Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice: 30 Unusual Gingerbread Recipes (2024)

Add a little bit of sugar and spice to your life with this roundup of 30 flavor-packed gingerbread recipes. We travel the world this time around, featuring a combination of traditional and modern gingerbread treats from Germany, Sweden, Brazil and more! This collection will surely warm you up, especially when combined with any of these chill-crushing drinks and a fireplace, even if yours is made of washi tape.

1. Gingerbread House: Be sure to bookmark this guide to making a gingerbread house like a pro! It includes all the recipes and info you need — be sure to click on the “favorite gingerbread tips and tricks” link — along with free, printable templates for two types of home styles: the one pictured above, along with a much-easier-to-manage A-frame. (via Tikkido)

2. Pfeffernüsse: These peppery, German gingerbread cookies are so tasty and quick to prepare. A snowy dusting of powdered sugar provides a lovely finishing touch. (via Technicolor Kitchen)

3. Apple Gingerbread Pancakes with Apple Cider-Maple Syrup: Molasses and spice lend a gingerbread note to these shredded apple-filled buttermilk pancakes. (via Portuguese Girl Cooks)

4. Pain d’épices: This French gingerbread features a generous glug of honey in place of the usual molasses. Across between a cake and bread, it’s quite versatile and keeps well for days, making it an especially nice treat to have on hand. (via David Lebovitz)

5. Gingerbread Trifle: Alternate layers of crumbled gingerbread cake and amaretto-spiked mascarpone whipped cream to create these tasty, personal-size trifles. (via Tasty Trials)

6. Molded Gingerbread Cookies: A nice change of pace from the usual cutouts, these stamped cookies painted with a clear sugar glaze are almost too pretty to eat! (via Cooking Melangery)

7. Gingerbread Granola: Warming spices, molasses and maple syrup combine with oats, nuts, candied ginger and dried cranberries to create a tasty breakfast or snack; this granola is great to have on hand for when you’re pressed for time! (via Cookie and Kate)

8. Gingerbread Spice Dutch Baby: Just the right size for two people to share, this fluffy pancake-crepe fusion is ideal for breakfast in bed! (via Sweetsugarbean)

10. Gingerbread Waffles (Vegan): Tender, spicy, whole wheat waffles make a terrific, hearty breakfast. (via Minimalist Baker)

11. Gingerbread Madelines: Gingerbread madelines need nary a sprinkle of powdered sugar to shine, but for an especially, uh, special treat try them spread with nutella! (via Fortune Goodies)

12. Pepparkakor (Swedish Ginger Thins): Can’t resist picking up a box of Anna’s ginger thins when you’re at IKEA? Now you can make them totally from scratch! (via The Cutlery Chronicles)

13. Cinnamon-Sugar Gingerbread Doughnuts: Any apple cider donut fans out there? Give these gingerbread donuts a whirl for a wintery variation. (via Tracey’s Culinary Adventures)

14. Pumpkin Ice Cream with Beer Caramel Sauce and Gingerbread Croutons: Gingerbread croutons add just enough texture to this delectable, homemade sundae. (via Buttercream Blondie)

15. Gingerbread Caramel Corn: Pretzel sticks add a touch of saltiness to this sweet, molasses- and spice-laced caramel corn. (via Heather Christo)

16. Lebkuchen (Chocolate-Glazed Almond Spice Cookies): Candied citrus peel and cardamom add a terrific fruitiness to these nutty (as in almond!) German gingerbread cookies. (via Saveur)

17. Gingerbread Cheesecake: Featuring a gingerbread crust, filling AND garnish, this triple-threat cheesecake makes a terrifically festive dessert. (via Martha Stewart)

18. Chocolate Gingerbread Cutout Cookies: Cocoa powder lends these cutouts a gorgeous, rich hue and just enough chocolate flavor. (via Crosby Molasses)

19. Lebkuchen Spice Macarons with Quince Jam and Candied Ginger: A homemade, German gingerbread spice blend — made with anise, coriander seed and cardamom along with the usual suspects — lends a bit of oomph to these macaron shells filled with a fragrant, caramelized quince jam and a surpise candied ginger center. (via What’s For Lunch Honey)

20. Gramercy Tavern’s Gingerbread: Not for the faint of heart, this Guinness-laced loaf is full of intense gingerbread flavors. (via Smitten Kitchen)

21. Gingerbread Anise Biscotti: Star anise adds a lovely, licorice-y flavor to these biscotti artfully drizzled with white chocolate. (via A New Bloom)

22. Pumpkin and Gingerbread Ice Cream Sandwiches: Two homemade gingerbread cookies sandwich pumpkin ice cream in this perfect pairing. (via Canelle Et Vanille)

23. The “Sweetest” Village Ever: We created a little gingerbread village complete with candied gingerbread men. So cute! (via Brit + Co.)

24. Parkin: This traditional ginger cake from Northern England is loaded with history. What sets it apart from other types of gingerbread is the inclusion of oats and treacle — an uncrystallized syrup similar to molasses. (via Fisher & Paykel)

25. Ginger Whoopie Pies: Whipped cream cheese frosting pairs nicely with spiced cakey, cookies. (via Deliciously Declassified)

26. Gingerbread Brigadeiros: Rolled in toasted pecans, these gingerbread-flavored Brazilian candies are the perfect blend of crunchy and creamy. (Recipes are also included for peppermint and eggnog flavors!) (via Give Me Flour)

27. Gingerbread Cake: Lemony frosting tops this gingerbread cake, lending it a brightly flavored finish. For even more citrus flavor, add some tangerine zest to the batter as one reviewer did! (via Bon Appetit)

28. Gingerbread Gift Tag Cookies: Use these gingerbread gift tags to add a totally personalized, edible element to your holiday gifts. They also make terrific ornaments for a Christmas tree! (via Erica’s Sweet Tooth)

29. Gingerbread Latte: Homemade gingerbread syrup makes your kitchen smell divine, and helps you skip out on long coffee shop lines! (via theKitchn)

30. Gingerbread Cake with Lingonberries and Vanilla Goat Cheese Frosting (Gluten-free): This cake features a truly unique, intriguing combination of flavors. The vanilla bean-flecked goat cheese frosting sounds like a terrific change of pace from the much more common cream cheese-based icings. (via Dagmar’s Kitchen)

Tell us, what’s your favorite form of gingerbread — cookie, caramel, co*cktail, …? Show off your architecture skills by sharing photos of any gingerbread houses you construct in the comments!

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  • Mini Gingerbread Cheesecake Recipe - Brit + Co ›

Heather Sage

Heather Sage is a gluten-free recipe developer and freelance writer living in Orlando by way of the Silicon Valley. When she isn’t playing around with alternative flours in the kitchen, she can be found tackling DIY projects around the house or exploring her neighborhood. Check out her gluten-free recipe blog, A Sage Amalgam.

Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice: 30 Unusual Gingerbread Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What are the three types of gingerbread? ›

The three distinct types of gingerbread are brown gingerbread, wafer-based gingerbread and honey gingerbread.
  • BROWN GINGERBREAD.
  • WAFER GINGERBREAD.
  • HONEY GINGERBREAD.

What makes gingerbread so hard? ›

Molasses and honey hardens gingerbread, but as the sugar absorbs moisture, it will get softer.” Cookbook author and ”Great American Baking Show” winner Vallery Lomas likes a gingerbread cookie that's packed with flavor. “I want to taste a lot of the spices ― especially ginger,” she said.

What were some of the early ingredients in gingerbread? ›

An early European gingerbread recipe involved making a paste of stale breadcrumbs, ground almonds, rosewater, sugar, and ginger. English recipes of the 16th century replaced the stale breadcrumbs with flour and added honey for a sweeter taste and lighter feel.

Why are spices used in gingerbread? ›

Spices give any gingerbread its delicious aroma and memorable taste. Ginger is the spice you will find in every gingerbread recipe. It comes from the knobby rhizome of a tropical plant and has a peppery zing and spicy scent.

What is Victorian gingerbread? ›

In Medieval England gingerbread meant preserved ginger. The hard cookies were a staple at Medieval fairs in England and on the continent. These became known as “gingerbread fairs” and the cookies called “fairings”.

What are gingerbread men called now? ›

Some bakeries are now calling gingerbread men by the gender neutral term “gingerbread people.” Do you agree with the change? I couldn't care less if they called them “gingerbread cookies.” Originally Answered: Some Bakeries are now calling Gingerbread men by the gender fluid title Gingerbread people.

Why does my gingerbread taste weird? ›

Mistake #1: Underseasoning your dough

Something has definitely gone wrong if your gingerbread is bland and doesn't have a distinct ginger flavor. To prevent this from happening, Lomas recommends using several different types of ginger: dried ground ginger, fresh ginger and candied ginger.

Can I use golden syrup instead of molasses? ›

Golden Syrup

With its golden, amber color, it is lighter than molasses, though the two are similar in their thickness. Golden syrup also a liquid sweetener, so 1 cup of golden syrup can replace 1 cup of molasses. Golden syrup has a unique flavor, so it may alter the flavor of your recipe slightly.

What happens if you don't chill gingerbread dough? ›

Chilling the dough makes the butter, and the dough firm up. Also, a very cold, even frozen crust will shrink less during baking. If you think about a stick of butter it makes sense: the cold butter keeps it's shape, When it softens, it spreads and no longer keeps it's shape.

What is the difference between hard and soft gingerbread? ›

Gingerbread is made harder by molasses and honey, but it becomes softer when water is absorbed by the sugar.

What are the flavors in gingerbread? ›

The general term of gingerbread is used to describe the broad category of baked goods which are flavoured with the spice blend of ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, cardamom, anise and molasses/honey.

What's the difference between ginger and gingerbread? ›

Yes, of course gingerbread in all its forms from cookies to cake smells different from ginger. Ginger is only one of the spices traditionally used in gingerbread. Yes, cinnamon plays a role in that distinct aroma. As do the addition of nutmeg or allspice and cloves, all very distinct by themselves.

What are 6 adjectives to describe gingerbread? ›

Synonyms of gingerbread
  • ornate.
  • decorated.
  • baroque.
  • gingerbready.
  • adorned.
  • extravagant.
  • loud.
  • gilded.

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