Recipe
A couple of weeks ago the Junior League kicked off the season with a holiday leadership social, complete with mashed potato bar, bacon wrapped pretzel sticks, and asparagus filled phyllo pockets. But the best part? The sweets room.
All of the members of the exec team baked up a batch of their favorite Christmas goodies- and shared the recipes. Wedding cookies, crack rock {you know it- the magical creation that occurs when saltines are covered in butter and sugar}, peanut butter bars, snickerdoodles, peppermint bark, and more.
I’ve never been a huge gingerbread cookie fan- I love the intense zing of gingerbread snaps but don’t care for how hard they are; I love the appearance and holiday festiveness of cutout gingerbread cookies, but they tend to be lacking in flavor.
But since I’m an equal-opportunist sweets taster, I decided to try one of the gingerbread cookies. Based on my past experiences, I don’t think gingerbread was the right word- they were tangy and bursting with sharp ginger flavor, with a slight bite on the outside, and a chewy, divine center. Little bit of candied ginger popped up every few bites, taking the generic ginger cookie to a whole new level.
So while I had every intention of coming home and making endless batches of saltine cookies, I somehow ended up with the gingerbread cookie recipe in front of me instead.
I never leave well enough alone, so of course I had to make the recipe my own. I upped the whole grain content, veganized it, and pumped up the ginger flavor. The end result? Amazing. Crunchy, sugary outside; soft, chewy inside.
Because cookies {like all baked goods really} taste exponentially better fresh out of the oven, I baked half of the dough and left the rest in the refrigerator so I could have another fresh batch as soon as the first ran out.
Let’s just say that didn’t take too long.
The secret ingredient that donates a intense richness to these cookies? Sesame oil. The balance of spicy ginger and toasted sesame oil make for a combination you can’t stop eating.
Serve these cookies to Santa and he won’t be in any hurry to leave. 
Ginger Cookies
-
1/2
cup
non-dairy butter
room temperature
-
1/2
cup
granulated sugar
-
1/2
cup
brown sugar
-
1
Tbsp
sesame oil
-
1
Tbsp
chia seeds + 3 Tbsp water
-
1/4
cup
molasses
-
1
cup
all purpose flour
-
1
cup
whole wheat flour
-
2
tsp
baking soda
-
1/2
tsp
ground cloves
-
1
tsp
cinnamon
-
1
tsp
ground ginger
-
1/2
tsp
salt
-
3 1/2
ounces
candied ginger
chopped {optional}
-
Combine chia and water; let sit for ~5 minutes. {You can also use flax.}
-
Cream together butter and sugars. Add oil, molasses and chia mixture.
-
In a separate bowl, combine remaining ingredients, except candied ginger.
-
Slowly add flour mixture to butter & sugar, mixing just until combined.
-
If using, gently stir in candied ginger chunks.
-
Dough will be slightly crumbly. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour.
-
Once chilled, roll dough into 1 inch balls.
-
Roll in granulated sugar, then place on cookie sheet 2 inches apart.
-
Bake 10 minutes at 375.
What’s your favorite holiday cookie?
LookBack
Ummm, what happened to Saturday? All the things I planned to get done…still not done.
Here’s what happened this week:
The husband and I dressed up as Juno & Paulie for Halloween. Original? No. Warm & comfortable? Yes.
I made more pancakes. But with dark chocolate and coffee. Really, you can’t get better than dark chocolate for breakfast.
I royally screwed up a recipe that resulted in… a delicious recipe. This citrus pecan loaf is now going to be my go-to gingerbread recipe for the holiday season. Not too gingerbread-y; a little citrus-y; a lot yummy.
I also gave away a Seventh Generation prize pack that included dishwashing soap, a Le Creuset baking dish, and Twist natural cleaning supplies. Skip to the bottom for the winner.
tiny stuff
Our little half pint isn’t so little anymore. We’ve passed the 2 pound mark and are enjoying the last week in the second trimester.
We also talked about poop a lot got a private lesson in cloth diapering, which was fun.
And I gave you my take on cloth diapering 101.
Other People’s Stuff
Cheaper Than Therapy wrote probably my favorite post ever: the top 10 differences between bloggers and journalists
I wish I had one of these Eat, Live, Run Apple Dumplings. Like right now.
This is a great article about barefoot/minimalist running. Just because you lose the shoes doesn’t mean your running form magically improves.
And now drumroll please…
The winner of the 7th Generation prize pack is…
Julianne!
Congrats! Please email your mailing address so you can get your prize!
Happy weekend 
Recipe
When you frequently experiment with recipes, especially baking recipes, you’re bound to stumble across a disaster or two. I’ve certainly had my fair share.
But every once in awhile, that disaster isn’t really a disaster- it’s just something else entirely. Like this gingerbread:
Let me back up. I received this gift pack from Seventh Generation and the encouragement to come up with a dish that incorporates the flavors from the products’ ingredients.
I loved the Fresh Citrus & Ginger scent and it seemed appropriate for the season, so I figured I’d go with that. In addition to citrus and ginger it has cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Perfect!
I was in the mood for something baked {when am I not?} and a quick bread sounded like the perfect solution. In my head I was envisioning those orange cranberry muffin mixes I always see at the grocery store. I decided I was going to make a citrus spiced pecan version. Ha.
So I played around with some recipes and ingredients, and finally came up with my recipe. Time to give it a try!
I started with one of my banana bread recipes, took out the banana, and swapped in apple sauce, orange juice, and a heap of spices: cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger. Since the dish soap flavor I was channeling was citrus & ginger, I really wanted the ginger to stand out, so I used fresh grated ginger in addition to the powdered kind to give it a little kick.
Into the oven it went; out it came.
I don’t know why I was startled to see it was brown instead of white like the muffin mixes- I used whole wheat flour after all.
Then I sliced into it and helped myself to a still warm from the oven helping. I could smell the aroma of fall spices drifting out of the bread as soon as I cut into it. It reminded me of something…
As soon as I took a bite, I knew what it reminded me of: gingerbread.
And then it hit me: I’d just made gingerbread. Why I didn’t put two and two together before that moment, I have no idea. Let’s blame it on pregnancy brain.
So this bread is nowhere near what I thought I was trying to make in my head, but I sure did end up with a darn good gingerbread- nice and light, and perfect for a snack in this chilly pre-holiday weather.
I guess the moral of the story is not every disaster is really a disaster; it just depends on your perspective.
by with a Side of Sneakers
- 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ginger
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp cloves
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 Tbsp fresh grated ginger
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 cup almond milk
- 1 tsp vinegar
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 1/2 cup applesauce
- 1/4 cup chopped pecans
- orange zest
Add vinegar to almond milk. Stir & set aside.
Mix dry ingredients.
Stir in almond milk, orange juice, and applesauce.
Stir in pecans and orange zest.
Spread into loaf pan. Top with extra orange zest if desired.
Bake at 350 degrees for ~40 minutes. Tester should come out clean.
Let cool slightly before removing from pan.
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Or double up the recipe and make a loaf-cake!
The Le Creuset pan makes it easy, and clean up’s a breeze with the Seventh Generation dish soap!
The best part of this whole thing? You now have a chance to win the same gift pack I received and I promise- you want it.
It’s four full sized bottles of Seventh Generation liquid dish soap in a variety of scents, including their Free & Clear scent free version, along with some natural cleaning supplies: Twist loofah sponges & scour pads, and colorful organic dish towels. There’s also a 3 quart Le Creuset baking dish. Yes, you read that right- Le Creuset can be yours. 
You can also enter their “Nature Makes Perfect Scents” contest to win a trip to Italy, France, or Vermont, where Seventh Generation gets their essential oils.
For a chance to win the prize pack pictured above, answer one of these two questions in the comments:
- Which of the Seventh Generation natural dish liquid varieties are you most interested in trying?
- Which essential oil sourcing site would you be most excited to visit, if you were to win the “Nature Makes Perfect Scents” sweepstakes?
For bonus entries, you can:
Please leave a separate comment for each entry method. You have until Friday at midnight!
Disclosure: The Seventh Generation Natural Dish Liquid prize pack, product and information have been provided by Seventh Generation through MyBlogSpark.
P.S. Don’t miss my 27 week update: pregnancy by the numbers.
