The only gingerbread recipe you need this Christmas (2024)

FAQs

What are the three types of gingerbread? ›

In the late 17th century, gingerbread became associated with Christmas. Russian bakers prepared gingerbread men and women, usually as replicas of those people attending parties. Gingerbread houses were introduced about 200 years later, when the Grimm brothers wrote Hansel and Gretel. A new holiday tradition was born.

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.

​Superstitions about gingerbread flourished in the 17th century. Witches supposedly made gingerbread figures, ate them, and thereby caused the death of their enemies. Dutch magistrates went so far as to declare baking or eating molded cookies illegal.

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.

Food historians trace the origins of gingerbread back to the ancient Egyptians, who used it for ceremonial purposes. The ancient Greeks followed suit with the first known recipe for gingerbread around 2400 B.C.

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.

Choose unsulfured molasses when possible, since sulfur dioxide can leave an unpleasant, chemical-like aftertaste, according to Smith. “Unsulfured molasses is derived from processed mature sugar cane,” she said. “It's rich in flavor with a smoky depth.

Can you use maple syrup instead of molasses in gingerbread cookies? ›

“It gives all the 'baking holiday cookies with grandma' vibes.” In a pinch, you can substitute maple syrup for light molasses, which may also be listed as “sweet,” “first,” “mild,” or “Barbados” molasses. The light variety might be your best bet for a chewier gingerbread, according to Melanie Bourdon, a chef and baker.

A fear that gingerbread men could be the agents of the devil also spread throughout Europe. In 1607, the superstitious magistrates of Delft in the Netherlands made it illegal to either bake or eat any of these molded and spiced cookies. This was also a time of religious upheaval.

How did gingerbread come to be associated with Christmas? In the Fourth Century A.D. there was an effort to convert pagans to Christianity. Gingerbread was an important part of pagan religious ceremonies which took place in the month of December.

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.