“Gingerbread Men Cookies” For Christmas & “Coconut Macaroons” For Chanukah

 

“For it is good to be children sometimes, and never better than at Christmas, when its mighty founder was a child Himself.” by Charles Dickens 

My mom and myself

At this time of the year, the aromas that float throughout the house are so delightful. Especially when the kitchen is filled with cookies and baked goodies. It is a whimsical scent that reminds me of my childhood. As I reminisce back to when I was a young girl, I can remember my mom’s kitchen all prepared and ready to bake. I think of the sweet molasses, cinnamon, and all the ingredients we would need to bake, our cookies and cakes. My mom had an aluminum pan that was in the shape of a gingerbread man, and we would bake a gingerbread cake in it every year. Then after the cake was cooled she would take out the tubes of icing and we would begin to decorate the gingerbread man. I remember putting the eyes and mouth on with white icing and making a bow tie with the red icing. We always used raisins for the buttons and made sure that we made cuffs for the shoes and hands. Then as I grew up we would make gingerbread men with cookie cutters. We still used the icing in the tubes and would proceed to decorate them as well. I still can see the cheerful faces on the gingerbread cookies that we made in years past as well as my mom‘s face when she would watch me put the smile on the my gingerbread cookie.
 

Gingerbread dates back to the 15th century, and biscuit making was practiced in the 16th centuries. The first documented instance of figure-shaped gingerbread biscuits appearing was in the court of Elizabeth I of England. She had gingerbread figures made and presented them in the likeness of some of her important guests. Recently in Madison, Wisconsin, USA, they had a potential record-setting gingerbread man put on display. It was unveiled the world’s largest gingerbread man. It stood 26 feet and 2 inches tall, although its weight is unknown. 

My recipe is “Gingerbread Men Cookies,” if you didn’t guess already. I have been making this recipe for many years and it was found on the Domino Sugar box. So, I hope that you can create your own memories in making these wonderful, fragrant, and fun Gingerbread Men cookies. 



“Gingerbread Men Cookies”

Ingredients:
3/4 cup firmly packed Light or Dark Brown Sugar
1/2 cup un-salted butter, softened
2-eggs
1/4 cup-molasses
3 1/4 cups-all purpose flour
2 teaspoons-ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons-baking soda
1/2 teaspoon-each; allspice, cinnamon, nutmeg, & salt
Sugar icing (Recipe Below) 

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease cookie sheets. Beat sugar and butter in large bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs and molasses. Stir together remaining ingredients in medium bowl. Gradually add to sugar mixture until well blended. Refrigerate dough 1 hour or until easy to handle. On well-floured surface, roll out half of dough at a time to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut into desired shapes. Place on prepared cookie sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes. Cool on rack. Decorate with sugar icing as desired.

Yield: about 24 (5 inch) cookies.

Sugar Icing:
Combine 3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon confectioners sugar, 1 tablespoon milk, and food coloring if desired.

Quick Tip:
To make Cookie Ornaments, bake cookies as directed. Just after the cookies are baked, use a small straw to create a hole at the top of the cookie. Leave 1/2 inch space from the top of the cookie. It is important to cut out holes while the cookies are still warm. Decorate as desired. Once dry, thread a thin ribbon through the hole to hang as an ornament.

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I would like to wish a “Happy Chanukah” to all of my Jewish readers and friends. Tomorrow is the first day of Chanukah. During this Jewish holiday many families invite friends and relatives over to light the Menorah, sing songs, play games with a Dreidel (like a top), exchange gifts, and share traditional food. 

“Chanukah” or the “Festival of Lights” is celebrated for eight days around the end of December. The name came from a Hebrew word which means “to dedicate.” During Chanukah, the Jewish people honor the re-dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem and the “Miracle of The Oil.” The Talmud, which is a book of the Jewish faith, says that after the Temple had been won over, only a day’s worth of consecrated olive oil was left to fuel the eternal flame. Miraculously, it remained burning for eight days, which was just enough time to make more of the oil.

Because of the role that the oil played in the Chanukah miracle, it is customary to serve foods fried in oil. Some traditional Chanukah foods are Latkes, fried potato pancakes, and different varieties of deep-fried donuts. It is also customary to eat dairy foods on Chanukah, in commemoration of the bravery of Yehudit, who used cheese to defeat the Greek general Holofernes.

To share in this tradition, I have a recipe called “Coconut Macaroons.” A macaroon is a type of light, baked confection, described as either small cakes or meringue-like cookies depending on their consistency.  The original macaroon was a sweet cake consisting largely of ground almonds similar to the Italian Amaretti cookie. These cookies are scrumptious!

“Coconut Macaroons”

Ingredients:
14 ounces sweetened shredded coconut
14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon good pure vanilla extract
2 extra-large egg whites, at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Chocolate to drizzle on top (optional)

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 325 °F. Combine the coconut, condensed milk, and vanilla in a large bowl. Whip the egg whites and salt on high speed in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment until they make medium-firm peaks. Carefully fold the egg whites into the coconut mixture. Drop the batter onto sheet pans lined with parchment paper using either a 1 3/4 inch diameter ice cream scoop, or two teaspoons. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until golden brown. Cool and serve. If you choose you can also drizzle some chocolate over the top of the Macaroons. (Optional)  Yield: 20-22 cookies.

Recipe is courtesy of Ina Garten’s “Barefoot Contessa Family Style”

****FYI: This post is part of Patience Brewster’s online holiday cookie exchange. She is an artist of handmade gifts and holiday ornaments! Please check out her site and share your cookie recipes with us.
                                                           
Till Next Time……..

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