Ho! Ho! Ho! It’s Christmas week! My out of town family has arrived and the grandchildren are happily getting re-acquainted and making mess after joyful mess.
One of the food wonders of the holiday season, especially for children has to be the Gingerbread House. I confess, I have never made an authentic gingerbread house with patterns and all that because… well, because I’m lazy! I’m all about the easy and convenient whenever and wherever possible.
When my kids were little we made faux gingerbread houses out of graham cracker squares glued together with copious amounts of royal icing and decorated with gobs of candy. I saw such joy and pride reflected in their eyes when we were finished. To them they were masterpieces of architecture and well deserving of favorable comparison against the most magnificent of dwellings created by any master baker! What mattered least was perfection and most was the memories made and cherished throughout the years.
Maybe one day I’ll tackle the fancy gingerbread houses depicted on the covers of glossy magazines but somehow I doubt it. More than likely when the grandchildren are old enough I’ll buy boxes of graham crackers and bags of candies, mix bowls of sugary icing and make more messy memories with the little ones I love but right now I’m content with baking these Gingerbread Mini Loaves and picking up toys with an indulgent smile.
So, tell us…
Have you tried this recipe? Have you made something similar? Do you like a particular photo? Does a step seem unclear? Comment below, we’d love to hear from you!
Gingerbread Mini Loaves
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour 5 mini loaf pans (or use baking spray) Place on baking sheet and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, salt, ground cinnamon and ground ginger. Set this bowl aside.
- Using a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the molasses, brown sugar and ginger root. Stirring constantly cook one additional minute then remove from heat.
- Whisk in the milk then the eggs. Add the flour mixture to the pan and combine until no flour is visible and the batter is smooth.
- Divide evenly into the pans and bake 20-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted near the middle comes out clean. Your oven may vary. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and place the pans on a wire rack for a minimum of 15 minutes prior to removal. Allow to completely cool before glazing.
- In a small bowl whisk the glaze ingredients together until smooth. Pipe designs on top of the cooled loaves with pastry bag or spread with a spoon. Allow the glaze to set firmly before serving or wrapping for freshness.
