The only gingerbread recipe you need this Christmas (2024)

FAQs

What are the three types of gingerbread? ›

Some people believe the fairytale Hansel and Gretel was based on this tradition while other historians believe creating gingerbread houses was influenced by the story. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert are credited with popularizing the Christmas Tree and incorporating gingerbread into Christmas.

Taste is obvious: sweets made with dark brown sugar will have a slightly deeper flavor with those notes of caramel and toffee I mentioned. That's why I only use dark brown sugar when making gingerbread; but depending on the recipe, you may not even notice a difference.

The Gingerbread man is one of England's most frequently used Christmas decorations. Its creation is attributed to Queen Elizabeth !, who is thought to have served the gingerbread figurines to visiting dignitaries. Lebkuchen, the German gingerbread, is likely to be the oldest Christmas gingerbread cookie.

Gingerbread refers to a broad category of baked goods, typically flavored with ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon and sweetened with honey, sugar, or molasses.

Some gingerbread recipes require some time to soften after baking because they are initially firm. Gingerbread is made harder by molasses and honey, but it becomes softer when water is absorbed by the sugar.

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

Lebkuchen is traditional German gingerbread made with honey and a variety of spices (including ginger). The Bavarian city of Nuremberg has produced Lebkuchen for centuries, and in 1996 the city was made a protected designation of origin (PDO), meaning that Nuremberg Lebkuchen can only be produced within its borders.

Nuremberg was recognized as the "Gingerbread Capital of the World" when in the 1600s the guild started to employ master bakers and skilled workers to create complicated works of art from gingerbread. Medieval bakers used carved boards to create elaborate designs.

Golden Syrup

With its golden, amber color, it is lighter than molasses, though the two are similar in their thickness. Golden syrup also a liquid sweetener, so 1 cup of golden syrup can replace 1 cup of molasses. Golden syrup has a unique flavor, so it may alter the flavor of your recipe slightly.

What can I use if I don't have molasses? ›

Since it is crafted differently, Turbinado contains less moisture and features larger crystals than typical Brown Sugar. These qualities make it better for use in beverages, as a garnish or as a substitute for typical granulated sugar in your favorite recipes.

Originally, the term gingerbread referred to preserved ginger. It then referred to a confection made with honey and spices. Gingerbread is often used to translate the French term pain d'épices (literally “spice bread”) or the German term Lebkuchen or Pfefferkuchen (pepperbread, literally: pepper cake).

"The Gingerbread Girl" follows the story of Em, who after suffering a devastating loss, starts running. Soon Em runs from her husband and her home all the way to the airport. Looking for solace, Em's running takes her to the Florida Gulf where she settles into the loneliest stretch of Vermillion Key.

In Medieval England gingerbread meant preserved ginger. The hard cookies were a staple at Medieval fairs in England and on the continent. These became known as “gingerbread fairs” and the cookies called “fairings”.

The American version first appeared in the May 1875 issue of St. Nicholas Magazine. The story tells of a Gingerbread Man who runs away from the old woman who baked him. He is chased by several people and animals.

Originally, the term gingerbread referred to preserved ginger. It then referred to a confection made with honey and spices. Gingerbread is often used to translate the French term pain d'épices (literally “spice bread”) or the German term Lebkuchen or Pfefferkuchen (pepperbread, literally: pepper cake).

The general term of gingerbread is used to describe the broad category of baked goods which are flavoured with the spice blend of ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, cardamom, anise and molasses/honey.