Gingerbread Cookies

En Español
Gingerbread cookies for decorating!!!  Decorate? .....I mean eat ... hehehe! These cookies are a the star of the holiday season. Moms, dads, grandparents, uncles, aunts, and adults in general, know that baking and decorating these gingerbread men cookies with our children,  nephews, or friends, is a family activity that we all enjoy and that children keep as a nice memory.

I had made gingerbread men before with the Sugar Cookies recipe and added a little cinnamon, ginger, and cloves to the dough, but I never tried this recipe with molasses because I thought it would not be crispy or taste right. I was wrong, these cookies are crunchy and delicious. Knowing now all the properties of molasses, I will bake these cookies more often and not exclusive for Christmas because they go perfect with tea or coffee any time of the year.

I use Vida Natural Organic Molasses made in Dominican Rep.
Molasses provides: iron, calcium, phosphorus, vitamins B1, B2 and B6.
It is a high quality, nutritious food, invigorating, purifying, anti-anemic. Prevents high pressure, rheumatism, ulcers, anemia, cysts. It is an excellent nutritional supplement for its high content of vitamins and minerals. 

How to apply disco dust on a cookie: Here.

Gingerbread Cookies Recipe

Yield: 40 medium-sized cookies.

You could easily double this recipe to make more cookies or a gingerbread house.

Ingredients:
3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon powdered ginger
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground cloves
½ cup solid vegetable shortening
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cups molasses
1 egg beaten

Royal Icing
3 egg whites, at room temperature
3 ½ - 4 (1 lbs) cups powdered sugar 300gr
1/2 tsp cream of tartar (optional)
1 teaspoon of lemon juice or vanilla
food coloring (optional)

See step by step instructions to make this icing: HERE

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Mix flour, baking soda, salt and spices.
3. Melt shortening in large saucepan. Cool slightly.
4. Add sugar, molasses and eggs to saucepan; mix well. Add 4 cups dry ingredients and mix well.
5.Turn mixture onto lightly floured surface. Knead in remaining dry ingredients by hand. Add a little more flour, if necessary, to make firm dough. Split into two discs and put into refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to an hour or over night.
6.  On floured surface, extend dough or between to two saran wraps, until the desired thickness for cutting cookies. Place in a tray and bring to refrigerator for 30 minutes or more.
7. Cut the cookies and place in a lightly greased baking tray. Bake small and medium-sized cookies bake for 6-10 minutes and large cookies for 10-15 minutes.


Notes:
a) If you’re not going to use your gingerbread dough right away, wrap in plastic and refrigerate. Refrigerated dough will keep for a week.

b) Molasses Substitute /For 1 cup of molasses use: 1 cup honey, or 1 cup dark corn syrup or 1 cup pure maple syrup. This recipe calls for ½ cup of molasses so use ½ cup of substitute.

c) Store the cookies between layers of parchment in an airtight container at room temperature during 5 days.

Gingerbread House

But Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these." - Luke 18:16

Gingerbread Cupcakes

Get ready to indulge in the delicious flavors of the holiday season with these amazing ginger, cinnamon, and cloves cupcakes! These gingerbread cupcakes are not only incredibly tasty but also super easy to make. Your family will be delighted by these festive treats, perfect for coating with powdered sugar or decorating to your heart's content. 

Wishing you a joyful and blessed December! Let It Snow! Enjoy and happy holidays!

Ver esta receta de cupcakes de jengibre en español.

Gingerbread Cupcakes

Ingredients:

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ginger ground
½ teaspoon cinnamon ground
¼ teaspoon cloves
¾ cup of brown sugar
¼ cup granulated sugar (optional for sweeter cupcakes)
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 eggs
¾ cup milk + ¾ tablespoon of lemon juice
½ cup butter melted
¼ teaspoon of lemon grind (optional)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

 

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and salt.

3. Mix milk with lemon juice and let stand for 10 minutes. In a separate bowl, beat eggs and sugar for 4 minutes, then add milk, melted butter, lemon peel, and vanilla.

4. Add all at once to the flour mixture; stir just until moistened.

5. Fill prepared pans. Bake 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool completely before decorating.

Yields 12 cupcakes.

I enjoy these cupcakes best with sprinkled powdered sugar, but you can decorate as you wish. In the cupcake below I used Italian meringue (suspiro) with red sprinkles. Vanilla buttercream with a hint of cinnamon will also be great.

I will say to the LORD, "My refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust!"- Psalm 91:2

Delicious Spongy Cake

En Español
This is my Thanksgiving Day cake. This is a very versatile cake and easy to do. After having it for eight years, on my way to the supermarket I lost the original recipe! Luckily I remembered how to do the cake batter  for this spongy cake, but the white chocolate frosting it called for, I could not remember at all. I chose to do it with MERINGUE since I wanted an easy and white frosting that will hold well until tomorrow. As it's to celebrate Thanksgiving I used cranberry sauce mix with strawberry jam to decorate this cake, however you can use strawberry jam or any other flavor you wish. I gave it a  tropical touch by using coconut flakes mixed with meringue for the filling.

Recipe for a Spongy Cake with Nuts

 
Ingredients:
For Cake 
4 egg yolks
2 whole eggs
1 ½ cups of sugar
½ cup butter or margarine cut up in cubes
1 cup hot milk
2½ ups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ cup chopped almond, walnuts or pecans

For Frosting:
1 cup of sugar
¼ cup water
3- 4 egg whites (4 oz or ½ cup)
½ teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon vanilla (5 ml)

To decorate 
⅔ cups shredded fresh coconut
cranberry jam (sauce)
dry fruits
walnuts or pecans


Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F Grease and flour three 9-inch round cake pans.

2. To make the cake: In a large mixing bowl, beat the egg yolks, whole eggs and sugar with an electric mixer for at least 5 minutes or until light and fluffy. Stir the butter or margarine pieces into the hot milk until the butter has melted. Combine the flour with the baking powder. Add lf 2 cup of the flour mixture into the egg mixture, beating slowly. Add half the hot milk mixture, 1 cup of the flour mixture, then the remaining hot milk, beating. After each addition. Add the remaining flour mixture and the vanilla. Beat well. Fold in the nuts. Pour the batter into the prepared pans.

3. Bake the layers in the 350°F oven for 12 to 15 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the centers comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes in the pans. Remove the cakes from the pans and cool completely on wire racks.

4. To make the frosting: In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar with the water. Bring the mixture to boiling and boil for 7 minutes or until it is syrup thickens. (Undissolved sugar will make the frosting grainy.) Make sure to scrape down the sides of the saucepan.

5. In a large mixing bowl, beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar with an electric mixer until foamy. Slowly pour the hot sugar syrup into the egg whites, beating constantly at the highest speed for 4 to 6 minutes or until the frosting is stiff enough to spread and cooled. Use a rubber spatula to guide the egg whites toward the beaters and scrape down the sides of the bowl to be sure that the frosting is evenly mixed. Beat in the vanilla. The finished frosting should be smooth and fluffy, yet hold stiff peaks.

6. Place a cake layer on a cake plate; spread with about 1 cup of frosting and sprinkle with ⅓ cup of coconut. Repeat with the remaining layers.

Serves 12


Note:
a) The cake can be frosted and filled with a wide variety of flavors. My favorite fillings are vanilla custard and praline.

b) The recipe for the meringue frosting half of the Dominican frosting recipe shown in this blog.

Always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. - Ephesians 5:20