Spelt Gingerbread Cookies

"Come sit at my table and share with me,

Warm gingerbread cookies and cinnamon tea."

~Unknown 

If one could bottle the scent of Christmas cheer, it might smell something like gingerbread I think.  So delicious, fragrant, and comforting during the cooler months of the year. 

I found this recipe here but couldn't wait until December to start baking these little gems. They are packed with molasses and lots of warming spices. 

I try to use wheat flour as infrequently as possible in my baking, so I substituted the all-purpose flour for spelt instead and it turned out very well! 

(Side note: Since the gingerbread cookies are so dark anyway, it doesn't really matter if you use a non-white flour like spelt...plus you get the added protein, fibre, and other nutrients from this awesome grain!)

• Ingredients
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
• 3/4 cup molasses
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon allspice or cloves
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3 1/2 cups  Unbleached All-Purpose Flour OR Spelt Flour

DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 350 degrees

 Melt butter in a saucepan, then stir in brown sugar, molasses, salt, and spices. Transfer mixture to medium-sized mixing bowl, let it cool to lukewarm, and beat in egg.

Whisk baking powder and soda into flour, then stir dry ingredients into molasses mixture until dough forms. Divide dough in half, and wrap well. Refrigerate for 1 hour or longer. 

Once dough has chilled, take out one piece at a time, and flour a clean work surface, and the dough. Roll it out as thin or thick as you like (for slightly less crisp cookies, roll it out more thickly). Cut out shapes with a cookie cutter and transfer to parchment lined baking sheets

Bake cookies just until slightly brown around edges 8 to 12 minutes, or until they feel firm.  Cool on the baking sheets for several minutes, or until set. Transfer to a rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough.

Enjoy!!!

Note: Use flour under and on top of the dough to keep it from sticking to the table or rolling pin. Alternatively, place the dough on parchment, and put a sheet of plastic wrap over it as you roll, pulling the plastic to eliminate wrinkles as necessary when rolling; this will keep dough from sticking without the need for additional flour. 

Wheat free Chocolate Mint Melties

If you love chocolate, mint, and cookies...look no further.  This is THE recipe.  I have been baking these deliciously minty cookies for a few years and they are still in high demand. Plus they are wheat free!

This scrumptious recipe is from Dreena Burton's Eat, Drink, and be Vegan and you have got to try it.

Chocolate Mint Melties MAKES 11–14
1 bar (3-oz/85-g) mint dark chocolate ( not the creamy filled kind, the solid chocolate kind)
1 1/8 cups spelt flour 
3 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
¼ cup unrefined sugar
¼ tsp sea salt
¼ cup pure maple syrup
2 tbsp agave nectar OR honey
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
½ tsp mint extract
¼ cup sunflower oil (a touch generous)

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). 

Break off about 2/ 3 of bar (reserve remaining squares to top cookies) and chop into little pieces.

Transfer to a bowl and combine with dry ingredients, sifting in flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and baking soda, and stir until well combined.

In a separate bowl, combine syrup, agave nectar (OR honey), vanilla and mint extracts, and oil and stir until well mixed. 

Add wet mixture to dry, and stir until just well combined (do not overmix!). 

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Spoon batter onto baking sheet, spacing evenly. Roughly chop reserved chocolate and place on top of each cookie, pressing in a little. 

Bake for 11 minutes (no longer, or they will dry out!!!). Remove from oven, and let cool for 1 minute (no longer!!) on the sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack and eat and eat and eat!

The Road Back to Me

"Within your heart, keep one still, secret spot where dreams may go." 

~ Lousie Driscoll

Before I had my son, I really believed that I would be able to co-parent in perfect harmony with my husband.  I believed that we would read each other's minds. That I would never have to ask for anything I needed because he would anticipate my needs and I would anticipate his.

I also believed that we could manage our little family independently and that I would never ever stoop so low as to ask for help from anyone. After all, it was our decision to start a family, so we should be capable of staying the course we  had charted.Besides, wouldn't I be weak if I asked for help? Aren't millions of other mothers managing just fine on their own? 

 I held vigil to these little delusions for many, many months before I realized my colossal error.  No one can (or should) go it alone. (Also...no man can read your mind :)

I can now admit, much to my dismay,  I am a good mother *.

That little asterisk may be tiny...but BOY is it significant. What it means is, I am a good mother but I am not only a mother.  I am a whole person with myriad needs, desires, goals, and dreams. 

As mothers, we often give and give until we have nothing left, and that is not what our children want from us.  

Yes we must sacrifice certain things for these tiny, dependent, vulnerable beings we have ushered into the world, but, we must also replenish our own little wells so that we can keep up with the demand. That little, secret spot in our hearts must be nourished from time to time.

As a creative individual, I need time and space to create. I don't just need a break to go wash my hair or read for 5 minutes, I need regular time to myself to bring forth my ambitions. I realize now that if I don't make that time, I'm not going to be the mother that I want to be.

I want to be a stay at home mom. I want to raise my children under my loving care until they are ready for their own adventures. I also want to honour the little soul inside me who yearns for a  space of its own. 

Can it be done? I think so. And luckily, so does my husband, my family, and my friends.  I have recently done a crazy thing. I asked for help. And I got it. 

Each week I've asked for a day to myself to do whatever I choose. Write for pleasure, write for pay, read, play the piano, work on my quilting endeavours...whatever I want! Selfish? I hope so. Someone has to start looking out for me!

Maybe you're not like me. Maybe you have an ever-abundant pool of tender care for your family, but I know my limitations, and if you know yours then I urge you to take some time for yourself. Even if you can only take an hour, I believe that all parents need to be protective of their own little flames and keep them burning!

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, "There was never a child so lovely but his Mother was glad to see him asleep." And he's right! Having a baby is a bit comparable to being a prisoner in love with his jailer :) It's a strange feeling to want to be away just as much as you want to be near. But away we must...sometimes.