Winter is here, which means putting up Christmas decorations, caroling, listening to Christmas music on the radio, and most importantly, celebrating Jesus' birth.
Happy Birthday, Jesus! :D
Unfortunately, so many forget (I confess, I have too) about the Christ in Christmas.
Oh, and check it out!
In Spanish, 'Mas' means more! So if we just combine that with Christ, we get "More Christ".
That's pretty neat.
Yet, it seems, we should have Christmas all year around.... no, no, that doesn't mean that we have to go through the chaos of Christmas shopping all year 'round (if so, God please help me, I'll go crazy then) and everything else we usually do in December, but we should always celebrate the coming of Jesus.
Now, let us reflect on these thoughts as we sit down to open the Bible and read the Christmas Story.
But a quarter way through the reading of Jesus' birth, something interrupts.
The growling of a poor, hungry stomach.
We can't have that interrupting the all-important reading, can we!
Perfect recipe for that is Gingerbread Men. :)
Gingerbread Men:
2 1/4 Cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3/4 (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup dark molasses
1 egg
1. Combine flour, cinnamon, ginger, baking powder, salt, cloves and nutmeg. Beat in butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. beat in molasses and egg. Beat until well blended. Shape dough into 3 discs. Wrap well in plastic wrap; refrigerate 1 hour or until firm.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Working with 1 disc at a time, place on lightly floured surface. The dough will probably be pretty sticky, so it's better that you first rub some flour in it, before pressing it down instead of using a rolling pin. Press it down to a 3/16-inch thickness. Cut dough with floured 5-inch cookie cutters. Place on a greased cookie sheet.
3. Bake for about 12 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. Let the cookies sit on the cookie sheets for about a minute before moving them to wire racks to cool. When cool, pipe on whatever icing you think would taste the best with lovely gingerbread men, if desired.
Eat! Enjoy! And don't forget what Christmas is all about! :)
Merry Christmas!!!
