Gingerbread Men

Today, Daniel and I went over to my friend and neighbor Julie's house to decorate Gingerbread Men for Santa.  Normally, I am not a huge fan of gingerbread, but a friend of mine gave me this recipe for chewy cookies so I thought I would give it a try.  The results were great, a nice soft, chewy gingerbread cookie!  We decorated with candy pieces and cream cheese frosting!  I am sure Santa will be very happy when he visits this year!

Gingerbread Man Cookies Recipe

3 1/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter (room temperature, softened)

1/2 cup dark-brown sugar, packed

1 Tbsp ground ginger

1 Tbsp ground cinnamon

Aubrey decorating her cookie

1/2 teaspoons ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon finely ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 large egg

1/2 cup unsulfured molasses

Daniel decorating his cookie

Optional raisins, chocolate chips, candy pieces, frosting

1)  In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, and spices. Set aside.

2)  In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter. Add sugar and beat until fluffy. Mix in eggs and molasses. Gradually add the flour mixture; combine on low speed. (You may need to work it with your hands to incorporate the last bit of flour.) Divide dough in thirds; wrap each third in plastic. Chill for at least 1 hour or overnight. Before rolling out, let sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes. If after refrigerating the dough feels too soft to roll-out, work in a little more flour.

Daniel's cookie for Santa

3)  Heat oven to 350°. Place a dough third on a large piece of lightly floured parchment paper or wax paper. Using a rolling pin, roll dough 1/8 inch thick. Refrigerate again for 5-10 minutes to make it easier to cut out the cookies. Use either a cookie cutter or place a stencil over the dough and use a knife to cut into desired shapes. Press raisins, chocolate chips, or candy pieces in the center of each cookie if desired for "buttons".

4 Transfer to ungreased baking sheets. Bake until crisp but not darkened, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from oven. Let sit a few minutes and then use a metal spatula to transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Decorate as desired.

Makes 16 5-inch long cookies.

ProFlowers Tealicious Product Review

Disclaimer: I was not paid to review this product.  I received a free sample product from ProFlowers to review.  These are my own honest opinions of this product.


I love tea.  Just about as much as I love Starbucks.  When I was teaching it was rare to see me without my cup of tea nearby.  During the winter I would say I drink between 5 and 10 cups a day, usually black, mint, or herbal teas. I picked up my tea habit while living in France.  Like the British, the French tend to have afternoon tea around 5 pm every day.  In my opinion, there is nothing more relaxing than settling down with a cup of tea and a knitting project or a good book after Daniel is in bed.  I find there is no better way to entertain friends than with a good cup of tea, some scones, and good conversation.   Imagine my delight when I found myself presented with the opportunity to review one of ProFlower's gift baskets and it happened to be the one with tea!


This wonderful gift basket is called Tealicious.  It arrives in an adorable box fitted with a bow.  The box contains 16 bags of Ahmad London Tea : Ten English Afternoon tea, one bag of  Mango Black tea, two bags of Lemon and Lime Black tea, two bags of  Apple Black tea, and one bag of Peach and Passion Black tea.  In addition, the box includes five Orange Blossom Honey sticks, a 2 oz. box of Jack Allen Key Lime Thimble Cookies and a cute little tea caddy in the shape of a teapot!

The tea is of high quality and very flavorful, especially when sweetened with the honey.  The cookies are also quite yummy and have less than 10 ingredients, which fits within my food rules, however they do contain margarine instead of butter, which goes against my food rules.  It would make me feel better if they were made with a more natural ingredient, namely butter.  That being said, the rest of the ingredients are from whole foods and the cookies do make a very nice accompaniment to the tea.  

I believe the Tealicious gift basket to be an excellent gift for the tea lover in your life.  It would also make a really lovely gift for Teacher Appreciation, Mother's Day, or just to say Thank You!   ProFlowers has a large selection of different baskets from which to choose.  If you are interested in this basket or other gift ideas, please visit ProFlowers' website and have a look around! 


Until next time, happy and HEALTHY cooking and EATING!

Camp Huston Sugar Cookies with Auntie Teri

I have a massive weakness for cookies. My favorites are chocolate chip, but I also happen to love these very simple sugar cookies that my aunt makes. I have the philosophy that you can eat with you want as long as it is in moderation and you make it yourself from whole ingredients. These cookies are perfect! Simple and Delicious.

Camp Huston Sugar Cookies

• 1 1/2 cups very cold butter
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 5 cups all purpose flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• more sugar for sprinkling on top of cookies if desired

Cream the butter and the sugar together, mixing well for about 10 minutes, until mixture is really creamy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition to make sure eggs are well incorporated. Add the vanilla and beat until well combined. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt and mix until just combined - do not over mix! Scoop dough out and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Place in the refrigerator 4-12 hours or until you have a stiff dough.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and allow to rest at room temperature about 30 minutes. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease one or more cookie sheets and set aside. Roll out your dough on a floured surface to 1/4 - 1/2 inch thick. Cut dough with any cookie cutter shape you like. Place cookies 1 inch apart on the cookie sheets. Sprinkle the tops of the cookies with sugar. These can also be frosted, so if you are going to frost them omit the sugar on the tops of the cookies.

Bake in the oven for 8-9 minutes, or until the cookies are lightly browned but still soft.

Until next time, happy and HEALTHY cooking and EATING!