Y’all. It is crazy outside today – so cold, so blustery. It is incredibly appropriate for “at home” week on the blog because I truly do not want to be anywhere other than my home right now. Maybe getting aggressively festive with some Jingle Bell Chai and a gingerbread cookie.
(Note 1: I still have to go to work and have play rehearsal so I will not achieve that goal.)
(Note 2: When I say “it’s cold”, I mean that it is -18 and feels like -29. For those Americans or Fahrenheit fans, that’s basic -0.5, feels like -20. That’s definitely weather where the air hurts your face!)
Speaking of cookies… today’s post is about the old classic Christmas tradition – baking! The rest of the year, I get mild baking enthusiasms but there’s just something about getting together with people you like and baking together when it’s cold out.
And this year, for the first time, Rylee got to join us for the baking!
She was an extremely big help figuring out where to put the cookie cutters to cut out the sugar cookies. (Also… can we talk about how giant that ball of sugar cookie dough was!? We didn’t even end up being able to bake all of it, we had to freeze some.)
Darci included in the dough ball picture for perspective, haha. (And, yes, Rylee is rummaging around in the pantry there… she is very little, as is her attention span.)
We also made one of our classic recipes – Toblerone Shortbread. And, though I could share that recipe, I think it might need to stay our little secret…
… Plus, in honour of Rylee, I need to share the recipe for the little beauties that you can just peep at the back of this picture of (a third of) our cookie haul. These were her absolute favourite. In fact, she ate her entire stash so quickly that Darci had to make more! Rylee calls them “snowman cookies” (because she’s two…), but they are:
The BEST Easy Soft Gingerbread Cookies
I’m 90% sure that I found the original source of this recipe: Love From the Oven. (The reason I say 90% is because the website says the recipe is from 2020 but we didn’t bake together in 2020 for obvious reasons so… where did we get it from? Are we time travelers?)
Anyway, I digress. If you love gingerbread cookies, especially ones that are like delicious pillows, these are the cookies for you.
And now, for real, Gingerbread Cookie Recipe:
Ingredients
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup molasses
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp ginger
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- First, mix together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, approximately 2-3 minutes with an electric mixer.
- Next, add egg and molasses and mix well.
- In a separate bowl combine flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and ginger, stirring to combine.
- Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until well combined.
- Form or scoop balls of dough that are slightly smaller than a golf ball. Place them on a baking sheet approximately 2” to 3” apart to allow room for cookies to spread.
- Finally, bake for 10-12 minutes, remove from oven and allow cookies to cool on baking for approximately ten minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.
I have to be honest – I was really shocked that these were Rylee’s favourite cookies! I truly thought she would go for the sugar cookies, but this little girl has got a refined palate! So tell me below, what is your favourite type of baking? (It can be holiday or not. I don’t judge!)