It's Gingerbread Time!

The cool thing about blogging is that it’s my world, and I can make it what I want it to be! So today in SweetSugarBelle’s world, we are going to pretend like today was yesterday, and we are starting out the week with Gingerbread cookies, like I had planned. I am also going to announce the winner of my first give away, like I planned, but that will come a little later.

Gingerbread is my second favorite cookie, after those soft sugar cookies you get in the mall. Yes, I know…I’m not a very discerning cookie eater, but I sure do like those things.

I love it when Christmas time comes around and I can break open the old recipe binder and make batch after batch of gingerbread. I know my sugar cookie recipe so well, that I don’t need to read it, and I can make royal icing without measuring, but I use this recipe so infrequently, I forget what’s in my gingerbread from year to year.

I have been thinking about starting my holiday baking for a week, especially after my friend Glory made the prettiest gingerbread garland. However I didn’t really get the umph to do it until after the cookie decorating party I went to on Saturday. (More about that later) When I walked in the door, the air was heavy with the telltale scent of gingerbread. And to make matters BETTER, it tasted as good as it smelled! I had to ask Mrs. B, my friend J’s mom, and my third grade teacher =) where she got the recipe. I was thinking mom, grandma, something along those lines…I was pleasantly surprised to learn she got the recipe straight from Glorious Treats, my friend Glory’s blog.

I was so excited to have tasted her recipe, I called G on the way home and we spent some time talking about our recipes. They really are VERY different! One major difference between my recipe and hers is that she uses butter, and I use butter flavored shortening. Because it’s bad reputation for being unhealthy, Glory prefers not to eat shortening, which is perfectly understandable, so for the sake of experimentation, *and the experience that Glory is always right* I baked a batch when I got home, substituting half of the shortening with butter. My heart may hate me for this, but I have to say, I still like the shortening texture wise, but I think butter adds flavor that wasn’t there before, so, my original recipe changed a little =)

Just in case you are interested, all three variations work...shortening, half and half, or all butter. I just thought I would mention that substitution is fine, for anyone else who prefers not to bake with shortening.

I came up with this recipe in the early years of my cookie obsession. Since it was Christmas, and Christmas meant gingerbread, I decided I really needed to make some, even though almost no one in my family cared for it. *that has changed* As an inexperienced baker, I had no idea what recipe to use. So, basically, I printed out about four recipes, took the things I liked, made sure the ratios were okay, and tweaked it until I came up with something I liked.

The thing about gingerbread is that I like the dough, just about as much as I like the actual cookies. I like to tell myself it’s not that bad  for me since it tastes so earthy, but, my waistline says different. Regardless, the dough sure is pretty!

So here it is, my personal favorite gingerbread recipe. I feel like I should warn you, I like spicy gingerbread. Whatever quantity of spice you are used to seeing in a cookie, double it, that’s about where I like it.  So, if you aren’t one for spice, keep in mind you can definitely adjust it to your personal preference.

*do not, I repeat, DO NOT use those nasty ten year old spices in your cupboard! It makes a difference, and this is coming from the girl who likes mall cookies! Invest in fresh ones =)*

SweetSugarBelle’s Gingerbread

 (PS, this is written in the order I prefer to read recipes, just in case anyone was wondering)

*START YOUR OVEN NOW!!! 375°*

½ c butter flavor Crisco

½ c butter

1c granulated sugar

1 ¼c unsulphered molasses

2 eggs

5-5 ½c all-purpose flour (sometimes even six)

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 tsp ground ginger

3 tsp ground cinnamon

1 ½ tsp ground cloves

 2 tsp ground nutmeg

¼- ½ tsp ground white pepper (optional for some, a must for me)

Cream together shortening butter and granulated sugar. To that, add the molasses and eggs. *crack those eggs into a separate dish and beat them a little before adding them to the mix. No one likes egg shell or scrambled egg in their cookies*Whip that until it’s light and fluffy…then sift all of your dry ingredients into a large bowl. Don’t even bother with those crazy hand sifter things unless you like having hand cramps. Those things are basically scrap metal! Run out to Wal-Mart and pick up one of those giant sieve/strainer things. You will thank me later! When you get that all incorporated, use a measuring cup to add the dry ingredients about a cup at a time. *Trust me on this one too*. My hubby does a lot of baking for me, and I sometimes get annoyed that even when I am in a hurry, he ALWAYS does this. It takes longer, but, that’s why he’s back on the couch watching football right after he mixes, and I am usually in the kitchen covered in flour and cleaning it off the floor.
I guess I should have mentioned to start early, because this dough NEEDS to be chilled. Its sticky and wet, so if it isn’t cold, rolling and cutting is misery. So, go watch a nice holiday movie (my personal favorite is National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation), and by the time it’s over, you will be ready to roll!
For this step use flour and parchment paper. Working with small pieces of gingerbread, dust the paper with flour and roll out to somewhere between a quarter and half inch. You will have to dust the top of the dough with flour also. Then use whatever cutters strike your fancy to cut out cookies until all the dough is gone. After that, pop the cut out cookies into the freezer for ten minutes or so before baking. *This is also a new step for me, but it was another Glory-ism, so I tried it and liked it.  You should too!*

*Did I mention this takes forever? Suddenly I remember why I only do this once a year!*

After that, bake at 375°. The times I have written in my book are: 6-10 minutes for small cookies, 10-15 for large. Whole lot of help that is, LOL! This is very broad because, honestly, I don’t really know. Ovens vary and gingerbread has to be watched. This year, my baby cookies took about 8 minutes and medium-ish ones ten. I really watch them. It’s kind of hard to tell when gingerbread is done because you cannot see browning. However, if you wait until you do, you have gone too far and will have hockey pucks rather than cookies. So, watch those baking times, stay near the oven until you figure out what it’s going to do.

After this is FINALLY done, let them cool completely. I like to let mine rest for a day, but if you still feel like decorating after all that work, it will be fine.


*Now you're ready to go!*

Cookies can be decorated with royal icing (I’ll post a recipe before the week is out) or glaze, which I will also talk about later this week. I have been decorating mine with orange icing all week. I guess that’s my kick this year. Here are some of the collections I have made to kick off the season...

A whimsical Santa set to put in my cookie jar =) *note, I prefer less icing on gingerbread, so I decorate them simply. I think too much icing takes away from the cookie in this case*

I made a bunch of itty-bitty pretty gingies to give as gifts to my cookie deserving friends...





And I made these to include in a care package headed to my cousin in Afghanistan. I have more for him coming later this week!

As for the book give away (yes, I made you read all of that to find this), the winner is IZZY!  I will be contacting you later today or tomorrow to get your information so you can have this book in your hands and get to making Christmas cookies AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!  You can also give us reviews.  For those of you who didn't win, I will post my favorite recipe from the book later this week, and I will also be announcing another giveaway  this week, don't you just love Christmas-time? 

If you start baking today, *or not*, you'll be ready for tomorrow's post about cookie decorating for non-bakers and busy moms. I'll be sure to post my recipe (I say mine loosely, it's really Wilton's with a kick) for royal icing.  Happy baking, friends!