Minimug Gingerbread Houses

Do you enjoy a hot drink with gingerbread or sugar cookies on the side during the holidays? What better way to enjoy them together, than with a cookie that perches on top of your mug? These little gingerbread houses are adorable and practical. You can even decorate them, although I did not have time. Here is the recipe I used for the gingerbread, and here for the sugar cookie dough (although you need to bake the sugar cookies long enough to NOT be soft anymore)

Pretty much all you have to do is cut out this pattern (I found it on another blog website-www.notmarth.org) out of the dough and cook it.

I melt sugar (just 1/2 cup sugar and a dab of butter) and glue the sides together but BEWARE! That method is very dangerous. Use icing if you aren't sure of your abilities! Have fun.

Oh and be sure to make the opening big enough for the mug you are using. For complete instructions see this website

Gingerbread for houses and cookies

Here is my favorite gingerbread recipe. I like it because it calls for margarine, which is significantly less expensive than butter, and when you are making a lot of dough for a large gingerbread house it's nice not to use the expensive ingredients. Try it out!

Ingredients

1/2 cup margarine or shortening
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1 egg yolk
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Directions

In a large bowl, cream together the margarine and sugar until smooth. Stir in molasses and egg yolk. Combine the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and nutmeg; blend into the molasses mixture until smooth. Cover, and chill for at least one hour.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters. Place cookies 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until firm. Remove from cookie sheets to cool on wire racks. Frost or decorate when cool.

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

I found this fun pumpkin whoopie pie recipe on Martha Stewart. They tasted pretty good, although unusual. Thy have pumpkin filling between chocolate cookie cakes. It was an interesting combination. I'm not in love with this recipe, but it was pretty good and a great Halloween dessert. I imagine they would also be good without the pumpkin part (that might make them taste better). I'll have to try that next time I make this recipe

Ingredients

For The Cookies
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch-process)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed dark-brown sugar
1 large egg
1 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For The Filling
4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup canned solid pack pumpkin
Pinch of cinnamon
Pinch of nutmeg

Directions

Prepare cookies: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl; set aside.

Place butter, shortening, and sugars into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on high speed until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add egg; mix until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in half the flour mixture, then the milk and vanilla. Mix in remaining flour mixture.

Drop about 2 teaspoons dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing 2 inches apart. Bake until cookies spring back when lightly touched, 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer baking sheets to wire racks and let cool 10 minutes. Remove cookies from baking sheets and transfer to wire racks using a spatula; let cool completely.

Prepare filling: In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip together cream cheese, butter, and confectioners' sugar on medium speed until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add pumpkin, cinnamon, and nutmeg; whip until smooth, scraping down the bowl as necessary.
Pipe or spoon about 2 teaspoons filling on the flat sides of half the cookies. Sandwich with remaining cookies, keeping the flat sides down.

Spaetzle (German Noodles)

My family is big on Germany. We have all been there, some more than once. One of our favorite German dishes is this flour and egg noodle. It is eaten plain or with herbs and cheese (no marinara sauce or anything like that). It is pretty simple but very tasty.

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup milk
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 pinch freshly ground white pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 gallon hot water
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Directions

Mix together flour, salt, white pepper, and nutmeg. Beat eggs well, and add alternately with the milk to the dry ingredients. Mix until smooth.

Press dough through spaetzle maker, or a large holed sieve or metal grater (I use a bag, cut the corner off it and pipe it through the opening. A pastry bag with a large round tip works even better. It does take a strong hand to force it through though.)

Drop a few at a time into simmering liquid. Cook 5 to 8 minutes. Drain well.

Saute cooked spaetzle in butter or margarine. Sprinkle chopped fresh parsley on top, and serve (parmesan cheese sprinkled on top is great too)

Candy Corn Sugar Cookies

This recipe I found on "our best bites" one of my favorite food blogs. It is really simple and the sugar cookie recipe is just fabulous! I think it would also be fun to do red and white and lay them flat then roll them up into a swirl to make Christmas cookies. Even if you just try the sugar cookie recipe part it is amazingly tasty. DON'T OVERCOOK!!

Ingredients

1 C real butter (no substitutions!)
1 C sugar
1 egg (make sure to use a large or extra large egg)
1 1/2 t almond extract (or other flavor of your choice, like vanilla)
3 C flour
1 1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
yellow and orange food coloring

Directions:

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy- about 2 minutes. Add in egg and extract and mix to incorporate.

In a separate bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt. A very important note: It’s important to correctly measure your flour or you will end up with a dry, crumbly dough. Never, ever use your measuring cup to scoop up the flour. Use a regular sized spoon and spoon the flour into the cup and then level it off with a knife.

Slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix until completely combined.

Divide prepared sugar cookie dough into three equal portions. Leave one as is and color one other portion yellow and another portion orange.

Line a standard loaf pan with plastic wrap. Gently press layer of uncolored dough into bottom of pan and smooth flat, keeping it at least 1/2-3/4 inches high (you don’t have to use the whole pan if you have a small batch of dough) or larger if desired. Layer orange dough on top of previous layer and smooth. Finally layer yellow dough and smooth on top. Wrap plastic over dough and chill until firm, 30-60 minutes in freezer or 1-2 hours in fridge. Or you can store the dough in fridge for 2-3 days before baking.

Remove plastic and slice loaf into 1/4 inch slices. Trim top of slice to make straight line. Cut each slice into triangle shape and dip top side in sugar if desired. Bake according to sugar cookie directions. Cool completely and then if desired, dip ends in almond bark or white chocolate and decorate with sprinkles.