Gingerbread Village

I think gingerbread is one of those Christmas treats you either love it or leave it. It may sound weird to some of you, but this year it was the first time I tried the American style gingerbread.You see, I grew up with a gingerbread that I adored. I would have never thought of trying another recipe. Obviously, I was wrong. This year I made American gingerbread.

The Romanian gingerbread, is sweeter, the only spices added to it are cinnamon and ginger and molasses is no where to be mentioned. It's usually shaped into squares, about 1 1/2 inch wide, and about 1 inch thick. When cooled it's glazed, making it even more irresistible. The American style, that's a whole different cookie. I don't find it sweet at all, or at least the recipe I tried now. I think I'd prefer to add just some ground ginger and cloves to it. I found the combination of ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves and pepper a little bit too overwhelming.

Of course, to like or dislike a cookie is a matter of personal taste.This gingerbread may not have made it to my top 5 cookies list, but don't be discouraged.If you like gingerbread you're definitely gonna love this one. You're wondering why am I saying this. Well, hubby was willing to give me $50 so I don't sell these cookies in order for him to enjoy all season long.At the bake sale a person came 3 times to buy some gingerbread. Told me they are so good she can't have enough.At the end of the day it got me thinking if there was something wrong with my taste buds. Still thinking about that.

Gingerbreadrecipe from Martha Stewart 
Ingredients 6 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 cup dark-brown sugar, packed
4 teaspoons ground ginger
4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ground clove
1 teaspoon finely ground black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 large eggs
1 cup unsulfured molassesDirections In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside.In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Mix in spices and salt, then eggs and molasses. Add flour mixture; combine on low speed. Divide dough in thirds; wrap in plastic. Chill for at least 1 hour. Heat oven to 350 degrees. On a floured work surface, roll dough 1/8 inch thick. Cut into desired shapes. Transfer to ungreased baking sheets (i used silkpats for my baking sheets); refrigerate until firm, 15 minutes. Bake until crisp but not darkened, 8 to 10 minutes. Let cookies cool on wire racks, then decorate as desired. *the recipe says it yields 16 big gingerbread treats. I followed the recipe entirely and had 51 cookies. I guess my cutters weren't that big.
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