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Spicy Gingerbread

When most people think of gingerbread, they think of gingerbread houses, or gingerbread cookies shaped like little men. . .or to be more ecumenical, little ‘people’. . .but gingerbread actually has it’s origins as bread and not cookies. It wasn’t until much later that the notion of shaped cookies came and interestingly it was popularized by the famous fairy tale of Hansel and Gretel. (Some food historians believe that gingerbread cookies as we know them, originated from Germany while cake like gingerbread was popular in other places in Europe.) Regardless of its origins, traditional cake like gingerbread makes a wonderful … Continue reading →

Swedish Gingerbread Cookies

Even people who aren’t big cookie fans usually like gingerbread. It’s thin, smooth, and even a little spicy. This is a recipe that’s perfect for little hands to help with. If you have small children, they’ll love cutting out the shapes for these delightfully simple, yet delicious cookies. For this recipe you’ll need: 2 teaspoons ground ginger 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon ½ teaspoon baking soda ½ teaspoon ground cardamom ¼ teaspoon ground cloves ¼ teaspoon salt ½ cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, melted ¾ cup molasses ½ cup granulated sugar 2 Tablespoons cold water 1 large egg 3 cups … Continue reading →

Tasty Traditions – Cookies and Family History

No matter what holiday your family is celebrating this time of year, one thing is probably a given. There are likely to be many sweet treats on your table that are not usually there throughout the year. Did you know that if you have European ancestors, they may have started baking Christmas cookies as far back in time as the 1500’s? Sweet treats have long been associated with celebrations throughout the year, as the ingredients used to make them like sugar and spices were too expensive for most people to have on hand all year long. The array of cookies, … Continue reading →

Grocery Secrets: Step Away from the Table!

Even saving veterans can get tripped up at the grocery store. Take my friend, Mandy. She is a shopper extraordinary, a coupon queen among mere princesses and a psychologist to boot. Yet there is one grocery store trick that usually manages to trip her up: the grocery store display table. You know the one. You walk into the store and the first thing that you run into is a nice little display table stacked with holiday pies, or holiday cookies, or gingerbread kits at this time of the year. You have an empty cart and think that it might be … Continue reading →

Winter Break Sanity-Savers: Indoor Fun

School’s out for winter break, more than half of the country is still digging out from the Christmas Storm of ’09 and your kids are beginning to bore of their new toys from Santa… now what? If you are desperately looking for ways to preserve your sanity while the kids climb the walls, you are in luck. Forget about sending each child to his room to sulk; rather, consider gathering the entire clan in the kitchen to make the following edible projects. After all, nothing says winter warm-up better than a cup of Snowflake Hot Chocolate and spicy Gingerbread Cookies. … Continue reading →

Florida Keys Key Lime Pound Cake

Have you ever wondered why key lime is key lime as opposed to just plain old lime? Is there really a difference when someone calls something key lime? I had always assumed that Key lime was so named because it was a native of the Florida Keys. How very ethnocentric of me–in actuality the key lime is a native of south east Asia. However, it’s grown here in the United States and anywhere else where the climate is favorable. The key lime is smaller, rounder, higher in acidity, and more tart than it’s cousin the Persian lime. If you use … Continue reading →

Families.com 2007 Cookbook ‘A’

The families.com cookbook is organized according to ingredients rather than by type of dish. This way if you have an ingredient on hand, and are wondering what to do with it, or if you want a recipe that uses a specific ingredient, then you can look it up in the cookbook. If you want a certain type of dish. . .use the categories on the right! Acorn Squash Ranchy Breaded Fish and Candied Acorn Squash Adobo seasoning Cilantro Lime Grilled Chicken Tex Mex Marinade Allspice Chai Spice Cutouts Spicy Mixed Nuts Oatmeal Waffles with Homemade Apple Butter Healthy Pumpkin Brownies … Continue reading →

The Ultimate Christmas Cookie

What is your idea of the ultimate Christmas cookie? For most people the answer is—-Gingerbread Men (or Women). I’ll never forget the first time my then-toddler daughter bit into an intricately decorated Gingerbread Man cookie. The sweet treat was spectacularly detailed with gumdrops, icing, mini-chocolate chips and licorice. It looked too good to eat. But that didn’t stop my daughter, who prior to that moment had very limited exposure to cookies besides her favorite chocolate chip and the occasional sugar cookie. She sunk her teeth into the Gingerbread Man’s leg and the look on her face was priceless. Her eyes … Continue reading →

The Families Cookbook Winter ’06 Oats to Oregano

I’m introducing a new feature here at families.com. Have you ever wanted to find a recipe based on an ingredient you have on hand? If so, you’ve likely encountered the same problem I have when looking at the categories to the right–there are simply too many recipes to find what you’re looking for. So I created these cookbooks so that you could easily search for your ingredient and easily find all the wonderful recipes here at families.com! (Check back periodically; this is a work in progress!) Note: Kitchen staples are not categorized. You will not find flour, sugar, salt, pepper, … Continue reading →

The Families Cookbook Winter ’06 Lettuce to Nutmeg

I’m introducing a new feature here at families.com. Have you ever wanted to find a recipe based on an ingredient you have on hand? If so, you’ve likely encountered the same problem I have when looking at the categories to the right–there are simply too many recipes to find what you’re looking for. So I created these cookbooks so that you could easily search for your ingredient and easily find all the wonderful recipes here at families.com! (Check back periodically; this is a work in progress!) Note: Kitchen staples are not categorized. You will not find flour, sugar, salt, pepper, … Continue reading →