When you have a hankering for something sweet, something seasonal, and something you can spice up, it can only be that time of the year: gingerbread baking season!
You don’t need an excuse to bake anything, but if you were looking for one, it’s the holiday season! It’s the ideal time to break out your kitchen scale, rolling pin, and cookie cutters. If you have helpers at home, rally the gang, roll up your sleeves, and get everyone cooking.
We’ve rounded up five gingerbread recipes to satisfy your sweet tooth and celebrate the holiday baking season. Whether you’re partial to eating or decorating cookies, prefer to eat cake, or fancy yourself a baked-goods engineer, this gingerbread recipe roundup covers all the bases.
Gingerbread Cookies that Won’t Spread
What’s the point of using a cookie cutter to make perfectly formed gingerbread people if they flatten out when you bake them? This recipe for gingerbread cookies that won’t spread when you bake them has a wild card: omitting baking powder!
You’ll still need a cookie cutter or steady hand to cut out your shapes, but this recipe is designed to save you the disappointment of having to ice holiday gingerbread blobs instead of gingerbread people.
Air-fried Gingerbread Donuts
Donuts from scratch are almost too much temptation to bear. But air-fried donuts from scratch are a temptation you can absolutely give into.
If you’ve ever stopped yourself at just one donut over holiday breakfast or brunch, you can abandon that restraint when you air fry a batch of these gingerbread donuts that are fried with—you guessed it—air and not oil! Wow your family and yourself when you use your range’s Air Fry setting to create these holiday baked goods that will keep you on the Nice List.
You’ll want a silicone or nonstock donut pan to get that donut shape, and a big glass of milk (or mug of coffee) are perfect accompaniments to these gingerbread treats.
Gluten-Free Gingerbread Cake
A great gluten-free recipe isn’t obviously gluten free! And this gluten-free gingerbread cake is so rich and tender, and so spiced and sweet, that your loved ones will be none the wiser. Best of all, you can even make it one bowl.
The author calls this one a “dump-’em-in one after the other recipe,” and it is indeed a simple-to-make recipe with ingredients you put in a bowl, mix, and spread into a pan. Because the batter of this gingerbread cake is so sticky, you’ll want to use a wet spatula to spread it.
Though the recipe calls for an 8-inch square pan, because this gluten-free gingerbread cake is so dense, you can bake in a 9-inch square pan for a thinner cake and shorter bake time.
Gingerbread House Recipe—Plus a Building Template
Planning to make gingerbread houses and finding it much harder than anticipated can be disastrous. It’s hopefully a fun enough disappointment, but all the same, no one sets out to build a wobbly pile of gingerbread walls.
This recipe for a gingerbread house includes a template for your components and a recipe for the royal icing you’ll need to decorate your cookie house. Note: The author of this recipe suggests making the dough and letting it rest for almost an entire day before baking it, so if you want to follow this recipe, plan for two days’ worth of gingerbread house construction.
Follow the gingerbread house recipe for building tips, and if you’re well enough prepared, you can delegate construction duties to various members of your household and make a whole family activity out of the process.
Gramercy Tavern’s Old-School Gingerbread
This gingerbread is, according to the author and countless commenters, “intense.”
This dark, sticky, chewy gingerbread recipe is credited to chef Claudia Fleming and is sure to warm you up. It comes with a warning: “This is for that family member who loves old-school, intense gingerbread cakes and complains that they don’t make them like they used to.”
If rich baked goods, Guinness, a bunch of fragrant spices, and molasses call to you (or your favorite auntie), this recipe is sure to deliver. Note: It’s recommended to make this recipe the day before you plan to serve it!
If you’ve been inspired by any of these recipes, let us know in the comments! We’d love to hear how your baking bonanza goes. Additionally, if you find yourself inspired by any of the features we mentioned, like convection baking or air frying, shop our appliances catalog and call us with any questions you have.