Gingerbread for Thanksgiving

In The Gingerbread Book by Alan D. Bragdon (available at my local library) lies a pattern that is perfect for a Gingerbread Turkey Centerpiece for Thanksgiving.

For those of you not quite ready to embrace the CHRISTMAS spirit (BECAUSE THANKSGIVING IS A HOLIDAY THAT COMES FIRST!) this might be a wonderful gingerbread/craft option to tackle.

I made the turkey in 2012.  I think I was sick and bored out of my mind at home, so I decided to craft (and I washed my hands a lot and didn't hack on the gingerbread).

I loved this little turkey.  The pattern is smaller, so it's not a huge project.   It's not intimidating either, so it's a nice place to start if you're new to gingerbread.

It's also a great way to use up some Halloween Candy...if you don't want to eat it all for some reason...

Here's what I made:

I had extra gingerbread dough, so I made the pumpkin cookies.

I also didn't really have a base in mind that was small enough for this turkey (like I said, I just got this idea while home on a sick day) so you can see I only covered part of it with ground animal crackers left over from our 2012 Halloween House.  You're supposed to be looking at the turkey anyway :-)

Happy (early) Thanksgiving!

Baking More than Gingerbread

I've seriously wanted to make this post since...like...May.  Here we are, 4 weeks away from my due date, and I'm just now getting around to making the "baby announcement" in gingerbread.

I've been busy making cakes!

At this point, I made the carriage to bring in to school.  Every year, my third graders get excited that I'm the "gingerbread teacher" who brings in treats around Halloween and Christmas.  I'll be on maternity leave for both of those holidays, so I thought I'd do this instead!

If you haven't guessed, we're having a girl.

I got the idea from:

I made some modifications, since I'm making it for 8-9 year-olds.  I did not make the marzipan baby, and instead, added more icing and candy decorations.  I'm also going to pour more candy inside the carriage for my kids to devour.  

I respect that, to my students, the fun is all the sugar, not the tasty gingerbread pieces underneath.

I will say, however, that I had extra gingerbread pieces (extra supports etc. I baked off) and they taste AMAZING.  Especially good dipped in coffee!  (or decaf.  whatever)

As aforementioned, (oooh fancy word!) I gladly spent my summer fulfilling cake and cupcake orders.  An unexpected side-effect to this was that I got rusty making gingerbread!  I'm sure it didn't help that I did not have my other two Gingerbuilders with me to help...or the traditional wine to encourage creative thinking...but I definitely hit a few hiccups making this carriage, and I thought I'd share them with you, so you could learn from my mistakes.

1.  When rolling cutting and baking your pieces, remember

roll out your pieces and bake them on parchment paper!  I forgot this the first time I rolled the dough, warped pieces pulling them from the counter with a spatula, and had to try again.  Duh!

2.  What To Do if you Break a Piece

I know I know.  Megan wasn't there.  But it still happened.  Twice actually.  On 2 different pieces.  Like I said, I was out of practice!

Don't panic.  Just remember, most mistakes can be covered or fixed with icing.  :-)

I iced my pieces back together and used a support just to make sure it would hold.

All that mess is on the inside.  No way you can tell when I put it all together.

3.  Storing Royal Icing

I found this lovely site FULL of great info on royal icing.  Check it out: Sweetopia

This project took me several days to complete.  I did it alone, and pieces needed to dry before I could continue the project.  For these reasons, I stored my royal icing in the fridge in piping bags.  

The icing loosened/separated after 1-2 days.  I didn't want to re whip it because it was already in the bags.  This made for fun challenged.  I had to decorate everything flat so the icing wouldn't run everywhere.

  

Then let it dry, and flip the carriage to work on another part.

In the end, I made a new batch and whipped it fresh.  Being lazy doesn't pay off.  I was worried about matching color, but I think I did okay.

I went back over some of the sloppier parts with the newer icing.  

Meh.  This wasn't a competition piece.  It's for third-graders!  Who are going to love it.

The first of many Labors of Love for our Little Girl.

Caramel-Ginger Cookie-Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream

It's quite a mouthful...to say and eat...and you won't regret trying this recipe!

With any ice-cream maker, ice cream is super easy to make!  It takes some waiting time for the ingredients to cool, etc., but there is hardly any actual work involved, just patience.

I usually allot 2 days for ice cream-making.  My Kitchen Aid bowl has to be frozen for long enough, and my cooked custard needs to chill in the fridge.

Yummy ice creams happen for those who wait!

To read more on ice cream-making and explore another recipe, check out a previous blog post: 

Gingerbread Ice Cream

 and pardon the wonky camera filter :)

In this post, I'll walk you through the steps of making a caramel ice cream, and also reiterate some general ice cream-tips.

Then you can make and eat this:

I think this is the last recipe I'll try from: 

This book as served me well, and it's time to end on a high note.  

Caramel-Ginger Cookie-Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream:

time-consuming, but easy

Needed ingredients: 

2 cups heavy cream*

1 cup whole milk*

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

6 large egg yolks

1/4 tsp salt

2 tsp vanilla extract

12 soft-molasses cookies**

1/2 cup ganache(half of recipe) : 10 oz bitterseet chocolate and 1 cup plus 2 TBSP heavy cream***

* Feel free to play around with substitutions here.  I use some half and half, etc.  It changes the richness of your ice cream a little, but not much, and is worth a calorie exchange if you're really watching.  I don't recommend using skim milk--too watery.  

**If you want to go all out, you can find the recipe for these cookies here.  This makes the recipe take even longer, mind you, because you have to make the cookies first.  For this recipe, I spared no expense.  But more likely, next time, I'll just see what I can find at the ole' grocery store.  Please note the amount of cookies used will vary based on the size of the cookies you put in your ice cream.  It's your ice cream.  Use your own discretion as to how much cookie filling you want in it. :-)

***Use that same discretion on the amount of ganache you put into your ice cream.  I made the whole recipe, so I put the whole recipe into my ice cream.  I did not regret the extra chocolate!

So like I said before, ice cream takes time to make, but is really simple.  You heat some stuff, temper some stuff, stir some stuff, and eat.

Like so:

Stir together milk and cream (or half and half or whatever you're using) in a medium saucepan and bring to boil over medium-high heat.

Meanwhile, stir together sugar and water in medium, stainless steal saucepan. (Like most of us have anyway.)  Cook over low to medium-low heat until the caramel is dark amber in color.  DO NOT STIR.

I was scared to make a caramel, so I thought you might be too.  Fear not.  Leave it alone, and the magic happens.  Here's what you can expect:

Not a whole lot of action, but it starts to bubble.  DO NOT STIR.

Oooh a little more bubbly.  Some more action in the pot.  Watch it, admire it, DO NOT STIR.

Now it's really going.  Guess what?  Still DO NO STIR.

Oh yes, now we're cooking.  Sugar's melting point is VERY HIGH so DO NOT TOUCH and DO NOT STIR. But watch it.  Once your caramel gets to this point, it can burn really quickly.  Keep an eye on it.

This is a light caramel color.  Yummy.  The directions said: "Dark Amber"

So here is where I said: DONE!

Now we're going to temper some stuff.

Tempering is slowing introducing cooking mixtures of different temperatures.  We do this in small amounts to slowly let the mixes marry and reach a common temperature.  If we were to be impatient and dump the caramel into the cream mixture, we might curdle something or separate something, and those are all bad somethings.

Remove your caramel from heat and CAREFULLY pour in about 1/4 c of the hot cream mix. The caramel will bubble fiercely (good work, recipe!) so do this SLOWLY.  

Gradually add in the rest of the cream mix in 1/4 cup increments, stirring until all is well combined.  The caramel should dissolve.  If it doesn't, heat the mix A LITTLE again while you stir.  

I am lucky enough to have a 1/4 cup measuring ladle (as pictured above).  Use whatever ladle you have.  The 1/4 cup measurement doesn't have to be exact, just slowly introduce the cream to the caramel and you should be fine.

You have the start of a caramel ice cream!

Next, whisk together the egg yolks and salt in a large bowl until smooth.

We're going to temper the eggs now and slowly heat them to the same temperature as your caramel mixture.  If we do this too fast we'd have scrambled eggs.  Eew.  So, again, take your time.

Drizzle the caramel cream in with the yolks slowly to temper them.  Whisk together.  Add a little more.  Whisk a little more.  You should be an expert at this by now.

Once the eggs are warmed up, pour everything back in the big saucepan and heat over low heat until the mixture is thick and coats the back of your spoon.  STIR CONSTANTLY.  

I run my finger down the middle to check.  You want to see the line distinctly.  

Strain your mix into a bowl and add the vanilla.  

This strain is to make sure any un-melted chunks of caramel, or scrambled egg (hey, we're only human) don't make it into your final ice cream.  Don't skip this step.

Cover the bowl and let it chill in your refrigerator for at least 6 hours, up to overnight.  See?  Takes time, but it's not hard. :-)  

The next day...

Break a part your cookies into chunks for your ice cream and make the ganache:

Combine the chocolate and cream in a microwave-safe bowl and heat in 20 second intervals.  Stir between each until smooth.  Set aside and let it cool.

I microwaved it 2 1/2 times:  20 sec, 20 sec, 10 sec and it was melted.

Get out your handy dandy ice cream maker.  I don't like to waste a lot of time, so assemble my bowl quickly and make sure the ice cream mix is ready to pour in.

Mix according to manufacturer's instructions.

I stirred in the cookies and chocolate the last 10 or so minutes of stirring time, then pop everything in the freezer for at least an hour.

Like I said before, I went ahead and used all of the chocolate.  I stirred some in, so it got cold and broke into little pieces throughout the ice cream, and dropped some chunks in to find--like a prize!--while I ate my bowl of ice cream later.

I also used some soft cookies and some that were baked a little longer for crunch.  I liked the varying textures in my ice cream.

The caramel flavor is soo delicious and smooth.  The cookies add just a hint of ginger and spices for a savory element, and the chocolate balances everything out.  

My husband and I love this ice cream!

Caramel-Ginger Cookie-Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream:

time-consuming, but easy

Needed ingredients: 

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup whole milk

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

6 large egg yolks

1/4 tsp salt

2 tsp vanilla extract

12 soft-molasses cookies

1/2 cup ganache(half of recipe) : 10 oz bitterseet chocolate and 1 cup plus 2 TBSP heavy cream

Stir together milk and cream (or half and half or whatever you're using) in a medium saucepan and bring to boil over medium-high heat.  Meanwhile, stir together sugar and water in medium, stainless steal saucepan. (Like most of us have anyway.)  Cook over low to medium-low heat until the caramel is dark amber in color.  DO NOT STIR.

Remove your caramel from heat and CAREFULLY pour in about 1/4 c of the hot cream mix. The caramel will bubble fiercely (good work, recipe!) so do this SLOWLY.  Gradually add in the rest of the cream mix in 1/4 cup increments, stirring until all is well combined.  The caramel should dissolve.  If it doesn't, heat the mix A LITTLE again while you stir.  

Next, whisk together the egg yolks and salt in a large bowl until smooth.  Drizzle the caramel cream in with the yolks slowly to temper them.  Whisk together.  Add a little more.  Whisk a little more.  

Pour everything back in the big saucepan and heat over low heat until the mixture is thick and coats the back of your spoon.  STIR CONSTANTLY.  

Strain your mix into a bowl and add the vanilla.   Cover the bowl and let it chill in your refrigerator for at least 6 hours, up to overnight.

The next day, prepare the ganache and let sit at room temperature.  Mix your ice cream according to your manufacturer's instructions.  Don't forget your cookie and chocolate add-ins!

Enjoy!

Chewy Molasses Cookies

Oh they're good.  Any time of year--not just Christmas in July--good.

Just as the name suggests, they are chewy with a little bit of ginger spice.  Look at the sugar crystals on top.

Delicious.

Really want to turn them into a summer treat?  Use them in ice cream!  (A teaser for my next post!)

or just eat them plain!

But first you have to make them.  and I'll help you with that.

Difficulty: Easy
Time: 60-90 minutes (dough chill time included)

Again, this yummy recipe was pulled from Erin's book:

Gingerbread by Jennifery Lindner McGlinn

This time, I followed the recipe exactly.  I'll share some of my baking tips as we go through this, however.

Recipe at the end of this post.

First, gather your ingredients: 

Flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, ground cloves, veggie shortening, butter, light brown sugar, molasses, 1 egg, and white sugar for dipping

Whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves.

*Baking tip*

Many bakers use too much flour because they take their measuring cups and scoop it into the flour container.  This packs the flour and can add more than you want/need.  I use a spoon to pour into my measuring cups, level it off, then add it to my mixing bowls.

Beat shortening and butter with paddle mixer on medium-high speed until smooth.  This picture is what I deem "smooth."

Add brown sugar and beat until light and fluffy.  Again, I consider this to fit those qualifications.

*Baking tip* 

Don't forget to use your spatula to occasionally scrape down the sides of your mixing bowl and make sure it all gets incorporated.  (See my spatula in the pic above?)

Pour in molasses and beat until smooth.  Mix in egg, stopping once to scrape down the sides of the bowl.  (It's awfully nice of the recipe to remind you to scrape your bowl at this point.  This is in case you don't follow my baking tips and do it on your own anyway.)

Reduce mixing speed to low and gradually add flour mix just until dough comes together.  Scrape into medium bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and chill for 30 min-1 hour.

NOW preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

*Baking tip*

Have your oven preheated to the desired temperature for at least ten minutes before you actually start baking.  This insures that your oven is evenly heated.

  

Line baking sheets with parchment.  Shape dough into walnut-sized balls, dip into granulated sugar, and arrange on baking sheet 2 inches a part.

Upon the suggestion of fellow Gingerbuilder, Erin, I rolled the whole ball in the sugar rather than just "dipped".  MORE SUGAR!

*Baking tip*

Get ice cream scoops of all sizes and use them to evenly select your cookie dough amounts.  This makes your cookies more consistent in size for baking times and serving.  If you use a scoop that is smaller or larger than "walnut-size", in this case, be sure to watch your cooking times.

Bake for 10 minutes until light brown and puffed, and the cracks appear moist.

Store in an air tight container.

I always recommend tasting some when they're warm.  Quality control and all :-)

Soft Warm Molasses Cookies by Jennifer Lindner McGlinn   

Makes approx. 35 cookies

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups flour

2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp ginger

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

3/4 tsp ground cloves

1/2 cup vegetable shortening, at room temperature

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, at room temperature

1 cup light brown sugar

1/3 cup molasses

1 egg

granulated sugar for dipping

Whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves.

Beat shortening and butter with a paddle mixer on medium-high speed until smooth.  Add born sugar and beat until light and fluffy.  Pour in molasses and beat until smooth.

Mix in the egg, stopping once to scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Reduce mixer speed to low and gradually add the flour mixture, just until the dough comes together.  

Scrape into a medium bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and chill 30 min-1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

Shape the dough into walnut-sized balls, dip in granulated sugar and arrange on baking sheet 2 inches a part.  Bake for 10 minutes until light brown, puffed, and cracks appear moist.  Store up in an airtight container.  

Breaking in a Kitchen

A move does a busy Gingerbuilder make!

This Gingerbuilder sold her house in December and closed and moved to a new (and beautiful!) home in February.  Think back to the many snowy, icy weekends from this hard Ohio winter.  Yep, that's when we moved.

and it sleeted.

but the other Gingerbuilders came and helped!  and we had wine.

Erin's caption: Who moves in an ICE STORM?!












So I hope they forgive me.


Anyway, needless to say, moving everything we owned takes some time to unpack and organize...(still not completely there...)

I'm sorry to say this took away from our gingerbread time.  Although we still found time to decorate an Easter House, so we are now back on track!


I did keep my baking tools in use by helping a friend decorate cupcakes for her daughter's birthday party.

I also broke in my oven making 2 cakes for friends.

Actually, I broke in my oven by baking brownies...I had to learn the hot spots after all!  My husband and I ate those.  (the sacrifices we make...)

THEN I made some cakes!

First, a Tommy Bahama Pina Colada Cake for a surprise birthday gift!

Then, a TARDIS cake for a birthday!!

I have a Nursing School graduation cake to make in May, as well as treats for a college graduation and bridal shower.  Be sure to stay tuned!

AND I have a gingerbread surprise in the works!  Planning! Planning!

Summer is just around the corner.  You can be sure that our kitchen will get lots of use!

and not just from me!  Gingerbuilder husbands too :-D

These pictures and more can be viewed on our Instagram account.  Follow Gingerbuilders!  

Please be sure to leave comments of encouragement or questions.  We are excited to talk to you!

and contact us for any dessert designs you desire!  (I love alliteration.)