straight edged knife, cut around each of the pieces, but leave pieces in place.
- Bake at 375 degrees F for about 15 minutes until dough feels firm.
- Place patterns on top of the gingerbread again and trim shapes, cutting edges with a straight-edged sharp knife. Leave to cool on baking sheet.
- Place royal icing into pastry bag with a writing tip and press out to decorate individual parts of house, piping on decorations, windows, door, etc., as desired. Let dry until hardened.
- Glue sides, front and back of house together at corners using royal icing. Place an object against the pieces to prop up until icing is dry (it only takes a few minutes).
- Glue the two roof pieces to the pitched roofline of the house. Then, similarly, glue the sides and roof of the entryway together with icing. Attach the entryway to the front of the house.
- Continue decorating the house, gluing on gumdrops, licorice and peppermint, as desired.
- Mix all of the ingredients together using an electric hand mixer, until the icing is smooth and thin enough to be pressed through a pastry bag with a writing tip. Add more lemon juice, if necessary.
THE MOST WONDERFUL GINGERBREAD COOKIES
This is my very favorite gingerbread cookie recipe. The dough is so firm and nice to work with and is so wonderful smelling that it is almost like a stress reliever. These disappear in lightning speed in my house! This recipe is adapted from a recipe in the Joy of Cooking and according to the entry they only have 3 grams of fat per cookie! If you want crisp cookies roll out very thin. Thicker cookies = softer cookies, thinner cookies= crisper cookies. If the dough is too sticky, chilling should help. **I noticed a lot of people have been having some sticky dough issues. You need to make sure you let the dough rest at LEAST two hours. For some reason this helps make the dough more workable. I live in FL and we have terrible humidity, but I have never had a problem with sticky dough in this recipe.
Provided by gingerkitten D
Categories Dessert
Time 2h23m
Yield 24 5inch tall cookies
Number Of Ingredients 13
Steps:
- In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves until well blended.
- In a large bowl (KitchenAid's great for this) beat butter, brown sugar, and egg on medium speed until well blended.
- Add molasses, vanilla, and lemon zest and continue to mix until well blended.
- Gradually stir in dry ingredients until blended and smooth.
- Divide dough in half and wrap each half in plastic and let stand at room temperature for at least 2 hours or up to 8 hours.
- Preheat oven to 375 deg. Prepare baking sheets by lining with parchment paper.
- (Dough can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 4 days, but in this case it should be refrigerated. Return to room temp before using.) Preheat oven to 375°.
- Grease or line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- Place 1 portion of the dough on a lightly floured surface.
- Sprinkle flour over dough and rolling pin.
- Roll dough to a scant 1/4-inch thick.
- Use additional flour to avoid sticking.
- Cut out cookies with desired cutter-- the ginger bread man is our favorite of course.
- Space cookies 1 1/2-inches apart.
- Bake 1 sheet at a time for 7-10 minutes (the lower time will give you softer cookies-- very good!).
- Remove cookie sheet from oven and allow the cookies to stand until the cookies are firm enough to move to a wire rack.
- After cookies are cool you may decorate them any way you like.
- I usually brush them with a powdered sugar glaze when I am in a hurry, but they look wonderful decorated with Royal icing.
Tips:
- Always use fresh, high-quality ingredients for the best flavor and texture.
- Use real butter and molasses for an authentic gingerbread flavor.
- If you don't have a gingerbread man cookie cutter, you can use any shape you like.
- Be careful not to overmix the dough, or the cookies will be tough.
- Bake the cookies until they are just set, or they will be dry and crumbly.
- Let the cookies cool completely before decorating them.
- Use royal icing for a smooth, glossy finish on your gingerbread men.
- Have fun decorating your gingerbread men! Get creative and make them as unique as you like.
Conclusion:
There you have it! Follow these tips and you'll be able to make delicious, festive gingerbread men that will impress your friends and family. Remember, the key to great gingerbread is using fresh, high-quality ingredients and taking your time. Don't rush the process, and you'll be rewarded with delicious, beautiful cookies that everyone will love.
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