Gingerbread Men

We are headed to quite a few Christmas parties where we need to bring a plate of goodies.  I baked about 14 dozen Gingerbread Men yesterday and the house smelled delicious!  Later that evening Duncan gave me a hug and exclaimed over the lovely scent of gingerbread I seemed to be wearing... at least it's a nice smell!

What is your favorite thing to take to holiday parties?

GINGERBREAD MEN

2/3 cup shortening
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cloves
2 tsp ginger
pinch salt
3/4 cup molasses
1 egg
3 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda

Cream together first 6 ingredients. Add egg & mix. Add molasses & mix again.

Mix flour, baking powder & baking soda in a separate bowl. Add to the creamed mixture and stir until well blended. Chill 1 hour or more.

roll ti 1/8" thickness and cut out shapes. Bake 9 minutes @ 375.

Wordless Wednesday - Double Feature

I realize I already posted a WW picture today... but I got this Pampered Chef pan for $.50 at a rummage sale and {had} to make banana bread today.... my house smells amazing.

Pizza Rolls

Even though I grew up with homemade bread, I never really mastered the art of making it myself. Partly because I never really liked it - which had a lot to do with the fact that it was usually a bit dry from being baked and then frozen - and mostly because I just got sick of it.

My family laughs at me because of my history with home-made bread: for the duration of 3rd & 4th grade, unless I could trade with another kid at school, I would toss my sandwich under a tree every day - and let me tell you; that tree was very healthy from all the PB&J!

I've outgrown my need to toss a home-made PB&J sandwich under a tree, but I've also learned that home-made bread tastes good to my palate under certain circumstances - FRESH OUT OF THE OVEN! Nothing like spreading butter on a nice, hot piece of freshly baked bread. Duncan loves home-made bread and has often requested that I make it. I have done so on a few occasions, but mostly just to make cinnamon rolls.

A friend of mine makes her own bread and gives us a loaf here and there - spoiling us with it's tasty deliciousness. So, tonight I decided to make some dough from scratch so I could make some tasty Pizza Rolls. I didn't really let my dough rise enough before rolling out, so they are a bit small, but they were the perfect size for my kids - so, that works. I also didn't have artichoke hearts on hand, so I used pepperoni and cheese - leaving some parts with just cheese for my girls.

Rising

Baked

Cupcake Cuties

Those that know me well know that I don't do messes. Whether it's glitter or crumbs; it is pretty easy to drive me bonkers - especially working at a preschool and having so many 'birthday celebrations' where we end up with cupcake crumbs all over the classroom.

People have been known to ask me if I struggle with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. And while there is no complete diagnosis, I don't doubt that I have some tendencies - just ask my family. So, I was thrilled to find a recipe that gives me some hope for keeping my OCD self under control while still enabling my family to have a little bit of tasty goodness on occasion.

I made these cupcakes today - using the additional ingredients that were suggested to make them more moist and less crumb-prone. I would say they were a hit - all 3 munchkins gobbled them up and there were no more than 5 crumbs on the floor - where previously there would have been many.

So, I call them my un-crummy cupcakes... dual meaning fully intended because they are so yummy and less crummy.