Christmas Baking: Gingerbread Cake with Cinnamon Frosting & Chewy Chocolate Candy Cane Cookies

I didn't get to do as much Christmas baking as I'd planned, being away for most of the time. But what I did bake, people seemed to really like, which is always good, especially since I tried something new this year. I usually make Snickerdoodles every year but we didn't have the right sugar so I opted out.








Gingerbread Cake

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 cup molasses
• 2 eggs
• 2½ cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground ginger (I didn't have ginger so I used 1/2 tsp of cloves and nutmeg)
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1 cup hot water

Grease a 9-inch square pan and pre-heat oven to 350°F. In medium bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, and stir in the molasses. In a separate bowl, sift the remaining dry ingredients; add alternately with water to molasses mixture in 3 additions, stirring after each addition. Bake in prepared pan about 50 minutes or until tester inserted in center comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before frosting.

Cinnamon Frosting

• 2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1 8oz package cream cheese
• 1 1/2 sticks of butter
• 2 Tbsp cinnamon
• 2 tsp heavy cream

I'm just guessing on the amounts, I never write them down for frosting. I just add more butter and more sugar and more cream until the taste and consistency is what I want.
Cream butter and cream cheese. Slowly add confectioners' sugar and cinnamon. Mix until well blended. Add heavy cream and beat until frosting is fluffy and of spreading consistency.

Chewy Chocolate Candy Cane Cookies (from ohmyveggies)

• 1 c. all-purpose flour
• 1/3 c. unsweetened cocoa
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 c. sugar
• 1/3 c. butter, softened
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 c. mini chocolate chips (I used dark chocolate)
• 1/2 c. crushed peppermint pieces (about 6 candy canes)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl and whisk until combined and any lumps are broken up. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar together using a mixer on high speed. Add vanilla and egg and beat until combined. Set mixer to low speed and slowly add flour mixture. Beat until just combined and fold in chocolate chips and peppermint pieces.
Drop tablespoons of batter two inches apart onto a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake for 12 minutes or until set. (Don't overbake or the cookies won't be chewy!) Cook on baking sheets for 5 minutes, then finish cooling on wire racks.

Pfeffernüsse

These are definitely one of my favorite Christmas cookies and I remember as a kid my dad used to say the word a lot for no reason, just because it’s fun to say and it always stuck in my head. Hence why it’s the name for this blog. So that is why I picked these to make for our “gift giving exchange” between friends, this Christmas. I also wanted to do something traditionally German since my family is of mostly German ancestry. This particular recipe is a little different from the one my family used to use, but until I can find that one, this one’s the closest I’ve found.

Pfeffernüsse

• 1 cup +2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• pinch of ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• pinch of ground cloves
• pinch ground cardamom
• 1/4 teaspoon ground all spice
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1/4 cup softened butter
• 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons black treacle (or molasses)
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar

Pre-heat oven to 350F
In a bowl combine the flour, baking soda and all the spices, set aside. In another larger bowl beat the sugar, butter and treacle together with an electric whisk until smooth. Add the eggs, lemon zest and vanilla extract and beat again.
Then fold the flour/spice mixture into the wet mix until completely combined.
Line a baking sheet with parchment.

Form the cookie dough into little balls (if they’re too big they’ll spread out too much) and place 2 inches apart (I used a melon baller since I couldn’t find my mini ice cream scoop, so a lot of mine spread out a lot. They still taste fine, they just don’t look as pretty.)

Bake for about 10 minutes at 350F (you will need to do this in a few batches).
Let cool on rack for at least 10 minutes and then dip each cookie in a bowl of powdered sugar until completely coated.

Peppermint Bark

Part of what I made for our Christmas gift and/or baked goods-exchange between friends. I made this, homemade marshmallows (some chocolate covered, some plain, and some peppermint), and homemade hot cocoa mix. I quadrupled the recipe so I had a lot of bark.

(recipe courtesy of Baked By Rachel)

Snickerdoodles

Ever since I was little, we always made snickerdoodles for Christmas and only then. I don’t believe they’re actually traditionally just a Christmas cookie, but that was the only time we ever made them. I remember helping my dad make the batter, then forming an assembly line with him for rolling them in the sugars (not just cinnamon sugar, but red and green colors for Christmas too), and of course eating half the cookie dough. It’s definitely one of my favorite childhood memories. As I got older, I realized not everyone only ate them during Christmas. My friends always wanted me to make them all times of the year, and I obliged but somehow felt bad about it, like I was betraying a family tradition, and so I never wanted to eat them. I still made them this Christmas though, and they were just as good as I remember. They just taste better during the holidays.

Snickerdoodles

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

(for rolling)

• about 2 tablespoons sugar
• about 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

*also I like rolling some in colored sugar, green and red for Christmas! (just take a couple drops of liquid food coloring and mix it in some sugar with a fork until it’s not lumpy and the colors are vibrant)

In a mixing bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add about half of the flour, the 1 cup sugar, the egg, vanilla, baking soda, and cream of tartar. Beat until thoroughly combined. Beat in remaining flour. Shape into 1-inch balls and roll in cinnamon-sugar mixture. Place about 2 inches apart on a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 375* F for 10-11 minutes or until edges are golden.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Another thing on the list of foods I had never tried was red velvet cake. (Well I had some once and didn’t like it at all, but I figured the reason I didn’t like it was because it was from the grocery store, so I never really counted that as trying it.) So while my friend was over, we decided we’d make some red velvet cupcakes. I received The Complete Magnolia Bakery Cookbook as a gift for my birthday in November, and had used it a few times before this (the best and only actually noteworthy I’ve made from it was Apple Pecan Quick Bread) and it had a recipe for red velvet cake, so I figured I’d try it out.
This was sadly one of the worst cakes I’ve ever made, due to it being too dry. All of the cake recipes I’ve made from this cookbook have been really dry. I think they purposely leave out ingredients in their cake recipes or something since that’s what the bakery is known for. I’m still not counting this as having tried red velvet cake, because I doubt this is what it was supposed to taste like. So here’s the recipe anyway, but if you want to make red velvet cake, I wouldn’t make this particular recipe:

Christmas Red Velvet Cupcakes (from The Complete Magnolia Bakery Cookbook)
Red Velvet Cake

• 3 1/2 cups cake flour
• 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
• 2 1/4 cups sugar
• 3 large eggs, at room temperature
• 6 tbsp red food coloring*
• 3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
• 1 1/2 tsp cider vinegar
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line cupcake pan with papers. In a small bowl sift the flour and set aside. In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs beating well after each addition. In another small bowl, whisk together the red food coloring cocoa, and vanilla. (Basically just try to make a very red paste mixture. If your batter looks more pink than red after you add the cocoa-food coloring mixture to the rest of the wet ingredients, just keep adding more food coloring until it looks as red as you want it to be.) Add to the batter and beat very well, remembering to scrape down the sides of the bowl. In a measuring cup, stir the salt into the buttermilk. Add to the batter in three parts, alternating with the flour. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated but do not overmix. In a small bowl, stir together the cider vinegar and baking soda. Add to the batter and mix well. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter into the bowl making sure the ingredients are well blended and the batter is smooth. Spoon the batter into the cupcake papers, about 3/4 full. Bake about 20 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the cake comes out clean. Let cool and then frost cupcakes with cream cheese icing. Makes just over 2 dozen cupcakes.

Whipped Cream Cheese Icing

• 1lb (2 8oz packages) cream cheese, softened and cut into small pieces
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened and cut into small pieces
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 5 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar

In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add the vanilla and beat well. Gradually add the powdered sugar, alternating with the heavy cream. Then beat well for about 4-5 minutes until icing has a “whipped” texture and everything is incorporated. If need be, thicken in fridge for a couple hours, but no longer, before using.

Eggnog Cupcakes

Eggnog Cupcakes

• 1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 large eggs at room temperature
• 1 cup eggnog
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Yields about 2 dozen cupcakes, give or take a few.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tins with cupcake papers. In a small bowl combine the flours and spices, set aside. In a large bowl on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the dry ingredients in three parts, alternating with the eggnog and vanilla. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated but do not overmix. Scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula to make sure the ingredients are well blended. Carefully spoon the ingredients into cupcake liners, filling them 3/4 full. Bake 20-25 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool the cupcakes completely before icing.

White Chocolate Eggnog Buttercream (adapted from The Complete Magnolia Bakery Cookbook)

• 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter
• 8 tablespoons eggnog
• 12 ounces white chocolate, melted and cooled slightly over a double-boiler
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon heavy cream
• 5 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons - 1 tablespoon nutmeg*

In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat the butter until creamy. Add the eggnog and beat until smooth. Add the melted white chocolate and beat well, about 2 minutes. Add the vanilla and heavy cream. Gradually add the sugar on low speed, alternating with the nutmeg until creamy and of desired consistency.

*how much you add depends on how much you want the nutmeg flavor to come through (though I find the white chocolate flavor tends to overpower it anyway, and I just add it because I like the color/specks).