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The scent of just baked gingerbread is a sign that the holidays are near. Decorating gingerbread men and women or building and decorating a gingerbread house is a wonderful way to feel nostalgic and to create warm memories for your children, according to USA Today.
Gingerbread includes different types of baked goods, from cookies to cakes but what gives it the distinct spicy flavor is the combination of two main ingredients, ginger and molasses. The spices are balanced by the sweetness of molasses and brown sugar. Other key ingredients are flour, butter, eggs, and other earthy spices like cinnamon and cloves
While gingerbread is a dessert, ginger is a spice that offers health benefits because it has anti-inflammatory properties, can help boost your immunity, and is highly effective against nausea. Molasses, a byproduct of sugar production, contains some very important nutrients including calcium, magnesium, vitamin K, as well as B6 and niacin.
It’s easy to make gingerbread from scratch and you can bake ahead and freeze. Here are four DIY recipes and instructions for making gingerbread holiday creations.
Healthier Gingerbread Cookies
For people who are concerned about the sugar and fat in gingerbread, here’s a recipe from Cookie + Kate that includes some healthy exchanges. It swaps coconut oil for butter, coconut sugar for brown sugar, and uses whole wheat pastry flour. These ingredients are increasing in popularity and should be available in your local supermarket. You will need these additional ingredients: ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and pepper as well as baking soda, one egg, baking powder, molasses, and kosher salt.
Make these gingerbread cookies festive by using seasonal cookie cutters. You can also dust the finished cookies with powdered sugar or decorate with icing.
Gingerbread Men & Women
What says Christmas more than gingerbread men (and women)? These cookies from the recipetineats blog will make your home smell and taste like Christmas. And the best part is that you make the dough weeks in advance.
You will need flour, butter, vanilla, molasses, ginger, cinnamon, a seasonal spice mix, and baking powder. After you mix all the ingredients, roll out the dough and use a Gingerbread man and Gingerbread woman cookie cutters. The best icing to use to decorate your gingerbread people is Royal icing that can be used to pipe even the most intricate designs.
Gingerbread Cake
This classic gingerbread cake recipe from the Tastes Better from Scratch foodie blog is light, fluffy, moist, and delicious. You can eat it plain or top it with vanilla cream sauce, bananas, and whipped cream for a decadent holiday desert. All you need to DIY this Christmas cake is flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. You can make this cake ahead of time because it will keep at room temperature for two days, stored in an airtight container in your fridge for around a week, or frozen for up to two months.
Gingerbread House
This gingerbread house from Simply Recipes is edible but it is more for decoration. While it takes a lot of time to make one, it can be a fun family activity. First you have to shop for all the ingredients, you can decorate your house with icing, candy canes, and any other bright and colorful candy. Next make the dough and bake it using the easy-to-follow recipe. Assemble the house the next day using icing as mortar. Wait a day and decorate to your heart's content. Your gingerbread house will make a lovely addition to your holiday decorations.
