How to make 3 gingerbread recipes for the holidays (2024)

Run, run, run as fast as you can…it’s time to bake a gingerbread man! Gingerbread men (and women) are the epitome of classic Christmas cookies. But the holiday staple has origins that far predate its life as a snack for Santa. Originally, the term gingerbread simply referred to preserved ginger, not the sweet treat we know today. The first known recipe for gingerbread came from Ancient Greece. Recipes also circulated around China before the fad made it to Europe, where gingerbread, as we know it today, came alive. The crunchy cookies were a popular snack at Medieval fairs in England and Western Europe. Cut into shapes of kings, queens, and animals, they often were painted with gold. In fact, Queen Elizabeth I is credited with being the first to decorate the cookies, as she often had them baked and decorated to resemble visiting dignitaries.

Despite the popularity of gingerbread cookies in England, the country can’t claim the invention of gingerbread houses. Those rights are reserved for Germany. When the Brothers Grimm wrote their famous Hansel & Gretel fairy tale, the popularity of gingerbread houses quickly rose—although scholars aren’t sure whether the tale inspired the houses or vice versa.

Gingerbread eventually made its way to America via English settlers. Americans, George Washington included, preferred a softer gingerbread made with rosewater. These days, you’ll find gingerbread of every shape and type around the holiday season. Gingerbread can refer to either a hard cookie or a delectable spiced sheet cake, so we’ve included recipes for both—and then some. Learn how to make a gingerbread house to wow your friends, decorate a family of gingerbread people, and pair them both with a belly-warming gingerbread latte.

Traditional Gingerbread

Makes 5 dozen 3½-inch cookies or 1 large house/2 small houses

Prep Time: 30 minutes | Chill Time: 1 hour

Total Hands-On Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

• 1 cup unsalted butter
• ¾ cup dark brown sugar
• 1 cup molasses
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 4½cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon ground ginger
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground allspice
• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
• Royal Icing (recipe follows)
• Cream Cheese Frosting, for house (recipe follows)

1. In a Dutch oven over medium heat, melt butter. Using a wooden spoon, stir in brown sugar, molasses, and vanilla. Stir constantly until sugar is fully dissolved and mixture is bubbling, about 8 minutes. Remove from heat. Let cool about 10 minutes. Stir in egg until just combined.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour and remaining 7 ingredients until combined. Gradually stir flour mixture into molasses-butter mixture until combined. Place on lightly floured surface and knead into a large ball. Cut into 3 portions and form into disks. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to overnight.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 3 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.
4. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface until ¼-inch thick for the cookies and 1/3-inch thick for the house. Cut out cookies using cookie cutters or cut out shape of the house using the templates provided on the following page. Place gingerbread on prepared baking sheets. Refrigerate for about 20 minutes. Bake until slightly puffed, about 8–9 minutes for the cookies, 12–14 minutes for the house. Remove from oven. Let cool about 5 minutes on baking sheets, then remove with a spatula and place on a wire rack to cool completely.
5. Decorate cookies as desired with royal icing. Allow icing to dry, about 20 minutes.

To construct the house:

1. Using a cake board or desired surface, pipe royal icing onto surface. Secure the base of one side of the house into the icing. Gently holding or using a heavy glass to support the house, continue with remaining sides. To seal corners together, pipe icing on the inside of the house and use an offset spatula to smooth the icing into the corners. Once the 4 sides are secure, place in refrigerator to allow icing to dry, about 20 minutes.
2. Pipe royal icing on top of the house’s sides to support the roof. Gently secure the roof on top of the house. Place back in the refrigerator to allow roof to dry.
3. Once dry, decorate as desired. Spread cream cheese frosting onto the surface and around the house to create a “snowy” look and to hold cookies, pathways, and trees in place (optional). Decorate with other gingerbread cookies like reindeer, Santa and his sleigh, gingerbread men, and Christmas trees. Be creative!

Candy we used for decoration:

• Roof shingles: Ghirardelli white chocolate melting wafers
• Pathways: Fresh Market assorted coated espresso beans
• Lamp posts: soft peppermint sticks from Cracker Barrel
• Logs: Pepperidge Farm fudge pirouettes
• Chimney smoke: small marshmallows
• Icicles: Squeeze piping bag straight onto the edge of the roof, build up a little icing and pull down and away to create individual icicles.
• Shutters: Atkinson’s peanut butter bars from Cracker Barrel
• Trim: coconut jelly beans

Royal Icing

• 3 large egg whites, room temperature
• 4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• ½ teaspoon cream of tartar

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whip attachment, combine all ingredients. On low speed, mix until just combined. Increase speed to medium-high and whip for about 8–10 minutes, until thick and mixture holds a peak. Place into a piping bag fitted with a coupler (not required but helpful) and seal at top.

Note: For constructing the house, use a larger tip such as the Wilton 2A or Ateco 804/806. For detailed work, use a smaller tip such as Wilton 3 or Ateco 3.

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 5 cups powdered sugar

1. In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and cream cheese until smooth. Stir in vanilla. Slowly add powdered sugar until firm.

Gingerbread Cake

Serves 9

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour

• ½ cup unsalted butter, cubed
• ²/³ cup packed dark brown sugar
• ¾ cup molasses
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 2¹/³ cups all-purpose flour
• 1½ teaspoons baking soda
• ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
• 4 teaspoons ground ginger
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground allspice
• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ¾ cup boiling water
• ¼ cup Ginger Molasses Simple Syrup, warm (recipe follows)
• Powdered sugar
• 1 cup Ginger Whipped Cream (recipe follows)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 9-inch baking pan. Set aside.
2. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar until creamy; beat in molasses and vanilla until just combined. Beat in eggs one at a time until just combined.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and spices until combined. Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture until combined, beating on low speed. Turn off mixer, scrape down sides of bowl with a spatula. Return mixer to low speed, and slowly pour boiling water into mixture until smooth and creamy.
4. Pour mixture into prepared pan; bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan for about 10 minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely on a wire rack, about 1 hour.
5. Drizzle Ginger Molasses Simple Syrup over top of cake. Sprinkle with powdered sugar, and serve with Ginger Whipped Cream.

Ginger Molasses Simple Syrup

Makes 1 cup

Prep Time: 5 minutes | Total Time: 35 minutes

• ½ cup water
• ¼ cup dark brown sugar
• ¼ cup molasses
• 1 (2-inch) piece crystallized ginger

1. In a saucepan, combine all ingredients over medium heat, stirring occasionally until mixture is lightly simmering and sugar dissolves, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat; let cool for 20 minutes. Strain into a glass container, cover, and chill for 1 hour or until ready to use.

Ginger Whipped Cream

Makes 2 cups

Prep Time: 6 minutes

• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• ¼ cup dark brown sugar
• ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons chopped crystallized ginger

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whip attachment, whisk cream until soft peaks form. Add sugar and vanilla; beat until stiff peaks form. Stir in ginger until just combined. Cover and chill until ready to use.

Gingerbread Latte

Serves 1

Prep Time: 5 minutes

• ½ cup whole milk
• 1 tablespoon Ginger Molasses Simple Syrup (recipe at left)
• ½ cup freshly brewed espresso or coffee
• Garnish: chopped crystallized ginger and ground cinnamon

1. In a steamer or small saucepan over medium-high heat, warm milk until bubbles just form around edges. Stir in simple syrup until combined. Using a frother, froth milk until foamy on top and milky on bottom. Using a spoon, hold back foam and pour milk over the coffee. Spoon foam on top. Garnish with a sprinkle of cinnamon and ginger.

This story appears in Birmingham magazine’s December 2019 issue. Subscribe today!