Oh There's No Place Like Home For the Holidays...
HOME!
It's the best feeling. No more school, no more exams, and off to Texas for the holidays!
Winter break is one of the best times of the year because not only is there Christmas and then New Years, but for the first time all semester, I (along with every other college student) have no more work/projects/readings/tests/papers to do and can actually enjoy the holidays. It's great!
So after I came home and spent the first two days catching up on sleep, I decided it was time to start baking... and let the holiday baking begin!
I started with these...
Gingerbread men!
Classic and reliable: you can never go wrong with gingerbread men for the holidays! :) I found a recipe that puts a spin on the traditional gingerbread men, using lemon juice in the icing to drizzle on top of the cookies. The tanginess of the lemon juice works really nicely with the molasses in the gingerbread... you should try one for yourself! :)
Happy baking! And Happy Holidays!
Gingerbread Men with Lemon Icing
Ingredients
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 lg. egg
1/4 cup molasses
For the Icing:
2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 1/3 cup powdered sugar
Directions:
In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, ginger, cloves, cinnamon & salt.
In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar until creamy (about 3 minutes); Add egg.
Add molasses and beat to combine; scrape sides of bowl when necessary.
Gradually add flour mixture and beat till combined.
Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm (about 1 hour).
Preheat oven to 350F.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/4 inch thickness.
Use cookie cutters to cut shapes.
Bake for 8-10 minutes on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Let cool completely on wire racks before icing.
In a small bowl, combine lemon juice and powdered sugar and whisk till smooth. Drizzle over cooled cookies.
*Recipe adapted from Little Space... To Fill, That Is
