Gingerbread Men

We've never done Gingerbread cookies in our house before, but we tried it this year, and it was a lot of fun! I turned into a whole unit for homeschool. The cookies topped it all off. Here's a good recipe that turned out great!

Gingerbread Cookies

3 c. flour

1/4 t. salt

3/4 t. baking soda

2 t. ground ginger

2 t. ground cinnaomn

1/4 t. ground nutmeg

1/4 t. allspice

1/2 c. butter, room temperature

1/2 c. granulated sugar

1 large egg

1/3 c.maple syrup

1/3 c. honey (if you don't have syrup, just use all honey)

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, salt, baking soda, and spices.

With an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg, syrup and honey and beat until well combined. Gradually add the flour mixture beating until incorporated.

Divide the dough in half, and wrap each half in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least two hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 177C and place rack in center of oven. Line 2 baking sheets with butter paper and set aside while you roll out the dough.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a thickness of about 1/4 inch. Use a gingerbread cutter to cut out the cookies. With an offset spatula lift the cut out cookies onto the baking sheet, placing the cookies about 1 inch apart. You can make ornaments or gifts by making a hole at the top of the cookie and baking longer till hard and brown.

Bake for about 8 - 12 minutes depending on the size of the cookies. Small ones will take about 8 minutes, larger cookies will take about 12 minutes. They are done when they are firm and the edges are just beginning to brown.

Remove the cookies from the oven and cool on the baking sheet for about 1 minutes. When they are firm enough to move, transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

For frosting:

2 c. icing sugar, sifted

1/2 c. butter at room temperature

1 t. vanilla

1 1/2 T. milk

In an electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), cream the butter until smooth and well blended. Add the vanilla extract. With the mixer on low speed, gradually beat in the sugar. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beater. Add the milk and beat on high speed until frosting is light and fluffy (about 3-4 minutes). Add a little more milk if too dry. Place in a decorating bag to dress up your gingerbread men. If you don't have a decorating bag with tips, you can place it in a ziploc and cut just a tiny bit of one corner off.

This is adapted from The Joy of Baking website.

Merry Christmas!

Caramel Almond Popcorn

Caramel Almond Popcorn

1 cup (2 sticks, 250g) butter, plus more for pans

3/4 cup corn kernels

2 1/2 tablespoons oil

2 cups almonds, lightly toasted

2 cups packed light-brown sugar

1/2 cup light corn syrup or Golden Syrup (last year I tried this with liquid glucose and it worked pretty well)

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon almond extract (I omit this... do NOT use almond flavor from India. Way too strong!) :)

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Butter 2 baking sheets; set aside.

Place corn kernels and oil in large pot, partially covered, over medium heat. Once popping begins, shake pan frequently; when popping slows down, about 3 seconds between pops, remove pan from heat and uncover. Transfer popped corn to a large bowl; add almonds. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, butter, and corn syrup over medium-high heat; stir to dissolve sugar and melt butter. Cook, stirring constantly, until it reaches 255 degrees on a candy thermometer.

Remove pan from heat; stir in extracts, salt, and baking soda. Working quickly, pour over popcorn and almonds; toss with wooden spoons while rotating the bowl. When completely coated, divide evenly between prepared baking sheets. Bake, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour and 20 minutes; popcorn will crisp when cooled. (I don't usually bake it this long... just watch it and keep tasting it until it tastes crunchy and just right.

Chocolate Bon-Bons/Oreo Truffles

This is a seriously simple recipe for chocolate bon-bons. Also, recently I asked my shop keeper for wax paper. He didn't know what I was talking about of course, but when I described it, he said, "Oh, that's butter paper." I bought a few sheets, and it's not exactly like wax paper, but it functions the same way for baking and candies, etc. So, ask for it next time you're at the shop! :)

Chocolate Bon Bons

1 box of oreo cookies/3 rolls here

8 oz. box cream cheese softened (or 11/2 tubs of Britannia cream cheese)

2 c. chocolate chips or chopped chocolate bars, milk, dark, whatever you want

2 T. plus 2 t. shortening/vanaspati

White chocolate for drizzle, optional

In a food processor, combine oreos and cream cheese. Chill in refrigerator for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, place chocolate and vanaspati in a large bowl that will fit over another bowl. Place warm water in the second bowl, and place the first bowl in the warm water. Stir the chocolate and shortening with a rubber spatula continuously , allowing the water underneath to melt it. If the water cols off, replace it with warm water. Roll dough into 1 inch balls. Using a fork, lift each ball, dip it in the chocolate mixture, then place on butter paper to cool. Drizzle with the white melted chocolate if desired.

Peppernuts!

This is a Jantz family tradition. My grandmother, Dorothy, used to make these every year. My mother made them as well, and now that I'm in charge of the Christmas baking, I'm making them too. I've never had them anywhere but at my house! :)

Peppernuts

1/2 c. butter

2 c. brown sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 t. baking soda (dissolved in 1 1/2 t. hot water)

2 1/2-3 c. flour

1/2 t. cinnamon

1/2 t. mace

1/2 t. cloves

1/2 t. nutmeg

1/2 t. anise extract

1/2 c. finely chopped nuts

Cream butter and sugar. Beat in eggs. Add soda and water. Stir in dry ingredients. Chill dough. (Can be kept up to two weeks) Roll into 3/8” snakes. Flour board as needed. Slice thinly and bake on a cookie sheet at 350˚ for about 8 minutes.