Forget Gingerbread Men — This Year Make One of These Astounding Gingerbread Recipes (2024)

FAQs

Why are my gingerbread biscuits hard? ›

Keep in mind that the longer the cookies bake, the harder and crunchier they'll be. For soft gingerbread cookies, follow my suggested bake times. Allow cookies to cool for 5 minutes on the cookie sheet. Transfer to cooling rack to cool completely.

Legend traces gingerbread men back to Queen Elizabeth I, who supposedly had her cooks mold the pastry into the shapes of her favorite courtiers and liked to give VIP guests ginger "biscuits" that were edible caricatures.

Another key difference from modern-day gingerbread is that the medieval variety is made with honey and breadcrumbs. These were mixed with saffron and pepper to form a stiff paste which was formed into a square, sprinkled with cinnamon and decorated with box leaves secured with cloves.

Gingerbread is made harder by molasses and honey, but it becomes softer when water is absorbed by the sugar. Can I use this recipe for making gingerbread houses? No, these cookies are too soft to make a stable gingerbread house. Instead, use the recipe on my post about how to make a gingerbread house.

An excessive amount of butter makes it where the flour is unable to absorb the combined fat, which causes the cookie to spread too widely and the sugar to carbonize more easily because it's surrounded by too buttery a dough.

A 1:4 ratio of butter to flour makes the gingerbread strong. Corn syrup keeps freshly baked gingerbread pliable and soft, so it's easy to cut while warm.

According to Rhonda Massingham Hart's Making Gingerbread Houses, the first known recipe for gingerbread came from Greece in 2400 BC.

Research has also shown that it may improve dental hygiene, reduce cholesterol and lower blood pressure. Similarly, nutmeg – another common ingredient in gingerbread – is associated with reduced inflammation and may benefit heart health.

A fear that gingerbread men could be the agents of the devil also spread throughout Europe. In 1607, the superstitious magistrates of Delft in the Netherlands made it illegal to either bake or eat any of these molded and spiced cookies. This was also a time of religious upheaval.

What is the dark history of gingerbread? ›

​Superstitions about gingerbread flourished in the 17th century. Witches supposedly made gingerbread figures, ate them, and thereby caused the death of their enemies. Dutch magistrates went so far as to declare baking or eating molded cookies illegal.

The Gingerbread Man (also known as The Gingerbread Boy) is a fairy tale about a gingerbread man's misadventures while fleeing from various people that culminates in the titular character being eaten by a fox. "The Gingerbread Boy" first appeared in print in the May 1875, issue of St.

Haugh's Kindergarten students worked like scientists to predict what would happen if the Gingerbread Man did get wet, then conducted an experiment and reached conclusions based on their results. They learned that cookies get soggy in water and fall apart!

The deep, caramel-like sweetness of molasses pairs perfectly with the warm spices of ginger, cinnamon, and cloves, creating the iconic flavor profile of these classic treats. The choice of molasses over other sweeteners adds a depth and complexity that elevates gingerbread to a cherished holiday tradition.

Doubling up on molasses softened the cookies significantly.

Molasses is also extremely dark in color, so this batch of cookies turned out to be a deep brown. While most of the batches came out hard and crunchy, this cookie was bendable toward the middle. It had slightly crunchy edges but was mostly soft.

Be sure to mix the dough just until it comes together and avoid kneading or overworking the dough. Overbaking: Biscuits can become dry and hard if they are overbaked. Follow the baking instructions on the store-bought mix and be sure to check the biscuits a few min.

If your biscuits are too tough…

Biscuit dough is moist and sticky, so much so that it may seem too wet after you've added all your flour. If you do think this about your dough, fight the urge to add more dry ingredients — dough that isn't wet enough will bake into a hard, dry biscuit.

My nana used to make it without a recipe. If the dough seemed too hard and didn't go into a tidy ball (her words) before refrigerating for 15 mins she'd add a little bit more golden syrup and a teeny bit of butter or a dash of milk.