Uno, fine wine, great company, wood heat, candles, sledding, and amazing foods were the highlight of my Christmas day. Late afternoon we snacked on pate, nuts, Vermont cheeses, and French olives. Then, after twilight sledding and cards in front of the wood stove, we enjoyed a large batch of Spanish paella with chorizo and vegetables. Lots of smiles and memorable laughs were had!
Thank you for your wonderful emails. The cookie marathon will continue until January 31st. Please remember that I have a helpful search link on my website chefcontos.com where you can type in key words or recipe names. You will find this very helpful.
Gingerbread men are the norm but I decided to mix it up a bit. Included were moose and bear gingerbread. After all, this is Vermont. I decided not to make a gingerbread house but I made a little gingerbread family. This recipe is the best I have ever used, and let me tell you, I have been making gingerbread houses and cookies for 20 years. The dough is friendly and very easy to work with. You don't have to chill the dough, just mix and roll.
Gingerbread
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup dark molasses
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon soda
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger or 1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger root
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup water
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cream butter and sugar together in a large bowl with electric mixer. Add molasses and mix well. Add rest of ingredients and mix until well incorporated, 1-2 minutes.
3. Form dough into a ball and roll out with extra flour as needed. Using cookie cutters, cut out your cookies and place on a silpat lined baking sheet. Bake cookies for 8-12 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool 1-2 minutes then transfer to a wire rack.
4. Decorate as desired. Personally I just dust with powdered sugar.
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