As a mother to a baby this time of year, I find myself thinking about family traditions and what kind of traditions I want to establish with my family. One of those traditions I would like to start is making gingerbread houses. Growing up I have made a few, but it wasn’t something that we did annually.
Disclaimer: If you purchase something from a link provided in this post, I may earn a small commission from your purchase. Headquarters by Ship appreciates and thanks you for all your support!
As a young child, we spent Christmas with my dad’s side of the family in California, and I always enjoyed when we’d go to my Aunt and Uncle’s house for a family get together. Aunt, DD, always had the best looking gingerbread houses; I loved checking them out year after year.
This year, since Greta is too little to participate in the kitchen with me (although she did participate in taste-testing), I decided it would be best to find a good recipe to use next year! Looking through recipes and pictures online, I thought it would be best to find a recipe that doesn’t spread when you bake them. I found this recipe from The Kitchen Paper and gave it a go! I stuck with making regular old gingerbread men instead of a house this year to save a little bit of time in the kitchen.
When I went to the store to get the ingredients I didn’t have (molasses and dark brown sugar), I had my first experience with a child screaming and fussing down the aisles, and ended up forgetting what I came for (but at least I got the diapers I needed)! I guess that’s what I get for taking her to the store during her nap time.
Make sure you get unsulfured molasses because it is healthier for you.
After I got home and realized I forgot the molasses and dark brown sugar, I decided I would just test out the recipe anyway, and use some substitutions. I googled substitutes for molasses and found out I could use honey, or maple syrup. I decided to go with half and half of both! I did have light brown sugar, so I just used that instead of dark. Despite having to make some substitutions, the gingerbread men turned out pretty tasty! They were a bit lighter than traditional gingerbread, however.
I loved how the ginger-spice smell filled up the house as these cookies were baking in the oven! I’m already looking forward to making a house next year…
Dress: Boden (Similar Here on Sale) | Apron: Anthropologie
Here is the royal icing recipe that I used to decorate the cookies. I cut the recipe in half, and still had a lot of icing leftover, so if you only make one batch of cookies, you might want to try making a smaller batch of the icing.
Find Gingerbread Essentials Here:
What are your favorite traditions during this time of year? Any tips on putting together a killer gingerbread house? Comment and let me know!
Also, subscribe to Headquarters by Ship so you can get all my holiday inspiration and other delicious recipes straight to your inbox.
Recent Comments