Gingerbread Cookies

Finally! I have been waiting all year to make these little guys. However, making these lead me to discover Scott's hatred for gingerbread people... Really, a hatred for molasses in general... Um, WHAT. How can you dislike gingerbread cookies? Are you crazy! And molasses? I can eat that right out of the jar. Which probably isn't good (or normal), but really, not like gingerbread cookies? I could hardly believe it, so I made him eat one (you know the ones I slaved over making that day and was jumping with joy to eat) and the disgusted look on his face is imprinted in my brain for life. I probably (definitely) am being dramatic, but that just shows how much I love gingerbread anything. So for you similar cookies lovers out there, this one is for you! This is my first Christmas being vegan so it has been fun trying to veganize most of my holiday favorites. These cookies are vegan and gluten free, but if you are not sensitive to gluten, you can use all purpose flour instead of the two gluten free ones used in this recipe.

Ingredients
1/2 cup molasses
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup cold water
2 tablespoons vegan butter
1 1/2 cups all purpose GF flour blend I use Bob's Red Mill brand
1/2 cup + 1/3 cup oat flour
1/4 teaspoon xantham gum
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ginger

Icing
1 cup powder sugar
2-3 tablespoons almond milk unsweetened

Stir molasses, brown sugar, water, and vegan butter together. Add in the xantham gum, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and flours. Mix well and wrap dough in plastic wrap. Refrigerate dough for 2 hours, or overnight.

Pre heat oven to 350 F. Roll out the dough to 1/4 inch thickness on a floured work surface. Cut out cookies with cookie cutter shapes of your choice, place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet, and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from sheet and let fully cool before frosting. For the frosting, simply mix the ingredients listed, and either dip the face of the cookies in the bowl and let the extra frosting drip off before setting aside, or spread on with a spoon or knife. Keep in an airtight container. Should last a week before going stale (if they last that long!).

Pumpkin Gingerbread

Pumpkin season is now in full force! It is officially fall, and cooling down (a little). There are pumpkin patches sprouting up everywhere, and you can't help but crave pumpkin spice coffee or a warm slice of pumpkin bread (at least if you are me). Ah yes, bread. As of recent, I have been noticing the negative reaction gluten has been having on my body. So here's to a new challenge - going gluten free! Or at least mostly. Maybe I will give in to the occasional stomach ache when the temptation is too much, but otherwise I am going forth with new experiments in baking without gluten. This pumpkin gingerbread is the first of many gluten free baked goods to come, and it only took 2 tries to finalize the recipe! I'd say that is encouraging enough for me to keep trying. Oh, and did I mention it tastes amazing and I would have never guessed it was gluten free? Oh yes. This one is a keeper.

Ingredients
1 1/4 cup oat flour (I blended Trader's Joe's GF rolled oats in my food processor)
1/2 cup almond meal
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder 
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 heaping teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 heaping teaspoon ground ginger
1 heaping teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup organic brown sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup apple sauce, unsweetened
1 box of pumpkin puree (about 17 ounces)
If using canned pumpkin, use one 15 ounce can plus 1/3 cup of water

Preheat your oven to 375 F. Mix all the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl, and whisk the wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Combine the wet and dry, mixing well. Greece your loaf pan with a little bit of coconut oil, transfer batter to pan, and bake for 1 hour - 1 hour and 15 minutes. Check with a toothpick or knife in center to make sure it is done. Mine took the full hour and 15 minutes to bake. Remove from pan immediately when done, and let cool on the counter. Store in an airtight container or wrapped in plastic wrap, and enjoy your amazing smelling house and a warm slice of pumpkin gingerbread with you afternoon cup'o'coffee.