Ginger Cookies for a Crowd (Makes 12 dozen)
Covered with plastic wrap, dough keeps fresh for several weeks in refrigerator. Cut out and baked, these cookies are chewy and easy to decorate. Adapted from the out-of-print Farm Journal's Country Cookbook, 1972.
Ingredients
- 5-1/2 cups sifted flour
- 1 tablespoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 cup shortening
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup dark molasses
- 1/2 cup strong coffee
Procedure
- Sift the flour, soda, baking powder, salt, ginger and cinnamon.
- Cream the shortening, then add the sugar gradually, beating until light. Add the egg and vanilla.
- Add the molasses and coffee, then the sifted dry ingredients. Mix well; chill overnight or several hours.
- Roll out on a lightly floured board and cut with round or holiday-shape cutters.
- Place about 2 inches apart on a greased baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes. Spread on racks to cool.
Lebkuchen
This is adapted from the German Embassy (Washington, D.C.) recipe. The Embassy site has other German Christmas recipes as well.
Oblaten, crisp white baking wafers, are available in cooking specialty shops or online sites.
Ingredients
- 4 eggs
- 1-3/4 cups sugar
- 2 cups unpeeled almonds, coarsely grated
- 1/3 cup candied orange peel, finely chopped
- 1 lemon, grated for peel, juice reserved
- 1/4 whole nutmeg, grated
- Confectioner's sugar
- Rosewater
- 2-inch oblaten used to line the pans
Procedure
- Beat the eggs and sugar until they have the consistency of thick cream.
- To this, gradually add the almonds, candied orange peel, lemon peel and nutmeg.
- Place the wafers on a baking sheet and top each one with about 1/2-inch of dough. Smooth the dough with a knife dipped into the rosewater.
- Bake in a preheated 325- to 350-degree oven for 10 to 15 minutes or until breadlike.
- Remove the cookies and let cool.
- Make icing by mixing the confectioner's sugar with the lemon juice. Frost the cookies.
Janina's Piernik
Here is simple gingerbread that is easy to mix, roll out and shape with cutters. Adapted from Treasured Polish Christmas Customs and Traditions, Polanie Publishing Company, Minneapolis, MN 55413 that is part of a series published by a group of Polish-American women beginning in the mid-1940s. The books are out of print, but can be found through booksellers' web sites and used-book stores.
Ingredients
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 cup honey
- 1/2 teaspoon cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 5 cups flour
- 1/2 cup butter
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
Procedure
- Melt 1 tablespoon of the sugar in a large skillet and allow to caramelize. Pour in 1/4 cup water and allow to boil. Add the remaining sugar. When it has dissolved, add the honey and spices. Allow to come to a boil. Let cool.
- Sift the flour. Put aside 1 cup for flouring the board. Add the remaining flour to the caramelized sugar along with the butter, eggs, baking soda and cream of tartar. Knead very well, adding more flour to make an elastic dough.
- Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes. Roll out on a floured board and make your favorite cutouts if desired, or press the dough into a floured cookie mold and then tap out gently.
- Place the cookies on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.
Fruited Piernik
Dried fruit and spices contribute to this easy-to-make piernik recipe adapted from Treasured Polish Recipes for Americans, Polanie Publishing Company, Minneapolis, MN 55413.
Ingredients
- 1-1/2 cups honey
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 package dried yeast (or 1 yeast cake)
- 1/2 cup warm beer
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 4 cups flour
- 4 whole eggs
- Pinch of black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon allspice
- 1/2 cup dried figs
- 1/2 cup walnuts
- 1/2 cup dates
- 2 tablespoons orange peel
Procedure
- Bring the honey just to a boil; add the sugar and bring to a boil. Cool.
- Dissolve the yeast in the warm beer; add to the cooled honey mixture.
- Add the butter, flour and eggs and beat well.
- Add the remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly.
- Spread the dough on a buttered baking sheet.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.
- Cool, frost and cut into desired pieces; or cut into pieces and then frost.
Gingerbread for Christmas: Winter Holiday Traditions From Medieval Bakers provides a look at the culinary history of gingerbread traditions and how bakers used the treasured dried spices introduced by returning crusaders.
Georgene A. Bramlage - Suite 101 Landscaping Feature Writer and Topic Editor Free-lance Garden and Landscape Writer and Consultant
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