It was always a tradition when I was growing up to make holiday cookies come this time of year. I used to love rolling out the sugar cookie and gingerbread dough with my mother, cutting the cookies into fun shapes and then decorating them. I wanted to continue that tradition with Kenya, but the thought of making cookies with tons of sugar didn’t seem like such a good idea (Kenya jumping off the walls at bed time never appeals to me), so we stuck with gingerbread. This recipe does have some sugar, but not a lot. It also contains molasses, which is full or iron, a bonus for kids. Kenya and I didn’t use any icing on these because, in my opinion, they don’t need it, but if you want to put a little piping on them, I included a simple icing recipe. This recipe makes dozens of cookies (more or less, depending on the size of the cookie cutters you use), so you’ll have plenty for friends and your family during the holidays.

Gingerbread Cutouts

3 1/2 Cups Flour
1/2 Tsp Salt
3/4 Tsp Baking Soda
2 Tsp Ground Ginger
1 Tsp Cinnamon
1/4 Tsp Nutmeg & Cloves
1/2 Cup Butter, room temperature
1 Large Egg
1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar, packed (light or dark will work)
2/3 Cup Unsulphered Molasses (to prevent molasses from sticking, first spray the cup with a non stick veggie spray)

Decorating Ideas

Raisins
Chocolate Chips
Red Hots
Sanding Sugar

1. Sift the dry ingredients into a bowl.
2. With a standing mixer using the paddle attachment OR by hand, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy.
3. Add the egg and molasses, beating until combined.
4. Gradually add the flour to the butter, beating until combined.
5. Divide the dough in half and form into 2 disks. Refrigerate in plastic wrap or parchment paper for 2 hours or overnight.
6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper or silpats.
7. On a lightly floured surface OR between 2 pieces of parchment paper, roll out one of the disks until it’s 1/4 thick all around.
8. Cut out cookies with different shapes (gingerbread men, stars, christmas tree, etc) and using a spatula transfer cookie to the baking sheet.
9. Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes.
10. Remove to a cooling rack. Decorate the cookies after they have cooled.

Icing

2 Cups Confectioners Sugar
2 Tbsp Butter
1/2 Tsp Vanilla
2-3 Tbsp Milk

1. Place ingredients in a bowl and whisk to combine.
2. Place in a ziplock bag and cut a tiny whole at one end to squeeze and draw with the icing.

We used these to make this recipe:

Silpat 11-5/8-by-16-1/2-Inch Nonstick Silicone Baking Mat

Some moms make their kids sugar cookies, some make them pound cakes. My mom made cheese wafers. I’m not talking about a tins worth, I’m literally talking pounds and pounds!). You would have thought she was starting her own cheese 
wafer business with the amount of cracker barrel cheese kept in our 
refrigerator. I remember standing by her salivating as she made them. 
Really they’re THAT good. She placed a perfect pecan on top of each one and added 
a touch of paprika for a little zip.
For my cheese wafers, I removed the zip and decided to roll and cut them into 
fun shapes for Halloween and Thanksgiving. I don’t know if any kid 
will accept cheese wafers instead of candy, but I know that if you 
offer these over those pre-packaged, oily goldfish snacks, they’ll not only beg for more but they’ll also avoid ingesting all those nasty preservatives, artificial flavors and dyes, too.


Kenya kept popping these in his mouth and crunching away so fast, I 
had to hide them from him. Now the only trouble is that I know where they are and I may eat the entire tin!

Cheese Wafers (Makes 3-4 dozen depending on the size of your cookie cutters)

1/2 Lb Sharp Cheddar Cheese or 1 Cup, grated
5 Tbsp Butter, cut into cubes
1 Cup Flour plus additional for sprinkling

1. Combine all the ingredients in a food processor and combine (dough may be a bit crumbly, but it will stick together).
2. Remove all the dough to a piece of parchment or waxed paper and shape into a thick flat circle. Cover with waxed paper and refrigerate for one hour or overnight.
3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
4. Open waxed paper and roll out dough on it into a 1/4 inch-thick piece.
5. Take small cookie cutters and cut out into shapes (you could also take an empty plastic medicine bottle to make circle shaped crackers. Just make sure you clean out the bottle thoroughly first.).
6. Place on a cookie sheet (preferably lined with a silpat or parchment paper) and bake for 12-15 minutes. Let cool on sheet for 2 minutes before removing.
7. Serve.

We used these to make this recipe:

Silpat 11-5/8-by-16-1/2-Inch Nonstick Silicone Baking Mat

Several years ago I went through a major “bar phase”. No, I wasn’t getting 
smashed all over town, I was consuming Luna, Lara and other similar types of 
protein bars at a rapid rate. It became such an obsession that two of my girlfriends and I actually set out to form our own bar company — just imagine getting to cook one of your 
favorite foods all day, every day. We had a name, a mission statement, and developed recipes for every flavor of bar under the sun and 
they were delicious (I think). But unlike the majority of bars on the market that 
are jam packed with additives and sugar, our goal was to make something 
completely organic, packed with protein, devoid of sugar, and full of flavor. The bigger goal was to do all this using as few ingredients per bar as 
possible. The bar business became a casualty of our busy lives, but I still produce them for my friends and family.

Which got me thinking. Breakfast can be a real challenge when you’re trying to get your 
entire family out the door and sending your little one to school with 
a healthy snack can be just as hard. This bar recipe is a treat that everyone 
(over the age on 1 and no history of nut allergies) in the family will love and since the recipe makes 16 bars and they stay fresh for weeks. Your set!

Protein Bars (Makes 16 Bars)

1 Cup Cashews, raw and unsalted
1 Cup Almonds, raw and unsalted
1/2 Cup Dried Cranberries
2 1/4 Cup Dates (about 20)
3/4 Cup Rolled Oats
1 Tbsp Vanilla
1 Tbsp Agave

1. Preheat oven to 170 degrees (or put your oven on it’s lowest setting and adjust the cooking time).
2. Place the nuts in a bowl and cover with COOL water and soak for 1 hour.
3. Cover the dates with HOT water and soak for 30 minutes. After soaking, drain off the water and pit the dates.
4. Place the oats in a food processor and grind to a powder. Place in a separate large bowl.
5. Drain the water off the nuts, place on a towel to remove excess water. Place the nuts in a food processor with the dried cranberries and pulse until nuts are in small pieces (the nuts will be uneven pieces which is fine. Just make sure they are all chopped.
6. Place the nuts in the bowl with the oats.
7. Place the dates, vanilla and agave in food processor and pulse until it makes a puree.
8. Place the date mixture with the oat mixture and thoroughly combine all the ingredients (mixture will be thick and sticky).
9. Place the date nut mixture on a silpat on a cookie sheet. Spread out using a spatula or even your hands.
10. Shape into a long log resembling a long rectangle. Make sure the rectangle is flat and even.
11. Bake for 5 hours or until the log is firm, but not hard (If the lowest setting on your oven is 200 degrees, cook for 4 hours).
12. Cool, cut into bars and wrap individually.

We used these to make this recipe:

Cuisinart DLC-2 Mini Prep Plus Food Processor