Holiday Treats - Making Gingerbread with the kids a 2nd time

Our last batch of gingerbread went fast. Like, really really fast. Come to find out, one of Richard's favorite cookies is gingerbread and he's been eating them quite a bit. I think we should make another batch!

We all got together as a family and decorated them this time. 

For this recipe I'm making a double batch. That'll give us something like 48 cookies, which will hopefully be enough. 

The dough recipe comes from Sally's Baking Addiction. The only hiccup was when I went to measure out the molasses. The jar certainly looked like it had enough for a double recipe, but when I weighed it out, I was about 100 grams out of 400 grams short. I quickly looked up substitutions and used 50 grams of honey and 50 more grams of brown sugar. One of Theresa's comments on the last batch was that one of the flavors was a little too strong. I have a feeling it was the molasses, so this should help cut down that bitter flavor. 

For the Royal Icing, once again I'm using Alton Brown's recipe, and I'm pasteurizing my own eggs. 

Mix it with powdered sugar and vanilla and you've got Royal Icing. 

After chilling overnight in the fridge, it's time to make cookies! Alli was a great helper. 

Alli know exactly what to do. She'll walk you through the whole thing!

One of these things is not like the other (hint: look for Mickey ears).

Ready to decorate kids? 

When we got started, Theresa came and joined us in decorating. 

I've got white, red, green, and a special peppermint pink icing that I'm trying out today. I suppose I should have real piping bags and tips, but these ziplock bags with snipped tips will have to work. And I could have made extra bags with different colors, but it's also fun to pause, ask for a color, and see what everyone else is working on. 

My first one, just something simple. 

There's Theresa working on a couple different gingerbreads at once. 

Today it's freeform whatever you like to do. Only one rule, no extra candy. 

Alli is using a toothpick to spread out patches of icing. I need to work on the consistency of the icing a little more. It's still a bit stiff and doesn't flow super well. 

I said I only made those few colors, but Alli has found a way to make more. Mixing green and red, she came up with a good approximation of black for her Minnie Mouse cookie. 

Theresa was staring at this one, wondering why I was making a bird, and what in the world I drew on it. 

Flipping it over... oh, it's a reindeer! That makes more sense. 

Theresa is off making some really adorable cookies. Good to see some gingerbread woman cookies too. Alli's face lit up and she gasped when mommy held them up. 

And while Theresa was making a pair, Alli was also making a pair. Santa and an elf! I love it!

Here's a special set of Minecraft cookies. The kids were pretty creative making their Wither Skeleton, Witch, Creeper, Skeleton, and Zombie. Theresa made the block gingerbread man in the middle. 

As it turned out, everyone decorated 1 tray of cookies each. Kids, you did an amazing job today. They look so good! 

Here's Ian's tray. He was especially proud of his Creeper. 

Alli's tray. She like her Minnie Mouse with the bow, the Santa and Elf, and the gingerbread girl she made with the bow. 

Getting a picture with just me and Theresa. 

Thanks to our budding photographer. She stood on a chair to get the picture above and it turned out perfect! 

Theresa's cookies look outstanding. Who cares if we don't have piping tips, she'll still make it look pretty. Her favorites are her gingerbread woman and gingerbread man pair. They do look cute. 

And a look at my tray. My favorites are the one decorated with Christmas lights, the Christmas Tree, and the Christmas sweater. 

With 48 cookies, that gives us a lot to eat! Having so many, we started thinking about giving some away to friends. The kids both drew pictures to go with the cookies we were giving away. 

And before you know it, we'd thought of a bunch of people that we'd want to give cookies to. In the end, there were only 12 cookies remaining of the 48 we'd made. Sorry Richard. 

Richard said it was the thought that counts, but I think we're probably going to be making gingerbread at least 1 more time before the holidays are over.