Baking Christmas Memories: Rolled Gingerbread CookiesWritten by Sherri Allen
Some of my fondest childhood memories of Christmas are those of my brother, sister and me baking Christmas cookies with our mother. We'd all end up covered in flour and frosting, kitchen would be a mess and cookies never came close to resembling perfectly-decorated confections featured on pages of Mom's favorite magazines, but we had a great time creating our "masterpieces."Here is a kid-pleasing Christmas cookie recipe that you can make with your own children, creating memories that will last for years to come. Rolled Gingerbread Cookies These cookies are mildly spiced, for kids. If you like your gingerbread men a little hotter, use 1 tablespoon each of ground cinnamon and ginger instead of 2 teaspoons. The dough can be cut into gingerbread people, of course, and decorated with raisins, red hots, and chocolate chips before being baked. Or cut dough into any shape and decorate cookies with icing. Makes about 40 medium gingerbread people 3 cups unbleached all purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons ground ginger 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened 3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar 1 large egg 1/2 cup dark (not light or blackstrap) molasses 1 tablespoon water Whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves in a medium mixing bowl. Cream butter and brown sugar together in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer on medium high speed until fluffy Add egg, molasses, and water and beat until incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary Add flour mixture all at once and mix on low speed until dough comes together in a ball.
| | A Divine, One Pot Sweet Stew for the Holidays that You Can't Refuse.Written by Dr Eve Campanelli (Ph.D)
This recipe has almost every vitamin and mineral known to man in it. The dried fruit is especially rich in vitamin A, beta carotene and all manner of trace minerals, including an iron that will ease, rather strain your bathroom habits. The more vegetables you add to it, better for your waistline. Don’t add tomatoes however, as it will cause heartburn or now famous “reflux.” Serves 6 –8 2 lbs cubed beef or lamb. I prefer lamb as it lends itself more delicately to sweet dried fruit. Try to use organic grass fed meats as they are more flavorful and your arteries will appreciate it. See Grassland Beef on this website under Affiliates, for Convenience and better prices. 2 tablespoons butter or oil 3 large carrots peeled and sliced 2 medium onions, sliced 3 sticks of celery 2 cloves of chopped or crushed garlic 1 teaspoon dried dill – this and mint added later are helpful in alleviating possibility of a little after-dinner-gas, as combination of fruit, veggies and meat at one time is less than ideal “food combining. You might want to order “Digest Formula” from our office to offer kindness to your protesting abdominal regions throughout various holiday dining experiences. ½ teaspoon grated nutmeg sea salt or vegesalt freshly ground black pepper 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth dissolved in water from cubes or powder ½ cup dried apricots ½ cup pitted prunes ½ cup dried peaches (optional) 1 tsp fresh mint leaves, or dried, if not available ½ cup chopped walnuts ¼ cup orange juice (optional)
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