gingerbread

Count Down To Christmas

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Gingerbread House

Gingerbread House

  • 2 tablespoon light corn syrup
  • 2 tablespoons molasses
  • 2 tablespoon soft light brown sugar
  • ¼ cup butter
  • 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 ½ teaspoons ground ginger
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 eggs

Decoration

  • 4 oz white chocolate
  • 4 oz semisweet chocolate
  • Green and red food colorings
  • Powdered sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with waxed paper. Put syrup, molasses, sugar and butter in a saucepan. Heat gently, stirring occasionally, until melted. Sift flour and ginger into a bowl. Stir the baking soda into melted mixture, add to flour with enough beaten egg to mix to form a soft dough. Knead on a lightly floured surface until smooth and free from cracks. Cut off 1/3 dough; wrap in plastic wrap. Roll out remaining 2/3 dough thinly and cut out thirty-two 1/1/2 in squares of dough and place, spaced apart, on a baking sheet. Roll out remaining 1/3 dough and cut out six-teen 2 ½ x 1 ½ inch oblongs. Cut an inverted “v” at one of the short ends of each oblong to create a ‘pitch’ for ‘roof’. Both equal sides of “v” should measure 1 inch. Place on baking sheet and bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes until golden brown. Cool on wire rack. Break up and place white and dark chocolate in separate bowls over hand hot water. Stir occasionally until melted. Divide white chocolate between 3 small bowls and color green and red with food colorings. Assemble each house using dark chocolate as glue. Glue 4 walls together by alternating 2 square and 2 “v” pieces. Place 2 other squares on top to form pitched roof. Leave to set. Spread remaining dark chocolate over waxed paper. When almost set, invert onto another piece of paper, peel off waxed paper and cut chocolate into ¼ in squares for roof tiles. Secure tiles onto roof with melted chocolate, working from base to top. Using colored chocolate, fill pastry bags, snip off points and pipe in doors, windows and colored beads down all the joins. Leave to set. Dust with powdered sugar. Makes 8

Tested in the THASC kitchen. Photo by THASC.

THASC is a unique small American business producing cards and other promotional products.

www.thasc.com

Christmas Cookies

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Gingerbear Cookies

Gingerbear Cookies

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/3 cup margarine or butter
  • 1/3 cup packed soft brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup light corn syrup
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 2 teaspoons ground ginger
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 ½ cups powdered sugar to decorate

Sieve the dry ingredients together. In another bowl, cream the margarine or butter, sugar and syrup until soft and light in texture. Work in the dry ingredients and knead the mixture thoroughly. Roll out the dough to a ¼ in thickness. Make a template for the bear’s head using thin cardboard. Dust the surface of the rolled out dough with a little flour, lay the template in position and carefully cut around the outside with a sharp knife. Repeat until all the dough is used. Bake the cookies on greased baking sheets in the center of a preheated oven at 425 degrees F for 10 minutes. When the cookies are cool, pipe eyes, nose and mouth using the powdered sugar blended with a little warm water to give a flowing consistency. Makes 8-10 cookies.

Tested in the THASC kitchen. Photo by THASC.

THASC is a unique small American business producing cards and other promotional products.

www.thasc.com

Christmas In July

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Christmas Gingerbread MenChristmas Gingerbread Men

Ingredients:

  • ½ cup shortening
  • ½ cup sugar
  • ½ cup molasses
  • 1 egg yolk, unbeaten
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • ½ tsp. baking soda
  • 1 tsp. baking powder
  • 1 tsp. ginger
  • 1 tsp. ground cloves
  • 1 ½ tsp. cinnamon
  • ½ tsp nutmeg
  • 2 cups plain flour, sifted

Cream shortening and sugar together. Add molasses and egg yolk. Blend well. Add salt, soda, baking powder and spices. Slowly add sifted flour. Roll out dough and cut with gingerbread man cookie cutter. Bake 350 degrees F for 8-10 minutes. Decorate. Yields 2-3 dozen, depending on size of cutter.

Tested in the THASC kitchen. Photo by THASC.

THASC is a unique small American business producing cards and other promotional products.

www.thasc.com

Gingerbread Fruit Sandwiches- Sweet Treat Saturday

NF1 Comment

Sweet treat Saturday Gingerbread, a great cake all by itself.
If you wish, you can make the little fruit sandwiches a fruity favorite finger food for all!

Gingerbread Fruit Sandwiches
Gingerbread Fruit Sandwiches

Ingredients:

  • FullSizeRender_Fotor½ cup butter, room temperature
  • ¾ cup packed light brown sugar
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 tspn baking soda
  • 2 tspn ground ginger
  • 1 tspn ground cinnamon
  • ¼ tspn ground cloves
  • ½ tspn salt
  • 2 eggs
  • ½ cup molasses
  • 2/3 cup apple juice

Directions:

  1. hujknsvcxFullSizeRender_FotorPreheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9 inch baking pan with foil that extends 1 inch past two ends of the pan. Spray foil with nonstick cooking spray.
  2. In a large bowl, combine butter and brown sugar. Blend with a mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 3-5 minutes.
  3. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves and salt. Slowly add dry mixture into butter and brown sugar mixture and beat for 1 minute.
  4. Add 1 egg at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in molasses. Heat apple juice in microwave until hot and add to mixture. Beat until batter is smooth and creamy.
  5. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for about 30-35 minutes.
  6. Remove from oven and carefully take gingerbread from pan by grabbing the extended foil edges to pull the entire piece out at one time. Cool on rack on foil for 15 minutes.
  7. Remove rack to a flat surface and cut into 2 inch square pieces. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Makes 10-12 servings

Little Lady Fruit Sandwiches

Ingredients:

  • gerdfcvxFullSizeRender (1)_Fotor1 recipe gingerbread tea cake
  • 1 container soft-spread cream cheese or mascarpone
  • 1 tbspn honey
  • 1 tspn cinnamon
  • pink paste food coloring
  • 1 kiwi, peeled, quartered and thinly sliced
  • ½ cup blueberries
  • ½ cup raspberries
  • 2 bananas, peeled, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
  • 1 nectarine, thinly sliced
  • 6-8 strawberries, thinly sliced

Decorating:

  1. Slice the gingerbread into 2-inch squares and then cut the squares in half horizontally. Set aside
  2. Place cream cheese or mascarpone in a small mixing bowl and add honey and cinnamon. Stir with a spatula to blend. Add food coloring and stir to mix in color.
  3. Spread gingerbread squares on top with the mixture. Decorate with your choice of fruits and serve.

*This recipe only uses about half of the gingerbread.

Tested in the THASC kitchen. Photo by THASC.
THASC is a unique small American business producing cards and other promotional products.
www.thasc.com