My Mom's Gingerbread Men Cookies

Today is the Friday before Christmas, and I am finishing up all my last minute baking, shopping, and wrapping of gifts. It is the perfect time to finally share one of my favorite holiday traditions...my mom's gingerbread men cookies.

These cookies have been part of my family's holidays for my entire life. My mom started baking them with my Great-Aunt Lena when my mom was a small child. When I was growing up, mom made them three times a year...a huge batch at Halloween for the neighborhood children in addition to candy for trick-or-treating, another huge batch for Christmas, and the third batch for Valentine's Day. Each student in my class and the classes of both of my sisters received a cookie with our handwritten valentines. I loved them for each of these holidays, but my favorite was eating gingerbread men at Christmas. One of these soft, cake-like cookies with a hot cup of tea just screams Christmas morning to me.

Now, my mom, has a hard time getting around without a walker and our "new" tradition is for my mom and me to make the cookies together. I prepare the dough, she cuts out as many gingerbread men as she can before she gets tired, I finish, bake, and then, together, we decorate. We make about 125 cookies at a time, and then my mom divides them up among family and friends who eagerly await the gingerbread men delivery.

These are not fancy cookies. The old gingerbread man cutter has been used by my mom for over 70 years. We decorate them the same way every year...no exceptions. Red hot candies for the eyes? Check. A dab of buttercream frosting on the head to make a jaunty hat? Check? Another blob of frosting for the tummy to make a winter sweater? Check. Red hot or raisins dotted down the front for buttons? Check. More frosting on the hands and feet to replicate mittens and stockings? Check. No changes...ever! My family would revolt.

Maybe these cookies can become part of your family tradition. That would make my mom very, very happy. Happiest of Holidays to you and yours. See you in 2018!

My Mom's Gingerbread Men Cookies
(Yield depends on the size of cutter. My mom's makes 14 cookies per batch)

1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup molasses
3 1/2 cups unbleached flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 tsp white vinegar
1 jar red hot candies
Buttercream frosting (recipe follows)


In the bowl of a mixer, cream shortening until light and fluffy. (about 3 minutes) Gradually add brown sugar and beat until thoroughly incorporated. Add molasses and beat until incorporated.

In a small bowl, sift together 1 1/4 cups flour, soda, salt, cinnamon, and ginger. Gradually add dry ingredients to molasses bowl with mixer running at low speed until just mixed.

Add vinegar to mixing bowl and, with mixer running at slow speed, add remaining 2 1/2 cups flour (1/4 cup at a time) alternating with buttermilk until just mixed. Pat dough into a disk, cover with plastic wrap and chill dough for a minimum of 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray 2 cookie sheets with cooking spray and set aside.

Cut dough in half and roll one of the halves 1/4  inch thick on a lightly floured board. Dip cutter in flour and press into dough making as many cookies as you can. Reroll scraps and repeat. Repeat with second dough half. Place cookies on to cookie sheets, add two red-hots per cookie to represent eyes and bake in preheated oven for 10-15 minutes depending on how soft you want your cookies to be. 
Check after 10 minutes. The cookies should be lightly browned on the bottom but still soft. They will firm up as they cool. Transfer to racks and allow to cool completely before decorating.

Classic Buttercream Frosting

3 3/4 cups Confectioners Sugar (1 lb. box)
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

pinch salt
3 to 4 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

food grade dye in holiday colors. We use red, green, and white

In a large bowl, with an electric mixer at low speed, combine sugar, butter, salt, milk, and vanilla. Beat at medium speed 1 to 2 minutes, until creamy. If desired, add more milk until frosting is spreading consistency.

Decorate the cookies any way you like.

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So, you still have time to whip up a batch or two (or eight like in my family) If not, there is always Valentine's Day!

With my Mom and sisters at a holiday tea this year. I am the one in white

best,

1. diane
   napa farmhouse 1885
   

   red or green? 

   California Girl in Taos
   

   MoseyLove
   
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This Is The Best Carrot Cake I Have Ever Eaten

I have baked all my life, and while I usually do not create the recipes, I am pretty good at following them. That is the difference with cooking and baking. Cooking can be totally inspired. A bit of this, a little of that. Creativity is encouraged. Baking is such a science. Tweaking the ingredients can lead to disaster.

That was a major source of frustration when I moved to Taos, New Mexico. We are at 7000 feet, and the altitude change from sea level has caused my baking successes turn to failures. Cakes and cookies do not bake evenly, collapse, and taste different. I have not been able to find the appropriate adjustments to make my favorite recipes work.  So I cannot explain the joy I felt when I discovered the Mountain Mama Cooks blog. The author has perfected the art of high altitude baking. Now, if you live at or near sea level, this may not mean much to you...but to me? Desserts are back!

I was scrolling through the site and stumbled upon this recipe for carrot cake. It looked so good that I made it that very day. Not only was it delicious, but it was also the best carrot cake I have ever eaten. (and I have eaten a LOT of carrot cake in my life. I made the cake again for a potluck dinner, and it was a hit. Many people came up to me and exclaimed: "This is the best carrot cake I have ever eaten!" The cake was so successful that I made it again for another potluck (I am invited to many potlucks!) and received the same reaction. So I have been making carrot cakes, (and cupcakes from the same recipe) for every function where I am asked to bring dessert, and I have received rave reviews every time.

This is carrot week at Food Network. I could not think of a more perfect recipe to share. And it is a bundt cake which is so much easier than a layer cake. How cool is that? I made very slight tweaks to the original. I replaced the called-for vegetable oil with olive oil because I like it better and ensured alum-free baking powder was used. Otherwise, totally the delicious original recipe. Thank you, Mountain Mama!

The Best Carrot Cake I Have Ever Eaten
from Mountain Mama Cooks
(cake serves 12 or makes 20 cupcakes)

Note, the Mountain Mama blog suggested adding nuts to only half the cake top. That way you satisfy the nut lovers and the nut haters. Feel free to add nuts to the top of the entire cake if desired.

2 cups unbleached flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon alum-free baking powder
scant 1 teaspoon baking soda*
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
zest of 1 orange
1/4 cup creme fraiche (or sour cream)
4 cups shredded carrots
3/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
1 batch Cream Cheese Frosting

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 10-cup bundt cake pan with cooking spray. Set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and sea salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together on medium speed the eggs and sugar until pale yellow, light and fluffy. (about 3 minutes). Add the olive oil, vanilla extract, and orange zest. Beat until well mixed. Add the flour mixture in 3 parts until just incorporated. Stir in the creme fraiche, carrots and coconut.

Spoon batter evenly into prepared bundt pan. Bake in preheated oven for 50-55 minutes until cake is golden brown and a cake tester inserted into the center of cake comes out cleanly with no raw batter. Remove from oven and let cool on a baking sheet for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a cake plate and let cool completely.  When completely cooled, frost with the cream cheese frosting and top with nuts if desired.

Cream Cheese Frosting
8 tablespoons best quality unsalted butter, room temperature
8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
pinch sea salt
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, optional

Add the softened butter and cream cheese to the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat at medium-high speed until combined and light and fluffy. Add powdered sugar, salt and vanilla extract. Beat for another minute or until incorporated.

This recipe has been creating for baking at altitudes around 7000 feet. The Mountain Mama site suggests increasing the sugar to 1 1/2 cups and increasing he baking soda to 1/2 teaspoon if baking at sea level.

*Scant means lacking a small part of the whole; not quite up to full measure. In other words, 1 scant teaspoon means not quite a whole teaspoon but a little less (from Whats Cooking America)

best,

diane

napa farmhouse 1885

red or green? 

California Girl in Taos

MoseyLove

napa farmhouse 1885

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Almond-Sugar Cookies With Pepitas & Apricot

I saw this recipe two years ago in Food and Wine Magazine, and it has become my go-to Christmas cookie. The basic dough is so versatile and can be combined with so many different ingredients you can be as creative as you wish with your holiday cookie assortment.

I have switched out the pepitas and apricot for walnuts & cranberries, pecans and white chocolate chips, pistachios & dark chocolate chips or candied ginger and spices. Food & Wine used the same dough to create delicious  Chocolate- Coconut Bars. They also suggested making thumbprint cookies and filling with your favorite jam. So many options. This may be the only recipe you need all holiday season. Enjoy!

Almond-Sugar Cookies With Pepitas & Apricot
(from Food & Wine Magazine December 2013)
makes 40 cookies

1 cup almond flour
1 cup unbleached flour
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 stick unsalted butter (softened)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup salted roasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
1/2 cup chopped dried apricots


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

In a small bowl sift together the flours and salt. Set aside

In the bowl of an electric mixer and medium speed, beat the butter until fluffy and pale yellow (about 3 minutes). Add the sugar and beat until incorporated. Beat in the egg and vanilla until combined. Reduce the speed to low and beat in the flour mixture in 2 batches until just combined.

Turn out the dough onto a clean counter or cutting board lined with parchment paper and form into a ball. Using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll into a 10 x 12-inch rectangle. Using the parchment paper, place the dough on a cookie sheet and place in the freezer for 15 minutes. Note. The dough should be firm but do not allow to freeze.

Remove from the freezer and again, using the parchment paper, place on a work surface. Use a sharp knife to trim the edges resulting in clean lines. Cut the dough into twenty 2-by3-inch rectangles, then cut each in half to form 40 triangles. (Alternatively, cut out the dough using your favorite cookie cutter) Place the cookies on the prepared sheets 1 inch apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until lightly golden. Transfer to racks to cool.

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It is Holiday Cookies week at Food Network's Fall Fest roundup. Do you have a favorite cookie recipe to share? Please list (or link) in the comments below. And be sure to check out the other delicious sounding recipes from my blogger friends and Food Network. 

Big Girls, Small Kitchen: Chocolate Mint Thumbprint Cookies
The Lemon Bowl: Chocolate Peanut Butter Dipped Shortbread
Creative Culinary: Old Fashioned Date Nut Bars
Feed Me Phoebe: The Best Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
Napa Farmhouse 1885: Almond-Sugar Cookies With Pepitas & Apricot
Red or Green: Kahlua-Spice Brownies
TasteBook: Peppermint Chocolate Sandwich Cookies
The Wimpy Vegetarian: Figgy Cardamom Snickerdoodles
The Mom 100: The Best No-Bake Haystack Cookies
Elephants and the Coconut Trees: Almond and Apricot Cookies
Healthy Eats: 5 Ideas for a Healthier Holiday Cookie Swap

best,

diane

napa farmhouse 1885

red or green? 

California Girl in Taos

MoseyLove

napa farmhouse 1885

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Spiced Pumpkin Pancakes

I make these pancakes every year on the first weekend of October. Pumpkin and spice just scream fall to me. The recipe originated in Bon Appetit Magazine in the November 2000 edition as part of a "Flavors of the World" article. I cannot believe it was fifteen years ago. Wow. Some of my favorite pumpkin recipes were listed in the piece. In fact, over my Red or Green? blog I posted a pumpkin-chocolate chip loaf recipe that I also love.

Through the years, I have tweaked the pancakes for health and taste reasons. I substituted white whole wheat flour for some of the white, used coconut sugar instead of regular, coconut milk replaced cow and extra virgin olive oil in place of butter. Oh...and, a bit of maple syrup, sounded better than vanilla. The genius of this recipe is the addition of whipped egg whites folded into the batter at the last moment. These are probably the lightest and fluffiest pancakes I have ever eaten. Give them a try...you will be making them all fall (and all winter).

Spiced Pumpkin Pancakes
adapted from Bon Appetit Magazine  Nov 2000
(makes 12-14 pancakes)

3/4 cup white, whole wheat flour
1/2 cup unbleached white flour
3 tablespoons coconut sugar
2 teaspoons alum-free baking powder
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon allspice
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/3 cup coconut milk (from the dairy case, not canned)
3/4 cup canned pure pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
4 large eggs, separated
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon maple syrup

extra virgin olive oil
butter
maple syrup

Whisk flours, coconut sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, allspice and salt in a large bowl. Stir together coconut milk, pumpkin, egg yolks, olive oil and syrup in a medium bowl until smooth. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients into the well. Whisk together until just combined.

Pour egg whites into the bowl of a stand mixer and, using the wire whip (whisk) attachment, beat the egg whites until stiff, but not dry. Carefully fold 1/2 the whites into the pancake batter until just incorporated. Fold in the remaining whites.

Heat a large, nonstick skillet or griddle to medium-high. Brush with olive oil. Pour batter into a large liquid measuring pitcher (or other pitcher). Pour about 1/3 cup pancake batter per pancake onto the hot griddle or large skillet. Cook until bubbles form and tops of pancakes look a bit dry. Flip and cook until the second side is golden brown. (about 1 1/2 minute more). Repeat steps with remaining batter, brushing skillet/griddle with oil between batches. Serve immediately with butter and maple syrup.

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It is Pumpkin week at Food Network's Fall Fest roundup. Do you have a favorite pumpkin recipe to share? Please list (or link) in the comments below. And be sure to check out the other delicious sounding recipes from my blogger friends and Food Network. 

The Hungry Traveler: Pumpkin Brown Butter Madeleines
Bacon and Souffle: Pumpkin Lasagna with Sausage, Kale and Parmesan
Homemade Delish: Warm Pumpkin Salad
Creative Culinary: Pumpkin Butter
The Lemon Bowl: 20 Healthy Pumpkin Recipes
Weelicious: Baked Pumpkin Doughnuts
Virtually Homemade: Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
TasteBook: Creamy Pumpkin Mac and Cheese
Dishin & Dishes: Homemade Pumpkin Chai Tea Latte Concentrate
Napa Farmhouse 1885: Spiced Pumpkin Pancakes
Red or Green: Spiced Pumpkin-Chocolate Chip Bars
The Heritage Cook: Roasted Pumpkin, Potato, and Sage (Gluten-Free)
Swing Eats: Pumpkin Panna Cotta with Pumpkin Seed Brittle
Taste with the Eyes: Sultry Pumpkin Soup - Southwest Flavors, Dressed To Kill
FN Dish: 8 Ways to Eat Pumpkin All Day Long

best,

diane

napa farmhouse 1885

red or green? 

California Girl in Taos

MoseyLove
please follow me on Facebook

I have started sharing my newest blog "California Girl in Taos."  Please visit and let me know what you think.

Chocolate Brownie Pie (GF and Sugar Free)

This is my new favorite brownie recipe. Quick (about 5 minutes to prep), easy, and so very good, this "light as air" brownie pie comes with a rich chocolate flavor. Best of all, it is gluten-free, sugar-free and dairy-free. (it does contain nuts and eggs). I just love desserts that are guilt free and still delicious.

We were invited to some friends' house for dinner last Sunday, and I brought a brownie pie straight from the oven. They happened to have fresh cream and strawberries on hand so, of course; we topped the brownies! No longer dairy-free, and a little less "healthy" but....special occasions call for special treats. With or without the toppings, this recipe is a keeper. (And thank you Mary Lane & Doug for a wonderful evening)

Chocolate Brownie Pie (GF and Sugar-Free)

2 eggs
3/4 cup coconut sugar
1/2 cup almond flour
4 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted, plus more to grease pan
1 teaspoon pure Tahitian vanilla
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup chopped nuts (walnuts, almonds, pecans, etc)

Optional Toppings
ice cream
heavy cream
whipped cream
fresh fruit

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 inch pie plate with coconut oil. Set aside.

Add first seven ingredients to the bowl of a mixer. Beat until just mixed (3-4 minutes). Stir in nuts.

Pour into prepared pan and place in preheated oven. Bake 20-25 minutes, or until tester placed in the middle of the pie comes out clean.

Let rest a minimum of 15 minutes. Slice and serve warm with optional toppings if desired.

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Winter means comfort food at Food Network and this week we are celebrating Brownies. Do you have a favorite brownie recipe? Share in the comments section and/or link to your blog if you have one. And be sure to check out the delicious sounding recipes from my blogger friends and Food Network. 

Dishing with Divya: Beetroot Brownies
Creative Culinary: Chocolate Chip Brownies with Cream Cheese Frosting
Elephants and the Coconut Trees: Brownies with Condensed Milk
Food for 7 Stages of Life: Easy Eggless Brownies Recipe
The Mom 100: Mexican Hot Chocolate Brownies
Napa Farmhouse 1885: Chocolate Brownie Pie (GF and Sugar Free)
Taste with the Eyes: Chili Chocolate Brownies with Gochugaru, Ginger, Sesame Seed, Olive Oil, Fleur de Sel
Swing Eats: Mexican Cocoa Brownies with an Almond & Pepitas Crust (gluten-free)
FN Dish: 10 Ways to Revolutionize Your Brownie Intake

best,

diane

napa farmhouse 1885

red or green? 

California Girl in Taos

MoseyLove
please follow me on Facebook

I have started sharing my newest blog "California Girl in Taos."  Please visit and let me know what you think.