If there's one scent that screams out "festive," it's the scent of baking gingerbread cookies. And if there's one activity that screams out "festive," it's the decorating of said gingerbread cookies. Nothing makes one bask in the glow of holiday togetherness like a cozy afternoon of cookie baking with the children.
To be honest, we all know that making cookies with children is less of a warm and peaceful activity, and more of a chaotic and Lord of the Flies-like activity, at least in my house. But that's why I love this recipe; spending a day making dough, and then chilling dough, and then rolling out and baking cookies, and then waiting for the cookies to cool, and THEN decorating cookies with crazed children who are eating icing and decorative candies by the handful would probably do me in. I would morph from my usual Buddy the Elf-like persona to one resembling the Grinch.
How To Survive Holiday Baking With Kids
This recipe saves me from trying to stop Christmas from coming for the poor little Whos. It is great for making ahead of time because the dough can be frozen for up to three months; make the dough when you have ten minutes to yourself, and then bake the cookies when you feel like it. Brilliant, no? In my case I made this dough in November, then I baked the cookies while my children were at karate. By the time they came home they had cooled enough for the decorating extravaganza to begin, and I didn't even have to put Bailey's in my coffee. Well, I did, but I didn't HAVE to, if you know what I mean.
This recipe for frosting works great, but I confess that I often foist store-bought tubes of icing on my children so they can easily decorate to their heart's content. Either way works well.
Ingredients:
For the cookies:
Cream softened butter with brown sugar until fluffy. Add baking powder, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, and molasses and mix well. Add egg to the mixture; beat until creamy. Stir in the vinegar. Mix in the flour until incorporated. Refrigerate for 2 hours until firm enough to handle. *Make ahead: form into a ball and cover with plastic wrap; freeze for up to three months.* On a floured surface, roll chilled (or thawed but still firm, if frozen) dough to a 1/4 inch thickness. Cut out shapes with cute cookie cutters. Bake at 375 degrees, on parchment paper-lined baking sheets, for 6-8 minutes, or until browned around the edges. Allow to cool completely before decorating with icing and candies. To make icing, mix milk into powdered sugar. Icing should be stiff enough to use as a candy adherent. Yield: Makes 4-5 dozen cookies, depending on the size of the cookie cutters (size DOES matter, it turns out).
Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens
Want more holiday cookies? Try my Grandma's Gingersnaps, my Gluten Free Peppermint Almond Cookies, Ali's Easy Hanukkah Sandwich Stars, or Lara's Pumpkin Pie Cookies.
Around the holiday season, I spend a lot of time in the kitchen. Sometimes I make complicated recipes that have three dozen ingredients and take a whole day’s worth of steps to make, and those are good. And then sometimes I make a recipe that takes fifteen minutes to make and requires only two easily-obtained recipes. Those are REALLY good.
This recipe is so much more than the sum of its parts. It’s absolutely scrumptious and unbelievably easy to make. Packaged in a festive tin or gift box, it makes a wonderful hostess gift — and no one will guess how simple it is! When I make this for a party I either have to hide the evidence or triple the recipe, else wise my family will eat it all. Or I will eat it all. One or the other.
The Easy Way To Crush Candy Canes
Some people would involve their children in the ingredient preparation; me, I do not trust my children with a rolling pin and instructions to crush anything. Disaster could only ensue from such a situation over here, but perhaps your children are much less destructive — in which case, by all means, get the children to help crush the candy canes! Family togetherness and delicious treats? Yes, please.
Ingredients
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Place candy canes in a zippered plastic bag. Using a rolling pin, crush the candy canes to little bits. Don’t worry about uniformity here – there is room for all the candy parts, big and small. You should have about 1/2 cup of crushed bits – add more candy canes if need be (or eat the bits, if you crushed too many).
In the top of a double boiler, and slowly melt chocolate chips over simmering water, stirring often.
Pour the melted chocolate onto the parchment paper-lined baking sheet, smoothing it out so that it is about 1/4–1/3 inch thick. Immediately sprinkle the crushed candy canes over top all the chocolate.
Place the baking sheet in the freezer for approximately 30 minutes, or until set.
Break the bark into pieces and store in the refrigerator.
Want to see how easy this recipe is? Watch this short video of me making Dark Chocolate Peppermint Bark Recipe.
Want more foodie gift ideas? How about Maija's Mint Chocolate Bark, Maija's Candy Cane Spoons, or my Decadent Dark Chocolate Truffles?
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