Gingerbread Kidtini Recipes

CHILDREN'S GINGERBREAD HOUSE

Steps:

• First cut out in thin cardboard: a side wall, 4 1/2 x 8 inches; an end wall, 4 1/2x5 inches; a triangular gable, 4 1/2x3x3 inches; and a roof rectangle, 4 1/2x9 inches. Tape the rectangular end wall piece to the triangular gable piece: match the long side of the triangle, 4 1/2 inches, to one of the 4 1/2 inch sides of the end wall.
• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in lemon zest, lemon juice, and molasses. Gradually beat in 2 eggs. Sift the flour, baking powder, and spices together; stir into creamed mixture. Wrap dough in parchment paper, and refrigerate for 1 hour.
• Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface. Divide into 6 portions, 2 slightly larger than the others. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the 4 smaller pieces to approximately the size of the side wall and the end wall with gable templates; cut out two of each. Roll out remaining dough, and cut into two rectangular roof pieces. Transfer gingerbread onto greased baking trays.
• In a preheated 375 degree F (190 degrees C) oven, bake gingerbread for 10 minutes, or until crisp. When removing from the oven, leave the gingerbread on the baking trays for a few minutes to set, then transfer to wire racks. Leave out overnight to harden.
• In a large bowl, lightly whisk 2 egg whites. Gradually beat in approximately 5 cups confectioners' sugar. The icing should be smooth and stand in firm peaks. Spread or pipe a 9 inch line of icing onto a cake board, and press in one of the side walls so that it sticks firmly and stands upright. If necessary, spread or pipe a little extra icing along either side to help support it. Take an end wall and ice both the side edges. Spread or pipe a line of icing on the board at a right angle to the first wall, and press the end wall into position. Repeat this process with the other two walls until they are all in position. Leave the walls to harden together for at least two hours before putting on the roof. Spread or pipe a thick layer of icing on top of all the walls, and fix the roof pieces in position; the roof should overlap the walls to make the eaves. Pipe or spread a little icing along the crest of the roof to hold the two pieces firmly together. Leave overnight to set firmly.
• When ready to decorate, make the remaining icing. In a large bowl, lightly whisk 4 egg whites, and mix in remaining confectioners' sugar as before. Use this to make snow on the roof, and to stick various candies for decoration. Finish with a fine dusting of sifted confectioners' sugar.

GINGERBREAD MARTINI

Steps:

• Combine the Irish cream liqueur, vodka, coffee liqueur, Gingerbread Syrup and ice cream in a cocktail shaker. Add ice and shake well. Pour into four chilled martini glasses. Top each with a generous dollop of whipped cream and a sprinkling of gingerbread cookie crumbs.
• Add the sugar, water, cloves, cinnamon and ginger to a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Lower the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature before using, about 20 minutes. Cover and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.

ULTIMATE EASY GINGERBREAD

Steps:

• Heat the butter, syrup and sugar together in a small pan until melted, stirring occasionally. Set aside to cool slightly.
• Mix together the bicarb, ginger, cinnamon and flour in a large bowl. Pour in the buttery syrup mixture and stir to combine, then use your hands to bring together to form a dough. The dough will be soft at this point, but it'll firm up in the fridge.
• Put the dough on a sheet of baking parchment, shape into a rectangle, and lay another sheet of parchment on top of it. Roll the dough out to a thickness of ½cm. Transfer to a baking sheet to keep it flat, leaving the parchment in place, then chill in the fridge for 1 hr.
• Heat the oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5 and line a large baking sheet with more baking parchment. Remove the dough from the fridge and cut out shapes using a cookie cutter. We used 9cm stars, but you can choose any shape. We also made some with smaller stars cut out of the centre to thread ribbon through and hang from a Christmas tree.
• Place the shapes, spread apart, on the lined baking sheet, and bake for 10-12 mins. (Depending on the size of the cutters you use, they might need a few minutes more or less cooking in the oven). Leave to cool completely on the baking sheet.
• Meanwhile, mix the icing sugar with 1-2 tbsp water - you want to create a consistency that's thick and pipeable, and not too thin or it will run. Decorate the cooled biscuits with the icing using a piping bag with a thin nozzle. Find out how to make a piping bag.

GINGERBREAD MARTINI

Steps:

• Combine Irish cream liqueur, milk, coffee-flavored liqueur, vodka, and gingerbread flavored syrup in a cocktail mixer. Fill with ice, cover, and shake vigorously until combined. Strain into a chilled martini glass.

GINGERBREAD BELLINI

Steps:

• Put 4 Champagne flutes in the fridge for 15 mins. When you're ready to serve, mix together the lemon juice, ginger cordial and hazelnut liqueur in a small jug. Take the Champagne flutes out of the fridge, pour in the mixture, then top up each glass with Prosecco.
• Roll the icing into 4 small balls, then gently press them onto the rims to help you secure the mini gingerbread men. Serve immediately.

GINGERBREAD KIDS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add egg; mix well. Beat in molasses, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, baking soda, and salt. On low speed, add flour a cup at a time, mixing until incorporated.
• Divide dough into quarters; shape into disks, and wrap into plastic. Refrigerate until firm, about 3 hours.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees with racks in top and bottom third. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out a dough disk to 1/8 inch thick. Cut out cookies, rolling out any scraps and additional disks as needed until you have about 20 kids. Transferto parchment-paper-lined baking sheets, leaving 1 inch between cookies. With remaining dough, cut out additional kids to make clothes, jewelry, and hair as desired. Dress cookies, and refrigerate 20 minutes.
• Bake cookies, two sheets at a time, 7 minutes; rotate pans top to bottom and front to back, and continue baking until cookies are firm when touched, about 6 to 8 minutes more. Let cool on baking sheets 5 minutes. Transfer to wire racks; let cool completely. Decorate cookies as desired.

GINGERBREAD MARTINI

Steps:

• Mix first five ingredients in shaker with ice.
• Shake very well.
• Pour into a chilled martini glass that has been rimmed with graham cracker crumbs. ( I poured a little Bailey's in a saucer, dipped the rims, then dipped them into the graham cracker crumbs.I actually crushed them myself so they were not SO powdery).
• Top with whipped cream and a Pepperidge Farm gingerbread cookie -- awesome!