Can you believe Christmas Eve is just TWO WEEKS away? After such a chaotic year, I’m so ready for the cozy familiarity of the Christmas season. For today’s recipe—the final post in my fiction-themed cookbook recipe series—I wanted to make something festive, fun, and chock-full of holiday spices. I found just what I wanted in the delightful LITTLE WOMEN COOKBOOK by Jenne Bergstrom and Miko Osada, co-creators of the blog 36 Eggs.
Their cookbook is a thoughtful, creative compilation of recipes inspired by the Louisa May Alcott classic. Many of the recipes are as close to period-authentic as possible, a detail I appreciated. Today we’re making their recipe for tiny, crunchy gingerbread cookies called “gingerbread nuts!” In LITTLE WOMEN, Jo shares some with some children who are getting antsy on a long train ride to New York. These cookies are super easy and a bit unique too!
First, they’re quite small—only about an inch across when finished, hence the name “nut.” Out of curiosity, I experimented with doubling the size to make them more like a modern thumbprint cookie, but I didn’t like it as much. They came out dense and a bit chalky.
Secondly, these cookies are a bit less sweet than you might expect, a common characteristic of historical desserts. There definitely IS a sweetness to them, but it’s delicate. The spices are the real stars here—perfect if you’re not a fan of super sugary desserts. If you want something closer to a modern dessert (which I recommend if you’re making these with children), Jenne and Miko make a great suggestion: rolling the cookies in sugar before baking. It’s not a strictly historical edition, but I preferred the extra sweetness and fun crunch of the sugar coating.
Just keep in mind that this makes a LOT of cookies (over 100!). Luckily, this is an easy recipe to cut in half or even a quarter.
Jo definitely knew what she was doing when she offered these to the kids on the train. My kids are 2 and 4, and they went gaga over these. The 2-year-old kept getting trouble for grabbing more when we weren’t looking. I think I might have a baby Jo on my hands! 😉
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Jo’s Gingerbread Nuts from The Little Women Cookbook
“…I felt a trifle blue, and might have shed a briny drop or two, if an Irish lady with four small children, all crying more or less, hadn’t diverted my mind; for I amused myself by dropping gingerbread nuts over the seat every time they opened their mouths to roar.
— Little Women
INGREDIENTS:
- 1/2 cup molasses
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 1/4 cups flour
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1 Tbsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1/2 cup extra sugar, if coating cookies in sugar
Makes 100+ 1-inch cookies
INSTRUCTIONS:
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- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, stir together the molasses, butter, and sugar until the molasses is bubbling at the edges and the butter is mostly melted (approximately 5 minutes). Remove from heat and allow to rest while stirring together the rest of the ingredients in a large bowl, sans the extra coating sugar.
- Pour the molasses mixture into the bowl and stir until well combined. The dough should be thick and hold its shape when rolled between your fingers.
- Preheat oven to 350°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. While you wait for the oven, roll the dough into 1/2-inch balls, placing them about 1/2 inch apart on the baking sheet. If coating, roll them in the extra sugar before placing. Press each one down with a fingertip to flatten slightly. PRO TIP: The dough is easier to work with while it’s warm, so try to avoid mixing in a metal bowl, which can sap the heat. You can also flip the dough over if one side starts to get hard to work with. This helps it retain heat longer.
- The recipe says bake 8 minutes for a softer cookie and 15 for a crunchier cookie. Mine were already crunchy by 8 minutes (which was perfect for me because I like them crunchy anyway). However, if you prefer yours soft, I recommend test-baking a small batch for 5-6 minutes, then waiting for them to cool. They’ll be soft when they come out no matter what, so you won’t know the final texture until they’ve cooled.
- Serve to some rambunctious children on a train ride to New York!
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For more fictional food, check out my new cookbook, A LITERARY HOLIDAY COOKBOOK! 🙂 It includes full menus of food for Christmas, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and New Years, including recipes for delectable gifts you can give your guests!
[…] question just came up again during my yearly reread of the book, I did another search, and found this recipe for gingerbread nuts- which are basically just little molasses cookies- that was actually taken […]