December 9: Gingerbread

Two years ago I hosted my fist Gingerbread cookie making party. I made up a double batch of this dark, fragrant dough the day before and collected together my cookie cutter collection, a bottle of cinnamon candies and as many rolling pins as I could find. As my friends gathered, we put on Christmas music, drank hot cider and started rolling out the dough. The oven warmed the house and so did our laughter. Isn't this what Christmas is about in some deep fundamental way?

Gingerbread

Gingerbread became popular in Europe when spices became more available in the 11th century and was very popular fair food throughout medieval Europe. There is a great range in taste and texture throughout Europe, ranging from dense cakes to stuffed cookies or a spiced paste pressed into wooden molds. The typical American gingerbread, a dense molasses sweetened cookie, came to this continent with immigrants from Germany and Scandinavia. Making gingerbread houses became popular in Germany after the publishing of Grimm's story Hansel and Gretel and making shaped gingerbread cookies is a Christmas tradition in Sweden and Norway. This recipe originally comes from Martha Stewart, but don't hold that against it. It's the best, most interesting flavored gingerbread cookie recipe I've ever used.

Spicy Gingerbread Cookies

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup light brown sugar

1 cup molasses

2 egg yolks

2 tsp grated fresh ginger

4 1/4 cups flour (any mix of white and whole wheat you would like)

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp allspice or nutmeg

2 tsp cloves

2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp finely ground black pepper

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

more flour for rolling out

*Combine butter and sugar and cream until fluffy and well combined. Add molasses, egg yolks and grated fresh ginger and stir until well combined. I recommend using an electric mixer.

Gingerbread Hedgepig

*Stir the spices, salt and leavening with the first cup of flour with a fork. Using a wooden or metal spoon stir the flour into the molasses mix one cup at a time. You will probably need to knead the last half cup in with your hands.

*Lay the dough ball onto a piece of plastic wrap or parchment paper and spread into a thick disk. Wrap completely in plastic wrap or put the parchment wrapped disk in a plastic bag and refrigerate for at least three hours.

*When ready to shape cookies cut or pull baseball sized hunks of dough off the disk and using flour and your hands or a rolling pin roll the dough out into 1/4 inch thick slabs. Use cookie cutters of your choice to shape the dough, place at least 1 inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. I found that drier dough makes sharper edges on your cookies. Decorate with cinnamon candies or sprinkles before baking or icing after baking.

I usually make a simple frosting by combining cream cheese and powdered sugar. I place this in a zip top bag and snip a tiny bit off one corner to squeeze the frosting out. Cinnamon candies are the other indispensable decorating tool.

To Do Around Town:

The Grotto

Check out The Grotto! This is a Catholic shrine and sanctuary in North East Portland that puts up a beautiful light display and choral concert series during the holiday season. Throughout the month of December visitors can walk through the lighted gardens and listen to school and church choirs sing. The theme of the display is not secular but is still popular with thousands of visitors each year. "Our goal is not to be the biggest and the brightest light display in the area but to blend the joy of the season with the reflection of the season," Event Coordinator Peter Mott said.

For more about the festival check out this recent Oregonian article. Check out the Grotto's website here, and the concert schedule here for details.