Ellens Spicy Gingerbread Men Recipes

SASSY GINGERBREAD MEN

Steps:

• Thoroughly cream together butter and sugar.
• Add egg, beat until light and fluffy.
• Add orange zest and corn syrup, mix well.
• Sift together remaining ingredients, stir into creamed mixture.
• Chill dough thoroughly.
• Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.
• On lightly floured surface, roll to 1/4 inch thickness.
• Cut with Gingerbread men (and women) cookie cutters.
• Place 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet.
• Bake 8-10 minutes
• Cool on rack.
• Decorate sassy little men with royal icing and raisins if desired.

GINGERBREAD MEN COOKIES

Steps:

• Cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in molasses, egg and water. In another bowl, whisk together remaining ingredients minus frosting; gradually beat into creamed mixture. Divide dough in half. Shape each into a disk; cover. Refrigerate until easy to handle, about 30 minutes., Preheat oven to 350°. On a lightly floured surface, roll each portion of dough to 1/8-in. thickness. Cut with a floured 4-in. gingerbread man cookie cutter. Place 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets., Bake until edges are firm, 8-10 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool completely. Frost as desired.

ELLENS GINGERBREAD TEA LOAF

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Prepare a 8 1/2- x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan (or Nordicware gingerbread loaf pan) with a non-stick baking spray.
• Using some light brown sugar (or plain granulated sugar), dust the bottom and all sides of the pan, leaving a thin coating of the sugar.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, pepper, cloves, fennel, nutmeg, star anise, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt.
• Mix in 3 tablespoons of crystallized ginger; set aside.
• Using an electric mixer with a large bowl, beat the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together until light and creamy.
• Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until well mixed.
• Add the vanilla extract and the fresh ginger.
• Slowly mix in 1/2 of the flour/spice mixture; then add milk and yogurt.
• Add the remaining 1/2 of the flour/spice mixture; blend just until smooth. Pour batter into the prepared loaf pan.
• Sprinkle the remaining 3 tablespoons of crystallized ginger over the top surface of the batter, pressing the ginger lightly into the batter.
• Bake approximately 50 to 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
• Remove from oven, let pan cool on a wire rack for ten minutes, and then turn cake out out of the loaf pan onto the wire rack to cool completely. When completely cool, using a fine mesh strainer, dust the top lightly with confectioners (powdered) sugar.
• If desired, garnish with whipped cream and seasonal berries.

ELLEN'S EDIBLE GINGERBREAD HOUSE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, beat butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the molasses, egg, ginger, cloves and salt. Gradually add flour, 1 cup at a time, until dough forms a ball. , Turn dough onto a floured surface; knead until smooth but not sticky, adding flour if needed. Cover and chill for several hours or overnight., Meanwhile, cut out patterns. Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly grease the foil. Lay a damp towel on the counter; place prepared pan on towel (to prevent slipping). Using a heavily-floured rolling pin, roll out half of dough onto the baking sheet into an 1/8-in. thick rectangle. Position patterns at least 1/2 in. apart on dough. Cut out two of each pattern with a sharp knife or pizza cutter; remove pattern. Remove dough scraps; cover and save to re-roll if needed. , Bake at 350° for 15 minutes or until edges just begin to brown. Do not overbake. Remove from oven; immediately place patterns on dough. Cut around the edges,trimming off excess cookie if necessary. Cool for 10 minutes or until pieces begin to set. Carefully remove to wire racks to cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough and patterns. Dough scraps may be cut into gingerbread people and used to decorate house. , In a bowl, beat the confectioners' sugar, meringue powder and 4 tablespoons water on low until blended. Beat on high for 8-10 minutes or until stiff peaks form, adding additional water, 1 tablespoon at a time, if needed. Place a damp paper towel over icing bowl and cover tightly until ready to use. , To assemble the house frame: Test your cookie pieces to make sure they fit together snugly. If necessary, carefully trim with a serrated knife. Insert the round pastry tip into the pastry bag; add icing. Pipe a 3/8-in. wide strip of icing onto the bottom edge of the front piece. Position on a covered board at least 3-in. from the front edge of the base. Prop with spice jars for 2-3 minutes or until icing is completely set; remove jars., To add the sides and the back: Pipe icing on the lower edge of one side piece and along one side edge of the front piece. Align pieces at a right angle, making sure they are as tight as possible. Repeat with the other side. Pipe icing on the bottom and side edges of the back piece; position with the other assembled pieces. For added stability, pipe icing along the inside edges of all pieces and corners., To assemble the roof: Working with one side at a time, pipe icing along the top edges of the front, back and side pieces. Carefully place one roof piece so the roof's peak is even with the points of the front and back (there will be a small overhang front and back.) Repeat. Let dry completely., To decorate: With icing, attach mints to roof. For chimney, stack caramels along one side of house, using icing as mortar; top with an icing "smoke plume". , For trees and wreath, add green food coloring to a portion of icing. Frost sugar cones and butter cookie; decorate with red-hots and sprinkles. Referring to photo and using candies and other decorations, add the trees, wreath, doorway, windows, shutters, walkway, logs, mailbox and fence.

SOFT AND EASY GINGERBREAD MEN

Steps:

• In a large bowl, with mixer at slow speed, beat flour, sugar, butter, molasses, applesauce, egg, cinnamon, baking powder, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt until well mixed. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 350°F On a lightly floured surface, working with half of the dough at a time, roll 1/8 inch thick. With floured cookie cutters, cut dough into shapes. Using a metal spatula or pancake turner, place cookies 1/2 inch apart on greased cookie sheets. Reroll trimmings and continue to cut shapes. Bake 8 minutes, or until very lightly browned. Transfer cookies to racks to cool completely.

GINGERBREAD MEN

Steps:

• Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5 and line a baking tray with baking parchment. Sieve the flour, salt, bicarb, ginger and cinnamon into a large bowl. Heat the butter, sugar and syrup until dissolved. Leave the sugar mixture to cool slightly, then mix into the dry ingredients to form a dough. Chill the dough in the fridge for 30 mins.
• On a surface lightly dusted with flour, roll out the dough to a ¼-inch thickness. Stamp out the gingerbread men shapes with a cutter, then re-roll any off-cuts and repeat. Place your gingerbread shapes on the lined trays, allowing space for them to spread. Cook for 10-15 mins, then remove from the oven and leave to cool.

GINGERBREAD MEN

Steps:

• Mix together the shortening, sugar, and molasses.
• Next, add egg and beat completely.
• Combine all dry ingredients and add to the creamed ingredients--using 1/2 cup increments.
• Beat well after each addition.
• Refrigerate the dough until cold.
• Roll out until the dough is about 1/4 inch thick.
• Use cookie cutters to form the figures.
• Place in a 350° oven and bake for 10 - 12 minutes.

GINGERBREAD MEN

Steps:

• Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 4/350°F/180°C.
• You will need 2 lightly greased baking sheets.
• In a large saucepan, put in the brown sugar, golden syrup, treacle, all the spices and orange rind with 1 tablespoon of water.
• Bring them to boiling point, stirring all the time.
• Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the butter cut into cubes, and the bicarbonate of soda.
• Next stir in the flour gradually until you have a smooth manageable dough - add a little more flour, if you think it needs it.
• Leave the dough covered, in a cool place to become firm, approximately 30 minutes.
• Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface to 1/8 inch (3 mm) thick and cut out the gingerbread men.
• Arrange them on the lightly greased baking sheets.
• Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 10-15 minutes or until the biscuits feel firm when lightly pressed with a fingertip.
• Leave the biscuits to cool on the baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack.
• Once cool, store in an airtight container.

ELLEN'S SPICY GINGERBREAD MEN

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream margarine and sugar til smooth.
• Stir in, molasses and egg yolk.
• Combine flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and nutmeg; blend into the molasses mix.
• til smooth.
• Cover and chill for at least 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 350%.
• On lightly floured surface, roll the dough to 1/4 thickness.
• Cut into desired shapes.
• Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
• Bake for 8- 10 minutes.
• Remove and cool.
• Frost and decorate.
• At Easter, for an added surprise, I like to dip them in melted chocolate and then decorate.