Traditional Christmas Gingerbread
Happy First Day of December and welcome to the month where Holiday magic is alive! Wow where did Fall go? I blinked and here we are getting ready for Christmas. My neighbourhood is dancing with Christmas lights and trees are popping up in all the windows. For us, we have our lights up and the decorating is almost complete in the house. All we have left is the tree! I’m hoping that will be done this weekend.
Baking is underway in my house so I thought it would be appropriate to share with you the first Christmas recipe on the first day of December.
An old Tradition from a Lovely lady
A few years ago I was marketing a retirement home here in London. It was an amazing experience to meet some fascinating people and build amazing relationships. The stories and wealth of knowledge I was privileged to gain from them, I will always cherish. One lady I particularly admired was a wonderful lady named Tina. She was a friend of one of the residents, who came in on a regular basis. At the time I met her she was a lively woman in her 90’s, living on her own. She had a small country homestead, doing well, managing to do many of the chores herself! She came in often to visit her best friend and participate in social activities.
I sure was lucky she came to my Christmas cookie exchange I hosted at the residence! She brought with her that day, the gift of this gingerbread recipe. It was a traditional recipe that had long been in her family and had won a few baking contest awards. How fortunate we were that she was generous to share it with us! That day was a truly rewarding experience for many reasons and a memory I enjoy reflecting on. It is a reminder to me of the reasons it’s so fun to share with our food and traditions we pass on to others. Even though Tina has passed on, I have been making her gingerbread for the last several years and whenever I do, I think of her and smile.
A Christmas Tradition
A few years back, I was out at a craft store and came across cookie ribbons for “best decorated” etc. What a hit that was when my nephews came over to do our annual Christmas cookie decorating with my daughter and I. We have so much fun! It starts with a bag colourful goodies from the bulk barn and the hopes are that 1/10 make it on the cookies. Anything that comes close is a huge success!
When we started “judging” for the best cookie to hand out ribbons, the icing just got thicker and the cookies a lot heavier. A little less on the floor and in the bellies. The concept of “less is more” was not something that appealed to young decorators, and in their young minds the more they could squeeze on that cookie was an extra chance to take home that prized ribbon! That’s why it’s always best to make up a batch of extra dough to have some a little less “enhanced”. It is more about the fun though, and everyone can end up with ribbons 😉 They are all winners in my heart!
A great tasting versatile recipe
So whether you like to bury your cookies with an inch of sugary sweets, or make a light tasting gingerbread to have with tea; the basic dough of this recipe is versatile enough for both.
Happy start to the Holiday season to you and your family!
If you make this recipe and like it; please share and pin. You can also tag me on instagram @thecozeehome
Old Fashioned Gingerbread
A versatile gingerbread recipe that can be used for decorating or a lightly dressed tea cookie
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Brown Sugar
- 3/4 Cup Cooking Oil
- 1/4 Cup Dark Molasses
- 1 Egg lightly beaten
- 2 Cups All purpose Flour
- 2 tsp Baking soda
- 1 tsp Cinnamon
- 1 tsp Ginger
- 1/2 tsp Cloves
- 1/4 tsp Salt
Instructions
- Mix together the Sugar, Molasses (don't you just love the smell of molasses?!), the cooking oil and the egg.
- Mix together the dry ingredients and gradually add to the molasses mixture.
- Mix until the dough comes together
- If using cutouts, chill in refrigerator for at least an hour
- Dough can be rolled into balls of about 1 tsp and either rolled in or sprinkled with coloured sugar.
- Place on a parchment lined cookie sheet and bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Be careful not to burn. With gingerbread being a dark dough, it can be hard to tell by watching when they are done. Take out of the oven as soon as the dough has firmed up.
- Enjoy!
Notes
In memory of Tina. A lovely and lively woman.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1 gramsAmount Per Serving: Unsaturated Fat: 0g
I have tasted these gems and for sure are the best. Yummy 😋
There’s some with your name on them 😜
What a wonderful tribute to Tina! I am sure that for years to come, whenever you make this recipe you will think of Tina and the wonderful experience you had with her at the center. Beautiful post… and beautiful cookies… one of my favorites ♥ Thanks for sharing!
It’s great to learn from those who are more experienced than we are. How nice that Tina’s gingerbread recipe can now be shared with the world!
I love the story that goes along with this recipe! Also classic gingerbread is the bestttttttt – thank you for sharing this, can’t wait to try it when I do my holiday baking!
Tina does indeed sound like a lovely and lively lady. How lucky you are to have met her and can share her recipe with us. Now I need to make gingerbread! Thanks for sharing.
I’m sure Tina is looking down with pride that you continue to bake as well as share her gingerbread cookies! They look YUMMY!
These sound delicious. I don’t have a go-to gingerbread recipe so will have to give these a try. Thank you for the recipe!