In typical Martha fashion there were many components to said recipe, in fact I had mistaken the "see page 302 for icing" as the icing for the cupcakes when in fact it was the icing for the gingerbread men to top the cupcakes, talk about amateur hour! This realization occurred of course after I had carefully crafted a grocery list, returned home, and it was well past 11pm the night before the party. I can assure you there were a few choice words from my mouth at that moment!
After a deep breathe I decided I would finish the cupcakes and icing for the cookies I didn't realize I still had to make (and seriously contemplated purchasing), pour myself a generous glass of red, and call it a night. Sunday morning I got up early and put the finishing touches on the cupcakes and headed to the party! Several people at the party said they loved them, including three children. You know it's really good when a kid says something, they have no vested interest in making you feel better :)
I did make one substitution, which I have noted on the recipe! They still tasted great, and for some reason fresh nutmeg can be hard to find at 11pm on a Saturday night :)
Hope you enjoy making these for your next Holiday gathering! They will definitely be making an encore at Christmas Eve!
For Cupcakes: makes 22 cupcakes
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 Tbs ground ginger
- 2 Tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp freshly ground nutmeg (I just used ground nutmeg spice)
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 1/2 cup sugar
- 3 tbs unsulfered molasses
- 4 large eggs (room temperature)
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Directions: Preheat oven to 350, add paper liners to your cupcake tin. Mix all dry ingredients together EXCEPT sugar. Cream butter & sugar together until pale and fluffy, then add molasses followed by eggs and lastly vanilla beating until combined. Slow speed on mixer and slowly add in the dry mixture beating until just combined. Pour into your cups until 3/4 full and bake for approximately 25 minutes. My oven tends not to cook super evenly so I turned my tin around halfway through the baking time.
Icing (for the cupcakes): makes 4 cups
- 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 pound (4 cups) of powdered sugar
- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
Directions: Beat butter on a medium speed until creamy, reducing speed and add sugar until fluffy, lastly adding in vanilla and mixing until combined.
Gingerbread boys & girls: makes 4-5 dozen 2 inch cookies (if you're making just the cupcakes I recommend you half the recipe)
-5 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp plus one 1tsp ground ginger
- 1 tbsp plus one 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground cloves
- 1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cups unsulfered molasses
Directions: Whisk together flour, baking soda, salt & spices. In a separate bowl cream together butter and brown sugar until pale and fluffy then add eggs and molasses to the mixture. Reducing the speed add in the dry ingredients beating until just combined. Put dough into disks, wrap and place in freezer until firm, at least one hour. Remove dough onto a floured surface and roll out until 1/4 inch thick, return mixture to freezer for 15 mins. Preheat your oven to 350, remove dough from freezer cut out the men using a 2 inch cookie cutter and place them on a parchment paper lined tray baking for 8-10 mins until crisp.
Icing (for the gingerbread men):
- 1/2 lbs (2 cups) confectioners sugar
- 1/8 cup plus 1/2 tbsp of meringue powder
- 1/4 cup of water
Directions: With an electric mixer beat all ingredients together until smooth, approximately 7 mins. Add water if needed, should be thick enough to hold ribbons on the bowl. I made mine to watery at first so I added a bit more confectioners sugar. Add food coloring of your choice, the recipe called for pink and blue to make boys and girls. I just did all red which looks a bit pink in these photos.
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