Home, Sweet Home

Building your dream home from scratch is no small project. Between location scouting, permitting, designing, and actual construction, you’re looking at years of hard work and hundreds of thousands of dollars. Don’t give up hope, though; there’s a better way to start building! You don’t need to be a millionaire or even remotely handy to enjoy the instant gratification of a newly constructed gingerbread house.

‘Tis the season for erecting walls redolent of cinnamon and spice, frosted with freshly fallen confectioner’s sugar snow. Anyone and everyone can call this place their home, at least in spirit, for a short but sweet holiday memory. Only slightly more complex than making gingerbread people, there’s definitely an art to this edible architecture. For anyone daunted by the task but drawn to the cozy abodes, I’m here to help. This is everything you need to know to make your best gingerbread house yet.

Start With The Right Recipe

You can’t build a house with shoddy materials, and the same goes for the edible version. Your foundational cookies must be strong, resistant to spreading in the oven, but still delicious. I will not compromise flavor for function, which is why my Gingerbread Cut-Out Cookies are always my go-to solution. You can make a batch of each to add color variation between components, or stick with something more classic for the nostalgic simplicity of it.

Measure, Cut, Then Bake

Some recipes suggest baking off large sheets of cookies and cutting them afterward to ensure the sharpest, most accurate lines. That would make sense if we were talking about woodworking or sewing patterns, but that same logic doesn’t hold up to baking scrutiny. This approach is more likely to cause walls to crumble or crack in the process, leave rough, crumbly sides that can muck up the icing, and either under-baked centers or over-baked edges. Measure carefully, cut the shapes you want first, then bake.

Prep Royal Icing In Batches

As the edible glue holding everything together, royal icing is critical for sturdy construction. The thing is, it hardens very quickly once exposed to air. Only make a small amount at a time to prevent crustiness or excess waste at the end. Only make enough to fit in a piping bag at a time.

Seek Support

Putting up the walls and keeping them up is always the most difficult step. Use unopened canned foods to prop them up and keep them in place until the icing has set. Don’t rush this, and don’t add the roof until you’ve removed the cans!

All About That Base

Use royal icing to adhere the foundation of the house to a sturdy base, like a flat plate, platter, or cake cardboard to prevent it from sliding around. This also gives it greater stability, and makes it easier to transport if needed.

Don’t Sweat The Details

Even if your best efforts look more like a run-down shack than a grand Victorian mansion, no one will care if it tastes good. Lavish it with candies, make a mess, and just have fun!

Barring any premature nibbling, your gingerbread house will be good to eat for 5 – 7 days after baking.

TROUBLESHOOTING

Name: Gingerbread Cut-Out Cookies
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 1 d 45 min
Yield: 1
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 3 Cups All Purpose Flour; 2 Teaspoons Ground Ginger; 1 1/2 Teaspoons Ground Cardamom; 1 Teaspoons Ground Allspice; 1 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon; 1/2 Teaspoon Ground Nutmeg; 1/2 Teaspoon Ground Cloves; Pinch Ground Black Pepper; 1/2 Teaspoon Salt; 1/4 Teaspoon Baking Soda; 1/4 Cup Vegan Butter; 1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar; 1/2 Cup Molasses; 1 Tablespoon Plain Non-Dairy Milk; 3 Cups All Purpose Flour; 2 1/2 – 3 Teaspoons Ground Ginger; 1 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon; 1/2 Teaspoon Ground Allspice; 1/4 Teaspoon Ground Cloves; Pinch Nutmeg; 1/2 Teaspoon Salt; 1/4 Teaspoon Baking Soda; 1/4 Cup Vegan Butter; 1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar; 1/2 Cup Light Corn Syrup*; 1 Tablespoon Plain Non-Dairy Milk; 2 Cups Confectioner’s Sugar; 3 Tablespoons Cornstarch; 1 Tablespoon Light Agave Nectar or Light Corn Syrup*; 1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla (or Peppermint, or Almond, or Lemon…) Extract

Side panels baked unevenly or don’t measure up?

You can use coarse sand paper (new, never used for wood or anything non-edible!) to carefully remove some height.

Pieces cracked before assembling?

Use royal icing to glue it back together, letting it set on a flat surface first. Let it dry completely before continuing. If it’s very noticeable from the outside, use more icing, candies, or fondant decorations to cover it.

Royal icing won’t set?

It might be too hot or humid where you’re building your house. If need be, scrape the failed icing off and make a new batch with much less liquid to start again.

Can’t find vegan candies for decoration?

Colored sugar and simple sprinkles are still plenty festive! You can always emphasize royal icing designs instead for a more elegant approach.

The beauty of gingerbread houses is that they’re only short term dwellings, meant to house the holiday spirit, which is always a gracious guest. If you build it, Christmas cheer is sure to come.

December 16, 2022December 17, 2022

Hannah (BitterSweet)2 Comments

Bark with a Bite

For all their creative potential, edible presents are criminally undervalued, often viewed as gifts of last resort. Can’t figure out a darned thing your difficult, curmudgeonly Uncle Eddie would enjoy? Well, everyone eats food, at least. Oh, but what about that co-worker you greet every morning but forgot to include on your list? There must be something in the pantry you could cobble together and stick a bow on.

Written off as a last-minute option, haphazardly slapped together in a moment of charitable desperation, chocolate bark especially enjoys particular prominence around this time of the year. Little more than cacao slabs with a bit of extra texture, the concept nonetheless remains wildly popular despite- or perhaps in part because of- this very unpretentious simplicity. Chocolate is never a hard sell to begin with, so when you add in a handful of nuts or crushed candy canes, such effortless appeal is universal among givers and receivers alike. However, that’s just the beginning of this spicy story. Given a little bit more deliberate intention, what if I told you we could make bark even better?

Despite its comparatively blanched pallor, this particular festive candy innovation could make the finest single origin dark bar melt. Gingerbread aroma beyond your wildest dreams springs out of the woodwork, going out on a limb to kick this festive palate of spices up another notch. Chewy nuggets of candied ginger and the crisp, fresh crunch of roasted almonds lend textural dimension that goes against the traditional grain, eschewing the candy-coated peppermints of years past to complement a more balanced sweetness.

In this modern re-imagination of the classic confection, refined sugars need not apply, believe it or not. A modest measure of stevia is enough to contrast with those warming spices without risking dessert overdose during the most tempting time of year. I used Steviva Blend since it’s about twice as sweet as white sugar, thus allowing me to use less and create a more satisfyingly snappy texture. Desserts should always be about the flavor first and sweetness second, making it a perfect mix for my needs.

To satisfy your curiosity and your sweet tooth at the same time, you can check out more info about Steviva on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.

Gingerbread Bark

4 Ounces 100% Food-Grade Cocoa Butter
1 Teaspoon Blackstrap Molasses
1/4 Cup Steviva Blend
1 Tablespoon Coconut Milk Powder
1 Teaspoon Ground Ginger
1/2 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
1/4 Teaspoon Ground Cloves
1/8 Teaspoon Salt
1/4 Cup Sliced Almonds
2 Tablespoons Crystalized Ginger, Very Finely Minced

Place your cocoa butter in a microwave-safe bowl and heat it on full power 1 – 3 minutes, pausing at 30 second intervals to stir, until it completely liquefies. Be sure to keep an eye on it at all times, as it has a much lower melting point than a bar of finished chocolate. Mix in the molasses and let sit for just a moment to cool slightly.

Meanwhile, sift together the Steviva Blend, coconut milk powder, spices, and salt. Add the dry mixture into the cocoa butter, stirring gently until smooth. Pour into chocolate molds, shaped either like traditional break-apart bars or genuine slabs of bark for greatest effect, and tap lightly on the counter to knock out any errant air bubbles. Sprinkle evenly with the almonds and ginger.

Place the molds in your fridge or freezer to accelerate the curing process, allowing them to sit undisturbed until entirely solid; at least 1 – 2 hours.

Makes 1 Large or Two Small Chocolate Bars

Printable Recipe

December 7, 2018December 7, 2018

Hannah (BitterSweet)6 Comments

Where There’s Smoke…

What does autumn taste like to you? Millions would likely respond with a resounding cry of “pumpkin spice” without a second thought, while others might venture down the less celebrated paths of chai, chili, apple pie, or perhaps speculoos. Happily, this isn’t a question we need to fight over. There are no wrong answers, nor any unsatisfying suggestions on this list. They all share one common thread, and that is a palate of bold, warm, yet utterly soothing spices. Colder days call for hotter dishes; succulent blankets to wrap around our tongues. While there’s never a bad time to ramp up the seasonings, a well-equipped spice rack comes in particularly handy around this time of year.

If asked the same question, I might hem and haw in my typically indecisive fashion, but in my heart I always know the answer immediately: Gingerbread is my everything when the temperatures drop and the sunlight wanes. Something about the combination of sticky dark molasses paired with the bite of ginger, belting out its sweet song along with a full cadre of spicy backup singers, makes it feel as though everything is right with the world, at least for those fleeting moments of indulgence. If it were lacking even one of those critical spices, the harmony would be thrown out of balance.

Even so, I can’t help but tinker. Lately I’ve been obsessed with smoky flavors, starting with a few innocent additions of smoked tofu and beets gracing my daily salads and quinoa bowls. Now I’m looking farther afield to the dessert course, finding little if any smoky sweets to experiment with. Clearly, this is a void that needs to be filled. I can think of no better candidate to step up to the plate, quite literally, than gingerbread. Smoky chipotle powder is right at home here, adding a piquant peppery accent to liven up the typical palate. Smoked salt was an obvious winner to continue the theme throughout each tender, sticky bite, and crunchy smoked almonds absolutely seal the deal. It might sound overwhelming in print, but there’s no denying the taste- It may be difficult to return to the same old gingerbread blend after adding a bit of smoke into the mix.

The primary push to explore the smokier side of dessert came from a call to action by Simply Organic and Go Dairy Free. They’ve invited a very talented team of bakers and food obsessives to spice things up with both sweet and savory recipes fit for dairy-free diets. To check out these submissions, vote, enter to win prizes, and find more exclusive recipes, visit Go Dairy Free.

Take your time to luxuriate in all the spicy possibilities out there. The good news is that this cake only gets better with age, as the flavors mingle and meld, over the course of a day or two. Don’t wait too long though; it may be hard for others to resist nibbling away at the edges, until not a single crumb is left. Trust me on this one.

Smoky Chipotle Gingerbread Cake

2 1/2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
1 Cup Smoked Almonds, Roughly Chopped
1/4 Cup Crystallized Ginger, Finely Chopped
2 Tablespoons Dutch-Processed Cocoa Powder
1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 Teaspoon Smoked Salt
1 1/4 Teaspoons Simply Organic Chipotle Powder
1 Teaspoons Simply Organic Ground Cinnamon
1 Cup Brewed and Cooled Coffee
1/2 Cup 100% Grade B Maple Syrup
1/4 Cup Molasses
3/4 Cup Pumpkin Puree
3/4 Cup Light Brown Sugar, Firmly Packed
1/2 Cup Olive Oil
1 Tablespoon Grated Fresh Ginger

Faux-Fondant Glaze:

3 Cups (3/4 Pound) Confectioner’s Sugar
1/4 Cup Water
1 Tablespoon Light Agave Nectar
1 Teaspoon Simply Organic Vanilla Extract

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease a 9-inch round cake pan; Set aside.

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, cocoa, baking powder and soda, salt, and spices. Mix well to distribute all of the seasonings throughout the dry goods, and double-check that there are no clumps.

Separately, mix the coffee, maple syrup, molasses, pumpkin, sugar, oil, and ginger until smooth. Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl of dry, and stir with a wide spatula to bring the two together. Being careful not to over-mix, stir just until the batter is smooth and not a second longer. Transfer the batter into your prepared baking pan, smooth out the top, and pop it in the oven.

Bake for 35 – 40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean- Perhaps with a few moist crumbs sticking to it but certainly not wet. Let cool completely before preparing the icing.

In a medium saucepan, combine confectioner’s sugar, water, and agave. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until it reaches 100 degrees. It won’t look very different from when you began, but should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Turn off the heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Quickly pour the icing over the cake and smooth across the top and over the edges. It sets quickly so you want to work fast!

If time allows, this cake does get even better with age, so try to make it a day in advance for the flavor to really meld and sing. I don’t blame you if you can’t wait though; simply allow the glaze to set before slicing and serving, at least.

Makes 12 – 16 Servings

Printable Recipe

October 13, 2016October 13, 2016

Hannah (BitterSweet)16 Comments

Run, Run, as Fast as You Can…

…But you’ll never escape my ravenous sweet tooth, Mr. Gingerbread Man.

Fully embracing the temptations of excess, especially abundant in this celebratory season, all I want to make and eat is candy. Typically, just a bite or two of concentrated sweetness will do me, but reaching a sugar coma has seemed to be the end goal recently. At least, that’s how the revelry tends to end, with my poor throbbing head so much the worse for wear. Must the desire for a few extra comforting confections always carry such a terrible price tag? Turns out that raw nuts help quite a bit to satiate the inner sweet-toothed monster, and a handful of whole grains give even tiny morsels far greater staying power.

When Hodgson Mill originally sent a box of pro bono flours and baking mixes, I found myself stumped by the pre-measured mixtures. They’re simply not something I stock my pantry with or employ, so straight away, it was a curious puzzle: What can be made with cake mix, that isn’t cake? Perhaps it’s fudging the boundaries of definition a bit, but how about cake truffles?

With a half-empty jar of speculoos spread just begging to be finished off, the pairing was inevitable, and a delicious match indeed. Enrobed in dark chocolate, the tender cake centers have just enough spice and sweetness to disguise the whole wheat and flax within. Each bite yields nothing but candy bliss, without the sugar hangover afterward.

Better yet, these adorable treats can be dressed up as cake pops. Adorable hand-held gifts or party favors, not a single one of these gingerbread men will escape the mouths of delighted guests.

Naturally, you can just as well whip up a little over one pound of gingerbread cake from any recipe you desire, boxed or fully homemade. Just be mindful of the amount of sugar, because the frosting itself is quite sweet. In the end, though, it’s all good when it’s dipped in chocolate.

Speculoos Gingerbread Cake Truffles

Gingerbread Cake:

1 15-Ounce Package Hodgson Mills Whole Wheat Gingerbread Mix
1 1/2 Cups Plain Non-Dairy Milk
1/2 Tablespoon Whole Flaxseeds, Ground
2 Tablespoons Water
1/2 Teaspoon Apple Cider Vinegar
1/4 Cup Canola Oil

Speculoos Frosting:

3/4 Cup Speculoos Spread
1/4 Cup Non-Dairy Margarine, at Room Temperature
1 Cup Confectioner’s Sugar
1/2 – 1 Tablespoon Plain Non-Dairy Milk

Chocolate Coating:

12 Ounces (2 Cups) Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
2 Tablespoons Coconut Oil or 100% Cocoa Butter

Optional Additions and Garnishes:

Small Lollipop Sticks
Colored Nonpareil Sprinkles
Chocolate Jimmies*

*Before dipping the truffles, go through the bottle of sprinkles and pick out any that have a slight curve to them. The majority will be straight, but if you look closely enough, you will find plenty that are “smiling.” You may also want to apply your sprinkles with a pair of tweezers for the most precision.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease an 8 x 8 square pan.

In a large bowl, whisk all of the cake ingredients together until thoroughly combined, with no pockets of dry ingredients remaining. Bake for 28 – 32 minutes, until set around the edges and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake pulls out cleanly, without any slick of raw batter. Let cool completely before breaking up the cake and crumbling it into small, even pieces.

The frosting is equally effortless and speedy: Place the speculoos spread, margarine, and confectioner’s sugar in the bowl of your stand mixer, and start the machine on a low speed. Once the powder has been incorporated and is no longer at risk of flying out, turn up the speed to high, and slowly drizzle in the “milk,” until the frosting is smooth, homogenous, and a spreadable consistency.

Add a modest dollop into the bowl of cake crumbs and mix it all around. This is a messy job, as the best way to combine the two components is to get in there with your hands. Don’t be shy! It could be a fun job for the kids to help out with, too. Add in more frosting as needed, until the mixture just comes together when squeezed. You will likely have extra frosting, so don’t be tempted to add all of it, lest you want mushy truffles.

Dump the cake mixture out onto a silpat or piece of parchment paper, and flatten it out to about 1/2 – 3/4 inch in thickness. Use a small gingerbread man cookie cutter to cut out the shapes, pulling away the excess. Recombine the extra “dough”, flatten out once more, and cut more figures until the cake is all used up. Insert sticks now if using, and carefully move the silpat or parchment onto a baking sheet. Place the whole thing in the freezer on a flat surface, and let freeze for at least 3 hours, until solid.

To coat the truffles, combine the chocolate and coconut oil or cocoa butter in a microwave-safe dish, and heat for 60 seconds. Stir very well until the mixture is smooth. If there are still a few stubborn chips that refuse to melt, continue heating the coating at 30 second intervals, stirring thoroughly between each, until entirely lump-free.

Dip each truffle center, one at a time, into the melted chocolate. Use a fork to pull individual truffles out of the mixture and allow the excess coating to drip free. Be especially careful with any truffles on sticks, because they are particularly delicate. Move each piece back onto the silpat or piece of parchment paper, and quickly add sprinkles for the eyes and mouth before the coating solidifies. Repeat with the remaining truffles. Store in the fridge in an air-tight container.

Makes 30 – 40 Truffles

Printable Recipe

December 20, 2012

Hannah (BitterSweet)21 Comments

Winter Wonders

First impressions are of critical importance, or so it’s said when it comes to business and relationships. Subconsciously, we tend to place great significance on the beginnings of new experiences, taking every noteworthy detail as a sign. That’s why I knew that our trip to Germany, however brief, would be a good one even before we had exited the plane.

Gawking out the window as the ground grew rapidly closer, rushing upwards to meet the extended and waiting landing gear, I marveled at just how close the wilderness lay to the man-made monstrosity of the airport. Only a fence separated the two, the distance spanning less than a few steps otherwise. Thick layers of evergreen trees obscured much of the landscape beyond the tarmac, but there, right at the minuscule clearing between greenery and barbed wire fence, was the sight of something incredible. A family of deer and fawns, with one single white deer in the center of the pack.

I would have done a double take if we hadn’t hit the ground with a jolt that very second, rushing past the group at warp speed. I had heard of white squirrels, rare as they are, but never white deer. For such a common creature, this one looked incredibly majestic; magical, even. That was the convincing factor that a vacation was the right choice, that I was in the right place. Only more wonders could await. Serendipitously stumbling upon dainty little fawn cookie cutters at one of the Christmas markets that same day, I took that as my second sign. These cookies were meant to be.

And honestly, it just wouldn’t be the holidays without gingerbread! This particular formula is one that I’ve been making for years, a tried-and-true recipe that I originally made with gingerbread houses in mind. Thus, it makes for ultra-snappy, crisp, and sturdy cookies that retain their shape when baked, travel well, and make a solid foundation for edible buildings. A delicate and fragile shape like the fawns are impossible with almost any sort of standard dough, but this simple method hasn’t failed me yet. As an added bonus, there’s not even any chilling time to take into account. Though I wouldn’t recommend getting started on your holiday baking quite so late in the game, this does provide an excellent last-minute option.

Yield: Yield varies based on the cookie cutter

Gingerbread Cut-Out Cookies

For a tried-and-true gingerbread cookie that makes ultra-snappy, crisp, and sturdy cookies, look no further. They retain their shape when baked, travel well, and make a solid foundation for edible buildings. Chose your own adventure with either chai spiced or blonde ginger bread dough.

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Additional Time 1 day

Total Time 1 day 45 minutes

Ingredients

Chai Gingerbread Cookies:

3 Cups All Purpose Flour
2 Teaspoons Ground Ginger
1 1/2 Teaspoons Ground Cardamom
1 Teaspoons Ground Allspice
1 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
1/2 Teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
1/2 Teaspoon Ground Cloves
Pinch Ground Black Pepper
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1/4 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1/4 Cup Vegan Butter
1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar
1/2 Cup Molasses
1 Tablespoon Plain Non-Dairy Milk

Blondie Gingerbread Cookies:

3 Cups All Purpose Flour
2 1/2 – 3 Teaspoons Ground Ginger
1 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
1/2 Teaspoon Ground Allspice
1/4 Teaspoon Ground Cloves
Pinch Nutmeg
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1/4 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1/4 Cup Vegan Butter
1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar
1/2 Cup Light Corn Syrup*
1 Tablespoon Plain Non-Dairy Milk

Royal Icing:

2 Cups Confectioner’s Sugar
3 Tablespoons Cornstarch
1 Tablespoon Light Agave Nectar or Light Corn Syrup*
1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla (or Peppermint, or Almond, or Lemon…) Extract
Water, as Needed and Used Sparingly

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 300 degrees.
The procedure is the same for either flavor of cookie, and if you want to make both, simply repeat the steps for the separate doughs. In either a large metal bowl or a stand mixer, whisk together the flour, spices, baking soda, and salt. While you can certainly bring this dough together by hand, it will require some vigorous stirring, so I would advise bringing out the heavy artillery if you have it!
Meanwhile, combine the butter, sugar, and molasses or corn syrup in a small saucepan and heat gently. Cook the mixture and stir gently, just until the butter has melted and the sugar is completely dissolved. Pour the hot liquid into the bowl of dry ingredients, immediately followed by the non-dairy milk, and mix well. It will be very thick and somewhat difficult to mix, but give it all you’ve got and don’t waste time- It will become harder as it cools.
Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface, press it into a ball, and roll it out to about an 1/8th of an inch in thickness. Cut it into your desired shapes with cookie cutters and transfer the cookies over to a silicone baking mat or piece of parchment paper. Bake until the edges of your cookies are just barely browned; 13-20 minutes, depending on the size of your shapes. Let the cookies sit for a minute on the baking sheet before moving them over to a wire rack to cool.
For the royal icing, simply combine the confectioner’s sugar, cornstarch, agave, and vanilla in a medium bowl. Add in water, one teaspoon at a time, stirring thoroughly after each addition, until it reaches a pipe-able consistency. Be sure to take this process slowly, as just one drop too much liquid can make the icing runny. Allow a full 24 hours for the icing to completely harden.

Notes

*Be sure to hunt down corn syrup that has no high-fructose corn syrup added. You can substitute light agave if you’d prefer, but the dough will brown more as a result.

Recommended Products

Please note that some of the links above are affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you decide to make a purchase after clicking through the link. I have experience with all of these companies and I recommend them because they are helpful and useful, not because of the small commissions I make if you decide to buy something through my links.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 134Total Fat: 2gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 5mgSodium: 77mgCarbohydrates: 27gFiber: 1gSugar: 15gProtein: 2g

All nutritional information presented within this site are intended for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and any nutritional information on BitterSweetBlog.com should only be used as a general guideline. This information is provided as a courtesy and there is no guarantee that the information will be completely accurate. Even though I try to provide accurate nutritional information to the best of my ability, these figures should still be considered estimations.

December 23, 2011November 13, 2021

Hannah (BitterSweet)32 Comments

Friday, Black Friday

Lock the doors and hide the credit cards; it’s the scariest shopping day of the year! While more discount-savvy commercial hunters may relish the opportunity to forage and gather, scooping up the best sales around, I tremble in fear of the mere concept of waking up at 4 am in order to buy holiday gifts. Even for big ticket items reduced by hundreds of dollars, the pain and suffering simply can’t be worth the written price tag. Big price cuts bring big crowds, and I can’t help but flash back to the image of hapless gawkers being trampled half to death as soon as store doors crack open an inch. No, I’d be much happier safely holed up in the kitchen, cranking up the oven and making my own holiday gifts, as per usual.

Dark as coal but a much sweeter gift to receive, it seemed only fitting to make a black dessert for the occasion. Contrary to how it looks, however, it’s not a brownie, and doesn’t even taste a bit chocolaty. Though a generous scoop of black cocoa is employed to intensify that charcoal color, it doesn’t contribute significant flavor. Instead, this bar is all spice, all the time. Complex and delicately nuanced, this is a gingerbread built for the discerning palate looking for something just a bit different from the same old spice blend. Rounded out by rich molasses, these bars are fantastically dense and chewy, like the best blondies should be. Though I hesitate to call them blondies based on their appearance, that’s how they started life; A few tweaks that lead to bigger alterations, built upon a recipe in my Blondies and Brownies ebook.

Seeking out a slightly fancier presentation, you may have noticed that these bars were in fact cut as rounds. Fun, unique, and eye-catching, I do love the shape, but it creates quite a bit of blondie “waste” in the process. Not to worry, nothing is truly wasted here- Especially if those scraps are used to make…

Caramel-cinnamon ice cream with black gingerbread chunks? Not such a bad consolation prize for the baker, I’d say!

Being only the day after Thanksgiving, it may seem like I’m jumping the gun on holiday gifts here, but this season it’s non-stop holiday madness for me; Hannukah is less than a week away, already! Even if you’re planning ahead for Christmas, the good news is that once baked and sliced, these bars keep beautifully in the freezer for up to 3 months, wrapped in plastic and stored in an air-tight container. So bake your heart out, and leave your wallet at home! Black Friday can be a much tastier affair.

Yield: Makes 12 - 18 Bars

Black Gingerbread Bars

Dark as coal but much sweeter, they're not simple brownies either. Complex and delicately nuanced, this is a gingerbread built for the adventurous eater, looking for something just a bit different from the same old spice blend. Rounded out by rich molasses, these bars are fantastically dense and chewy, like the best blondies should be.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

Ingredients

2 1/2 Cups All Purpose Flour
1/2 Cup Black Cocoa Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1 Tablespoon Instant Coffee Powder
1 Tablespoon Finely Grated Fresh Ginger
1 Tablespoon Ground Ginger
2 Teaspoons Ground Cinnamon
1/2 Teaspoon Cloves
1/2 Teaspoon Nutmeg
1/4 Teaspoon Paprika
Pinch Ground Black Pepper
1 1/2 Cups Chopped Walnuts
1/3 Cup Brown Rice Syrup
1/3 Cup Molasses
1 Cup Granulated Sugar
1/2 Cup Canola Oil
1/2 Cup Apple Butter
1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract
1/2 Cup Finely Chopped Crystalized Ginger

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and lightly grease a 9 x 13-inch baking dish.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, coffee powder, and spices so that all the dry goods are well mixed. Add in the chopped chopped walnuts, and toss to coat with flour, so that the pieces don’t simply sink to the bottom of your bars.
Separately, mix together the rice syrup, molasses, sugar, oil, apple butter, and vanilla. Pour these wet ingredients into the bowl of dry, and stir just enough to bring everything together. A few errant lumps are just fine; Be sure not to over-mix. The resulting batter will be extremely thick and sticky, to the point of being difficult to mix- Don’t panic! Just make sure you get out any pockets of dry ingredients before proceeding.
Transfer the batter into your prepared pan, and use lightly moistened hands to press it down into one even layer until it reaches all of the corners and sides. Sprinkle the chopped crystalized ginger over the top, and press gently into the unbaked bars with your fingertips.
Bake for 28 – 35 minutes, or until no longer shiny on top, firm around the edges, and highly aromatic. Let cool completely before slicing either into squares, or cutting into rounds with a cookie cutter.

Caramel-Cinnamon Ice Cream with Black Gingerbread Chunks

Creamy cinnamon-scented ice cream is swirled with rich ribbons of gooey caramel and freckled with chunks of chewy gingerbread. It's worth making extra bars to serve this on top!

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Additional Time 5 hours

Total Time 5 hours 15 minutes

Ingredients

1 Cup Full-Fat Coconut Milk
2 Cups Vanilla Vegan Creamer
1 Cup Vegan Caramel Sauce
1 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
Pinch Salt
2 Tablespoons Cornstarch
2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
1 Heaping Cup Bite-Sized Black Gingerbread Cubes (See Recipe Above)

Instructions

This ice cream is really easy as can be; Combine the coconut milk and creamer in a medium sauce pan, along with the caramel, cinnamon, salt, and corn starch. Whisk vigorously to combine and beat out any lumps. Turn on the heat to medium, and whisk occasionally until it just comes up to a boil and has thickened significantly. Cool completely and add the vanilla.
Chill thoroughly before churning in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions, adding in the gingerbread chunks in the last 5 minutes of churning.
Transfer to an air-tight container, and freeze solidly for at least 4 hours before serving.