At Christmastime, I bake gingersnaps. The Captain’s mother, the Admiral, always made gingersnaps for Christmas. It was my job to take up the flag, as it were, and carry on the tradition. I’m getting better, but they’re never as good as the Admiral’s. One thing she always did was to make a gingerbread man from the last bit of leftover dough. As I made the gingersnaps today, the last bit of dough looked to me like the shape of a deer’s head, so I cut out the rest of its shape. Then I still had enough to make a gingerbread man. This year my man has a broken leg so I gave the gingerbread man an aircast boot and two crutches. He looks a bit ghoulish but I’m sure he felt that way in his first days of hobbling around, so maybe it’s appropriate.
If you’re feeling inspired to make gingersnaps (and why wouldn’t you feel inspired after seeing these? – If I can do it, anyone can) the recipe follows:
Gingersnaps
Put in pot and let come to boil:
1 c. butter
1 c. molasses (I like fancy molasses but the other kinds work too.)
½ c. brown sugar
I let it boil for about a minute, stirring all the time. Remove from heat. Put in bowl. Be careful. The boiled syrup is VERY hot.
Add:
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ground ginger
3 – 3 ½ c. flour
*Candied ginger pieces can be added to the dough. Also grated fresh ginger root may be added.
Cool in fridge for a few hours or overnight. I divide the dough into four pieces and then cool it. Otherwise it becomes a challenge to roll out as one big piece. The dough will be quite hard but don’t give up when you roll it out. Slice or cut with cookie cutter.
No need to butter the cookie sheet as the dough is buttery enough.
Bake at 350* for 8 minutes.
The cookies freeze well so it’s easy to haul out a few when friends drop in.
December 8, 2016 at 12:59 am
Yum and fun! Thanks for sharing 🙂 H xx
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December 8, 2016 at 8:38 am
Wish I could send you one through the keyboard.
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December 8, 2016 at 1:56 am
ooh, i’ve never made these and i love the unique ones you made –
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December 8, 2016 at 8:37 am
I was only going to make the usual “man” with the leftover dough, but the scrap I rolled out had broken to make ears for the deer, so then I thought, “Why not experiment?” It was fun.
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December 8, 2016 at 2:27 am
I guess it’s time I started thinking about baking Christmas biscuits. My gingerbread dough is similar but has more spices in it. The biscuits are soft, not like snaps.
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December 8, 2016 at 8:35 am
Oh yes, that’s also very nice. I like the soft gingerbread. I may have to make some of that too. So delicious and Christmassy.
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December 8, 2016 at 2:55 pm
Makes the whole house smell wonderful !
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December 8, 2016 at 6:21 am
Lebkuchen – the season has arrived 🙂
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December 8, 2016 at 8:34 am
Yes! There’s something about the smell of ginger at Christmas….
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December 8, 2016 at 6:24 am
WOW..has the Admiral had a “gander” at these cookies?
Love the crutches and that smile:)
Save some please XX
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December 8, 2016 at 8:33 am
We have some put away for you. 😉
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December 8, 2016 at 7:06 am
They look and sound delicious. Nice flourish with the last two!
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December 8, 2016 at 8:33 am
Hah! The poor deer ended up with burnt feet and the gingerbread man on crutches should have had the crutches under his armpits, not at the end of his fingers. Oh well – artistic?licence.
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December 8, 2016 at 7:34 am
That’s a great tradition!
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December 8, 2016 at 8:31 am
A tasty one too.
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December 8, 2016 at 7:40 am
Ohhhhh, Gingerbread Men! What a delight. Those remind me of Christmas in my youth, when we had them at home. My mother loved them on black bread [the real “Schwarzbrot”], with plenty of butter.
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December 8, 2016 at 8:31 am
I would never have thought of putting them on bread (even on GOOD bread). Thanks for sharing this tidbit, Pit.
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December 8, 2016 at 9:40 am
It still seemes a strange custom to me, and I can’t remember if I really liked it. Well, maybe I liked it just as well as the plain Gingerbread men.
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December 8, 2016 at 8:56 am
Please save some for me (I am not good at baking. I love your clumsy gingerman with the long long arms!
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December 8, 2016 at 11:25 am
Better hurry. They don’t last long!
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December 8, 2016 at 9:49 am
These look wonderful and very delicious! It’s a baking day today, so I must add these to my list! I am inspired to try this recipe. I had to laugh at the gingerbread man with the “crutches”. 😀 I have to say that it did remind me of an ape-like creature! As far as the deer goes, I thought you meant to darken the hooves a little. 😀 Good job!
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December 8, 2016 at 11:26 am
LOL The crutches should have been under the arms. DUH! I forgot about that. Still will taste good.
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December 8, 2016 at 10:37 am
LOL Tell the Captain it’s a pretty good representation!!!
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December 8, 2016 at 11:27 am
HAHA! He wouldn’t like that!!
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December 8, 2016 at 11:13 am
Great recipe, need to give it a go!
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December 8, 2016 at 11:25 am
We love it. And it’s easy. Just don’t lick the wooden spoon when you’re stirring the syrup. It’s HOT!
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December 8, 2016 at 11:24 am
hahaha, I love your whimsical sense of humor! Very cute, both of them. And I love your MIL’s name, The Admiral! That’s great!
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December 8, 2016 at 11:27 am
Yes, she rules the fleet.
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December 8, 2016 at 11:30 am
I assumed so!
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December 8, 2016 at 2:12 pm
Ha, that was cute to make one in the shape of the Captain. Hope he’s recovering well. I’ve never made ginger snaps before. I’ll have to try these.
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