Gingerbread men

Louie and I were in class yesterday and he asked if I would make some holiday-inspired treats. I asked what kind he meant. He said, "I don't know, like... gingerbread men?" So I said, "Okay." "Really?!" he asked. I said sure, went home, and got to work. I found a recipe that is puffier than most gingerbread cookies, so it's more thick and cookie-like than your typical gingerbread man. Louie was really happy.

For the cookies:

3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 stick butter or margarine, softened
2 large eggs
1/4 cup molasses
3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup powdered sugar
1 to 2 tablespoons milk

Cream together the sugar and butter in an electric mixer. Add eggs & molasses until combined. Set aside

In a large bowl, combine the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Mix the flour mixture into the butter mixture, little by little until combined. The dough will be pretty dry. If it's too dry, add in a splash of milk. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 1 hour or overnight.

After time has elapsed, preheat the oven to 350ºF.  Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Roll out onto a lightly floured surface, to about 1/8″ thick. Cut out with cutters. Bake for 10 minutes. Cool on racks.

Meanwhile, mix the powdered sugar with milk. Use piping bags to decorate the cookies. If you don't have piping bags, pour the icing into a ziplock bag and cut a small slit in the corner. Squeeze the icing through the hole for a makeshift piper.

Recipe from Paula Dean via Cake Student

Gingersnap cookie dough truffles

Mmmm, 3 days until Christmas! That means more holiday baked goods for the Fennel family YAAY. Yesterday my mom, sister, and I went over to our family friends' house and had ourselves a little sweets-making party (we also made this Peppermint Bark and these Salted Chocolate Caramels!). It was so nice to spend the afternoon baking with 4 girlies, listening to Akon and Moby (great combo, eh?) while little Maeve showed us her hip hop moves. Great success.


For the truffles:

1 cup white chocolate chips
3 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon cloves
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
1 cup very finely chopped walnuts
2 1/2 cups gingersnap crumbs, pulsed in food processor until crumbly*
1/2 cup granulated sugar

In a large microwave-safe bowl, melt the white chocolate chips in 20 second intervals, stirring between each heating as to not burn the chocolate. Once melted, whisk in the corn syrup, evaporated milk, and vanilla extract. Set aside.

In a second bowl, combine the gingersnap crumbs, powdered sugar, spices, and salt. Pour the liquid mixture into the bowl and stir until combined. Lastly, add the chopped nuts.

Lay a sheet of plastic wrap over the top of the mixture and pat down to remove air. Refrigerate for 1 hour, until the dough is nearly hard when you touch it. Roll the dough out into teaspoon-sized balls and dip into the granulated sugar to coat them. Place on wax paper and refrigerate for another 30 minutes. Voilà!

*I chose Whole Foods brand gingersnaps because they are super spiced and I figured it would counter the sweetness from so many of the other ingredients. But if you're making these truffles for kids, or you don't like spiced things, don't use this brand! It's super spicy! In that case, any old brand of gingersnaps will do.

Original recipe can be found here.