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The winter holidays are practically synonymous with gingerbread, whether it’s spicy-sweet cookie people, ginger snaps or moist, molasses-rich cake. So much so that the McCormick spice company estimates that more than 3 million ounces of ground ginger — enough to make 450 million gingerbread men — are sold over the holidays each year.
So they’ve followed up their pumpkin-pie spice success with a gingerbread spice blend. Whether you go with their red-capped jar or DIY it — 2 tablespoons each of ground ginger, cinnamon and allspice, and 1 tablespoon of ground nutmeg — they’re sharing recipes, too, with everything from gingerbread lattes and slow-cooker oatmeal to gingerbread men pancakes. (The batter is poured into cookie cutters on the griddle, and the results are adorable.)
More of a biscotti fan? They have a gingerbread version of that, as well, that marries that signature molasses-ginger flavor with the crispness — and coffee dunkability — of classic biscotti. And like any good biscotti, they’re double baked: Form the dough into two logs and bake them for half an hour. Cool slightly, then use a serrated knife to slice the biscotti on the bias and bake them again.
Gingerbread Biscotti
Makes 18
Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1 cup old-fashioned oats
¾ cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon gingerbread spice
2 eggs
¼ cup molasses
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ cup coarsely chopped pecans
Directions:
- Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a baking sheet.
- In a medium bowl, mix the flour, oats, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and gingerbread spice until well blended.
- Using an electric mixer, beat the eggs, molasses and vanilla on low speed until well blended. Gradually add flour mixture, beating just until blended. Stir in pecans.
- On a lightly floured work surface, divide dough in half. Roll each half into a log, about 12 inches long and 2 inches wide. Transfer logs to the greased baking sheet.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown and firm to the touch. Cool logs on wire rack 10 minutes.
- Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees. Transfer logs to a cutting board and using a sharp serrated knife, cut logs diagonally into ½-inch thick slices. Place slices, cut sides down, in a single layer on one or more baking sheets.
- Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until crisp and golden, turning biscotti over halfway through cook time. Remove biscotti to wire racks; cool completely. Store in airtight container up to 1 week.
— Courtesy McCormick.com
