The Most Delicious Time of Year
Jenny Kuspira - DSW
The countdown is on and Christmas is just around the corner. There are so many great things about the holiday season. Reaching out to family and friends, exchanging gifts, and of course the food. For many people, Christmas dinner is the biggest event. Sitting at a large table and passing down the mashed potatoes, or carrots and the gravy, you cannot forget the gravy. It is all so delicious. There is one tradition that I feel might outshine Christmas Dinner, which is the making of a gingerbread house. There is also of course the gingerbread boys and girls decorated with icing.
In honour of such delicious Christmas traditions, we thought it would be fun to share some interesting trivia about gingerbread, a link to a recipe, and a reading of the Gingerbread Man.
Gingerbread Trivia! Did you Know???
There is a national gingerbread house day on Dec 12th and a national gingerbread day on June 5th.
It was an American Monk back in 992AD that traveled to France to teach the french priests how to make gingerbread.
Gingerbread is any baked good that has ginger and molasses or honey. This can include, cookies, breads, and houses
Ginger is known for its unique and delicious flavour, and it is also known for its ability to help soothe an upset belly. In fact, many early sailors and explorers would have ginger cookies to help make them feel better when they became seasick or nauseous.
In December 2013 in Bryan Texas, the world’s largest gingerbread house was created.
It was 10 feet tall
42 feet wide
60 feet long.
It was built to raise money for a local children’s hospital. They raised over $150 thousand dollars. Below is the link to read more
https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2013/12/largest-gingerbread-house-for-charity-gets-us-in-the-christmas-spirit-53612/?fb_comment_id=225996767571660_612440
Gingerbread Man Recipe
Hands-On: 1 hr Total: 3 hrs 50 mins Yield: Makes 2 dozen cookies
Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
¼ cup hot water
1 cup molasses
5 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ tablespoons ground ginger
1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground allspice
Assorted candies
Assorted decorator sugar crystals
Directions:
Step 1
Beat butter and sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer until fluffy.
Step 2
Stir together baking soda and 1/4 cup hot water until dissolved; stir in molasses.
Step 3
Stir together flour and next 4 ingredients. Add to butter mixture alternately with molasses mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Shape mixture into a ball; cover and chill 1 hour.
Step 4
Preheat oven to 350°. Roll dough to 1/4-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. Cut dough with a 4-inch gingerbread man-shaped cookie cutter. Place 2 inches apart on parchment paper-lined baking sheets.
Step 5
Bake at 350° for 15 to 18 minutes. Let cool on baking sheets 2 minutes; transfer to wire racks. Cool completely (about 30 minutes).
Step 6
Spoon Royal Icing into a small zip-top plastic freezer bag. Snip 1 corner of bag to make a small hole; pipe faces on cookies, or spread cookies with Buttermilk Frosting. Decorate cookies as desired with candies and sugar crystals.
Step 7
Enjoy !!
Some Gingerbread Jokes
Q: What did the Gingerbread Man put under his blanket?
A: A cookie sheet.
Q: Why did the Gingerbread Man go to the school nurse?
A: He was feeling crumby.
Q: Who was the most dangerous cookie?
A: The Ninjabread man.
Story Time: The Gingerbread Man
Now it is time to sit back and relax and enjoy a short story about the Gingerbread Man.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Kv9cGUttc9OlvrxPolmLO8LdzwO2Y9IO/view?usp=drivesdk