I did a little bit of shopping on Black Friday and came home with this adorable Minnie Baking Kit from Hallmark. Inside, it comes with a mini spatula, whisk, rolling pin, 2 cookie cutters, and goodies to help you if you’re gifting cookies to a friend. It also comes with a sugar cookie recipe card and a no-bake cookie recipe card. I really loved the set because I want to instill a love of baking within Addie at a young age, just like Aunt Gloria did with me. I have cried during years that cookie decorating didn’t happen before the Christmas Eve party because I truly love that family time so much. I feel so passionately about making cookies with family, and it’s my duty to do that with my sweet pea. The little Minnie Baking Kit from Hallmark is just perfect to start that love of baking, and while Addie can’t really use it now, you better believe I’ve handed her the whisk, spatula, and rolling pin to her so she can play with them.
These amazing gingerbread cookies are so delicious. They are semi-soft, which I absolutely love. I can’t stand super crisp gingerbread cookies, but I love the little Mexican pig “Marranitos” that my dad gets at the local Panaderia. This is a wonderful combination of the two, and I may have had a hard time trying not to eat them all when I made them. I promise you’ll love them when you make them! They’re perfect for Christmas and really fun to make.
- 6½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon allspice
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1¼ cups softened unsalted butter
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 3 drops ginger essential oil
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- ⅔ cup molasses
- In large bowl, sift together flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, allspice, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In an electric mixer with a paddle attachment, cream butter and brown sugar on medium speed until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, and add molasses, ginger essential oil, and vanilla. Beat until completely incorporated.
- Turn mixer to low and add flour mixture until combined. Dough should be soft and not crumbly or sticky. If the dough is sticky, add some flour until you get the right consistency. If the dough is crumbly, drizzle in small amounts of water while mixing the dough in the mixer until you get the right consistency.
- Divide the dough into 2, place each half on a large piece of plastic wrap, and make a disc about 2" thick. Wrap with plastic wrap. Chill dough for at least 2 hours.
- After chilled, roll out dough on lightly floured parchment paper.
- Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Line your baking sheets with parchment and cut your shapes using cookie cutters.
- Bake until the edges just start to brown, about 8 minutes. Be careful not to over-bake, or cookies will be dry.
- Cool cookies on wire racks for 30-40 minutes. If your cookies are too fragile, you can cool them completely on trays.
- Decorate your cookies with royal icing, candies, sprinkles, or whatever your heart desires!
Baking cookies is so very special to me because of the memories I hold with my Aunt and my cousin Monica. They’re memories I’ll treasure forever. Although it isn’t the same baking cookies without them, I love that I keep a little piece of them with me whenever I bake for the holidays. I can’t wait to share my love of baking with Addie where she can truly help me bake these amazing gingerbread cookies. For now though, we’ll play “baking” while she’s still young.
