Golden Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies & My Winter Holiday

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Happy New Years everyone! I hope you had a very wonderful holiday season and found some time to bake some goodies too. For me, it seems I actually did most of my baking in October and November. All the usual holiday get togethers got the best of me plus we also made a short trip up to British Columbia’s premier ski resort, Whistler. So when it came time to present my now annual holiday baked gifts, I decided to stick with something “safe” since I was pressed for time. I chose these cookies because I’ve worked with these gingerbread cookies many times and they are so easy! They also taste festively delicious because I added a generous portion of ground ginger and just a dash of nutmeg to bring all the flavours forward. I baked them for 7 minutes so they finish snappy along the edges and soft inside, just the way I like it. No one wants to break their teeth on hard gingerbread cookies, especially me. My teeth are still a bit soft after 2 years on Invisalign but now I plan to take lots of holiday photos with a big bright smile 🙂

Although delicious, I would have never thought to make these as gifts since gingerbread seemed so unglamorous. Well that was until I laid eyes on Manuela Kjeilen’s Chocolate dipped version which is the inspiration behind the ones I have here for you today. I think these are so glam and will be perfect for gift giving. Really, you can’t go wrong when your baked goodies sparkle with GOLD!

The cookie itself is relatively easy to make but the chocolate application is a little trickier because we’re tempering a small amount of chocolate without a thermometer. However, once you master the technique, you’ll be thrilled to use it on other baked goodies. I learnt this technique from www.kitchn.com and I’ve adapted it for use on a small scale. I simplified it for my own use and it has worked great but please do read her detailed explanation as it is very informative and you may wish to follow her full instructions instead.

TIPS before you get started:

- - To avoid toxins and or pesticides, I recommend using organic lemons to acquire the zest.
  - Be precise in measuring 1/4 cup of molasses. Using too much will cause the dough to be overly moist and will require the addition of more flour. It’s okay to measure just a tad under.
  - After mixing all the dry and wet ingredients together, the dough should eventually achieve a consistency which you can handle with your hands. It might feel soft but you should chill it first to determine if you need more flour. Once chilled, it becomes firmer and easier to roll.
  - There’s a school of thought that cookie dough becomes more hydrated after chilling in the fridge overnight so you might want to chill it a little longer than the minimum 2 hours for a chewier and tastier cookie.
  - I prefer to use wooden chopsticks to handle gold foil. I find metal tweezer are more “attracted” to the foil and it’s harder to release from it.
  - The dough can be made in advance and kept in the fridge for up to one week. It can also be frozen for use later.

INGREDIENTS

♥ For the Cookies:
Makes 18 cookies

250 grams All Purpose Flour
3/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 nutmeg
40 grams unsalted butter
80 grams of dark brown sugar
one egg
1/4 cup molasses
1 teaspoon vanilla
Zest of one organic lemon

♥ For the Chocolate decoration:
140 grams of semi-sweet baking chocolate

Here’s the VIDEO TUTORIAL:

One more thing, I love to make a big batch of this dough and keep it in the freezer until I need it. This way, you’ll always have dough on hand to make holiday gifts for friends and family. Just take it out the night before, roll out the dough, cut and bake. So easy!

Lastly, here are some photos from my holiday season.

Xoxo Mimi

Walking into sunshine and snow capped mountains. Family trip to Canada’s ever popular ski resort, Whistler.

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We don’t receive that much snow or ice down in Vancouver (which is a 2 hours drive away) so we don’t get to see something as simple and beautiful as icicles hanging from the roof.

If you recall, Vancouver hosted the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Waking up to this view at the Pan Pacific Hotel

Picked up some treats with Jo at the Moberly Baker’s Market and also met two of my IG baking friends @madebymichelle and @monlovestobake for the first time. Michelle made these beautiful chocolate gems. The sesame one is my fave!

Delicious Green Apple Dessert at the French cafe-bistro, Au Comptoir, with Jo and our other IG friend, @foodieyvr101. We were all in agreement of feeling magically transported to Paris due to the restaurant’s ambiance and exquisite dishes.

Super fun gifts for food lovers! Porcelain Chambre Du Sucre Macaron Trinket boxes and Duo Lipgloss and Ice Cream Pens from Front & Co. on Main Street.

Impromptu Christmas Day meetup with my friends at BBT Shop for yummy Bubble Egg Waffles!

My Mother in Law showed me this very old ornament on her tree from the 1980’s. I thought it was pretty cool and retro. They don’t make it like ’em anymore 🙂 I usually don’t like any type of trinkets from the store. I really dislike dust and I am constantly wiping down everything in my home. Trinkets make clean up more difficult, therefore, trinkets are not my friend. However, seeing how cool this little guy from the past is, I might just want to get myself some cool ornaments like him so next year when I bring him out again he can put another smile on my face while I remember yet another beautiful year. With Love, Mimi