Welcome to Gingerbread Cookie Day!
Okay. That’s a lie. I don’t think it’s actually Gingerbread Cookie Day. But I won’t tell if you don’t.
I made these cookies this weekend and am feeling very holiday ever since. Finally feeling holiday. Phew. What a relief. Was that just yesterday that I wasn’t feeling holiday? I think it was. I make no sense. I tell my clients all the time that I know I make no sense and to just imagine if you were my husband and had to live with this nonsense that is me ALL THE TIME. Imagine it! That would be tough.
Do you have a holiday baking list? If you do, I’m sure there is something gingerbread on that list. I have this entire pinterest board for my holiday baking list. Oh and this pumpkin obsessed board too.
It might take me several holiday seasons to work through all 500+ recipes. I volunteer for the challenge.
I realized last Friday that I didn’t own a gingerbread man cookie cutter.
See! I’m totally not ready for children. One cannot bring up a child in a home without gingerbread men. More importantly, someone tell my dad I’m not ready for kids because he is SO READY for grandkids and reminds me of that quite frequently (read: every time I see him).
But now I do have a gingerbread man cookie cutter so that means…jk.
I spent Sunday afternoon decorating these guys with royal icing, vegetable-dyed sprinkles and pomegranate seeds! Why oh why had I never thought of using pomegranate seeds for gingerbread house/cookie decorating? I mean, they make the best buttons!
Serious question. If you were going to a party, which outfit below would you choose? I’d recommend the sparkly uni-suit on the right. You would definitely win friends in that getup.
But the pomegranate necklace + sparkly belt outfit is not without it’s charm.
And the little man on the left is wearing a scarf. With no pants. Clearly.
Now I leave you with a last bit of caution before you bake these guys up.
They’re soft cookies, not crunchy or doughy. Under no circumstance should you roll these into balls and bake them. They don’t turn out chewy. You’ve been warned. I tried to bake them as balls. They work as cut-out cookies, not chewy ball cookies.
Yield: a dozen gingerbread men cookies
Prep Time: 15 minutes (+30 minutes inactive chilling time)
Cook Time: 8 minutes
Total Time: 53 minutes
dry ingredients
2 cups white whole wheat flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
wet ingredients
1/3 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup applesauce
1 large egg
2 tablespoons molasses
decorations
royal icing
pomegranate seeds
sprinkles (I used these veggie-dyed ones)
Preheat oven to 375ºF.
In a bowl, combine all dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, stir together melted butter, applesauce, an egg and molasses. Pour wet ingredients into dry and stir until a dough forms.
Line a baking sheet with wax paper. Place dough in center of wax paper, cover with another sheet of wax paper and use a rolling pin to flatten out the dough. Refrigerate for at least 40 minutes.
Remove top sheet of wax paper. Cut desired shapes from dough and place on a greased baking sheet. Bake for 8 minutes. Allow to cool before decorating.
ouch.