Cardamom Cookie Gingerbread House

 

 

Cardamom Cookie Gingerbread House - frost together several houses, pour some sparkling cider or bubbly, and have a holiday decorating party!

 

Cardamom Cookie Gingerbread House

Getting together with people you love, popping a cork and making up a few fun and festive finger foods, laughing and creating and giving - to me, these are the best aspects of the holiday season.

Hosting casual yet fancy fun events are my kind of favorite:

Dragging out the karaoke machine or a stack of holiday records while we shake cocktails and decorate the trees? Yes please!

Creating a popcorn bar with slow cooker hot cocoa while watching holiday movies? Always good.

Hosting an Emergency Kit Building party. Gather coats, hats, backpacks to fill with essentials: socks, handwarmers, non perishable handheld foods like granola bars and nuts, etcetera. (Bonus points for those who also gather to distribute kits to those needing them.)

Holiday Brunch. Enough said, really.

Friends gathering for a lighthearted and fun Secret Santa / White Elephant gift exchange. (We recently had one at a restaurant during happy hour - perfect!

and one of my favorite holiday events to host?

A Gingerbread House / Cookie Decorating Party!

Baking up and decorating cookie houses is a festive party for all ages! Good tasty fun too - this recipe makes enough dough for some extra cookies to cut out - cookies to snack on while decorating the houses!

I will make the cookie house pieces ahead of time, and sometimes frost the houses together so they are ready for decorating when your guests arrive! This is an especially good thing to do beforehand if kids are attending.

I make a bunch of frosting, in several colors, and have it available in large containers to spoon into piping bags and bowls.

Cover surfaces with craft paper, set out all the candy / decorations, have a few snacks ready for snacking, and you are set to party!

I used the recipe I created way back when for Meatless Mondays A to Z, when we were on Week L and the food was lentils. It was Halloween - I made a Haunted House.

Turns out lentils are a great base for a sturdy cookie. A sturdy cookie makes a sturdy house, no matter what color you paint it.

I chose pink for my Cardamom Protein Cookie Gingerbread House, surprising no one. I used a small amount of beet juice to tint my Thin Sugar Cookie Frosting recipe. Feel free to choose a different tint. Ha!

I bought most of the fun decor and sprinkles from the Vegan Collection of Sweetapolita.

 

Cardamom Cookie Gingerbread House

adapted from: Spooky Cookie Haunted House Protein Cookie Recipe

YIELD: one gingerbread house, several cookies

dairy, egg, soy, oil, and gluten free, vegan

INGREDIENTS:

½ cup cooked lentils
water as needed
½ cup cashew butter
⅓ cup granulated coconut sugar
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract or vanilla paste
1 ⅔ cups gluten free all purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon cardamom
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 °F. Line baking sheets with parchment.

In food processor (with small bowl attachment if available) or blender, puree lentils until smooth. Use water, one tablespoon at a time, as needed for smooth consistency.

In large mixing bowl, cream together cashew butter, sugar, vanilla and pureed lentils.

Add flour to wet ingredients, do not mix in. Add cinnamon, cardamom, ground ginger, and fresh grated nutmeg to flour. Stir spices into flour, then stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients. Combine until dough forms, do not over mix.

Knead into a ball. Wrap and transfer to refrigerator 10 minutes.

Roll to ⅓ inch thickness and cut into house pieces (I drew stencils). Use cookie cutters for remaining dough. Place on parchment lined cookie sheets.

Bake at 350 °F for 12-15 minutes, until cookies are set. Cool completely before assembling and decorating.

For an easy to work with frosting that dries, I used my Thin Sugar Cookie Frosting recipe.

happy holidays!

 

 

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ABOUT KRISTINA: Kristina is spabettie! She founded spabettie in 2010 to share vegan recipes. As the sole recipe developer and photographer, Kristina turned her culinary training into the best way to spend her days - sharing just how flavorful and vibrant vegan food is! She loves dachshunds, Portland, Hawaii, drummers - well, one drummer - and travel.

 

 

 

 

 

 

printable Cardamom Cookie Gingerbread House recipe:

Yield: one gingerbread house, several cookies

Cardamom Cookie Gingerbread House

Print

frost together several houses, pour some sparkling cider or bubbly, and have a holiday decorating party!

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Additional Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 25 minutes

Ingredients

• ½ cup cooked lentils
• water as needed
• ½ cup cashew butter
• ⅓ cup granulated coconut sugar
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract or vanilla paste
• 1 ⅔ cups gluten free all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon cardamom
• ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
• ¼ teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 °F. Line baking sheets with parchment.
2. In food processor (with small bowl attachment if available) or blender, puree lentils until smooth. Use water, one tablespoon at a time, as needed for smooth consistency.
3. In large mixing bowl, cream together cashew butter, sugar, vanilla and pureed lentils.
4. Add flour to wet ingredients, do not mix in. Add cinnamon, cardamom, ground ginger, and fresh grated nutmeg to flour. Stir spices into flour, then stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients. Combine until dough forms, do not over mix.
5. Knead into a ball. Wrap and transfer to refrigerator 10 minutes.
6. Roll to ⅓ inch thickness and cut into house pieces (I drew stencils). Use cookie cutters for remaining dough. Place on parchment lined cookie sheets.
7. Bake at 350 °F for 12-15 minutes, until cookies are set. Cool completely before assembling and decorating.
8. For an easy to work with frosting that dries, I used my Thin Sugar Cookie Frostingrecipe.

 

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