Gingerbread Loaf

Every year around this time I like baking something pepperminty, or warm and satisfying with spices in it. And this gingerbread loaf is just that! While I enjoy my pumpkin, fall spices, and peppermint all year round, everyone is baking a lot more this time of year!

This loaf is easy to prepare and comes together pretty quickly, which means you will be smelling the warm and delicious spices sooner.

What you will need: 

GINGERBREAD LOAF 

2 cups all-purpose flour 

½ cup granulated sugar 

1 tsp baking soda 

½ tsp salt 

1 tbsp ground ginger 

2 tsp cinnamon 

½ tsp ground nutmeg 

½ cup (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted or oil

½ cup molasses 

2 large eggs 

1 cup buttermilk (sub with milk + 1 tbsp lemon juice or vinegar)

2 teaspoons vanilla extract 

VANILLA GLAZE 

1 cup confectioners' sugar 

1 tbsp milk (more, as needed) 

2 tsp vanilla extract 

Directions: 

GINGERBREAD LOAF 

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 9x5-inch loaf pan. 

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, and ground nutmeg. 

In a separate bowl, whisk together the melted butter and molasses until incorporated. Beat in eggs until combined, then buttermilk and vanilla extract. Beat until thoroughly combined. (Mixture may look curdled.) 

Stir wet mixture into the dry ingredients until combined, do not over mix. 

Pour batter into prepared pan, and bake until a toothpick inserted into center of the cake comes out clean, about 50 minutes. Allow the cake to cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto cooling rack to finish cooling. 

VANILLA GLAZE 

Mix all ingredients together until smooth. Add more milk or confectioners' sugar as needed for desired consistency. Drizzle cooled cake with glaze.

Enjoy!

Gingerbread Men Cookies

These gingerbread men cookies are full of ginger and spice, and maybe not everything nice! They are so easy to make too.

What you will need:
3 cups flour
2 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. ground nutmeg
¼ tsp. salt
¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) softened butter
¾ cup firmly packed brown sugar
½ cup honey (or molasses)
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Icing:

1 cup confectioner's sugar

1-2 tbsp. hot water

Makes 2 dozen

Mix flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg and salt in large bowl. Set aside. Beat butter and brown sugar in a stand mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add honey, egg and vanilla; mix well. Gradually beat in flour mixture on low speed until well mixed. Press dough into a thick flat disk. Wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Roll out dough to ¼ inch thickness on lightly floured work surface. Cut into gingerbread men shapes. Place 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheets covered in parchment paper. 

Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until edges of cookies are set and just begin to brown. Cool on baking sheets 1 to 2 minutes. Remove to wire racks; cool completely. Decorate cooled cookies with icing or leave them undressed.

Store cookies in airtight container up to 5 days. 

Enjoy!

 

Ginger Snap Cookies

This was my first attempt at ginger snap cookies, and they were a success on my first try! Each individual cookie is rolled in sugar, which gives it a great coat of sugar armor that protects the soft and slightly spicy ginger interior.

This recipe makes 3 dozen cookies, or 2 dozen jumbo size cookies.

Prep Time: 15 minutes   Cook Time: 12 minutes   Total Time: 40 minutes

What you will need:
1 cup brown sugar
¾ cup canola oil
¼ cup maple syrup (or molasses)
1 egg
2 cups flour
2 tsps. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tbs. fresh ground ginger
1/3 cup white sugar for decoration

Preheat oven to 375°F.

In a large bowl, mix together the brown sugar, oil, molasses, and egg.
Combine the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and ginger; stir into the molasses mixture.

Roll dough into 1 ¼ inch balls. Roll each ball in white sugar before placing 2 inches apart on parchment paper lined cookie sheets.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in preheated oven, or until center is firm. Let cool on wire racks.

Enjoy!

Double Dark-Chocolate and Ginger Biscotti

This weekend I was experimenting with different variations, once again, on my pumpkin biscotti recipe. I wanted biscotti that looked innocent, but had a secret BOOM I DID NOT EXPECT THAT BUT REALLY LIKE IT flavor to it. The sweet spiciness of the fresh ginger in these cookies complements the richness of the dark chocolate.
These are great for the winter with a big mug of hot cocoa on a snowy day. They are hands down my new favorite biscotti flavor.

What you will need:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 ½ tsps. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
1 large egg, plus 1 egg yolk
½ cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup canola oil
½ cup dark chocolate chips (or 3 ounces dark chocolate, coarsely chopped)
¼ cup grated fresh ginger (or finely chopped crystallized ginger)
Optional: ½ cup walnuts, coarsely chopped.

Preheat oven to 350˚. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt until well combined.

In a medium bowl, beat egg, egg yolk, and sugar until light and fluffy; beat in the vanilla and oil until well combined.

Slowly add the egg mixture to the dry mixture, beat the mixture until well combined. Fold in chocolate chips, and ginger with a rubber spatula, at this point the dough will be really stiff.

With moistened hands shape the dough into 2 logs, each about 9” long and 2 ½” wide. Bake until set on top, about 20 minutes.

Let the logs cool 10 minutes on the baking sheet. Reduce oven temperature to 325˚.

Transfer logs to a cutting board and, with a serrated knife, cut each into ½” thick slices . Bake until crisp, about 20 minutes, turning the biscotti over 10 minutes through. 

Let the biscotti cool 5 minutes on a baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Store in an airtight container for up to a week, or turn around for a minute and have your husband eat the whole batch.

Enjoy!