Molasses Free Gingerbread Cookies

Sure, it is a couple days after Christmas, but that doesn't mean you don't need a delicious cookie recipe.  

I love the idea of Gingerbread Cookies, but I am not a fan of molasses.  Actually, I hate molasses; I can't stand the taste of it.  However, I love the idea of reading a book like the Gingerbread Cowboy or Gingerbread Baby and making gingerbread cookies and gingerbread houses.  

These Molasses Free Gingerbread Cookies are delicious.  They are a tasty cross between gingerbread cookies and graham crackers, and they are a perfectly festive holiday cookie.  Plus, if you don't have the odd ingredient of molasses you can still enjoy gingerbread cookies.    

Molasses Free Gingerbread Cookies
Recipe: Alohamora slightly adapted melaniecooks.com
Active Time: 40 minutes
Inactive Time: 25 minutes
Servings: 3 dozen cookies depending on size

Ingredients: 
1 1/2 c. butter, softened
1 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. honey
1 egg, large
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
3 c. flour
3 tsp ginger, ground
1 tsp cinnamon, ground
1/2 tsp nutmeg, ground
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
Topping: sugar or frosting

Directions: 

1. In a large bowl or stand mixer mix the butter and sugar until smooth and fluffy. 
2. Add the honey, egg, and vanilla one at a time until they are well combined. 
3. Add the dry ingredients in the order listed.  Add the flour, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda and salt until they are just combined.  
4. Transfer the cookie dough to a bowl or a container that seals or closes and place the dough in the refrigerator to chill for at least 2 hours.  However, the dough can stay in the fridge for days or up to a week even.
5. When you remove the dough from the fridge preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 
6. Prepare cookie sheets with baking mats or parchment paper.  
7. Take the dough in small groups (no more than half of the dough) and roll it out on a floured surface to anywhere between 1/4 and 1/8 inch thick. 
8. Use whatever cookie cutters you'd like to make your cookie shapes, and then use a spatula dipped in flour if you need to transfer the cookies to your pan.  
9. Bake your cookies at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until a light golden brown.  These cookies will work great for gingerbread houses as well, but you will want to cook them a little longer than for cookies so that you have the stability you need. 
10. As soon as you remove the cookies from the oven sprinkle them with white granulated sugar.  If you are decorating the cookies with frosting wait until the cookies are cooled before frosting. 
11. Enjoy! 
12. Store cookies in a sealed airtight container.

Happy Gingerbread Cookies without Molasses eating! 

   

Not Your Typical Ghost Picture Books {Book List}

Monsters, Ghosts, Witches, and Mummies...They are what Halloween is made of.  Well, those and then some fantastically witty costumes. 

This year my 3 year old son was trying to decide between a traffic light and a ghost.  I was silently rooting for the traffic light; with my husband being a traffic engineer I thought it'd be a fun costume.  However, my son finally decided on ghosts and hasn't wavered really since.  I can't complain.  I love that my kiddos picked "not your typical" costumes.

You may think ghosts is a typical Halloween costume, but it really isn't.  How many of you know someone that has dressed up as a ghost?  I honestly don't know anyone.  Maybe my son's ghost costume idea isn't a "not your typical," but it definitely isn't trendy.  Maybe I should just say it's a retro/classic costume idea.  

There are tons of fun Halloween books out there.  I've given you several Halloween or Halloweenish book lists, and you should trust me that every book on this list is fantastic for a different reason.  I'm 99% sure you can find a Halloween books you'd like to read here.    

Last week, I gave your 10 fantastic books all about Monsters, Not Too Scary Monster Books. 

Here are a few other book lists you may enjoy. 

• Spook-tacular Books for Everyone to Enjoy- spooky novels
• 10 Great Halloween Chapter Books for Kids
• 17 Must Read HALLOWEEN Picture Books- these books make great read alouds
• The 14 Best Pumpkin Picture Books- you can't have Halloween without pumpkins

Today I'm giving you GHOST Books.  These ghost books are not your typical creepy scary ghost books.  These ghosts books are fun for all toddler through elementary school aged kiddos.  Go check a few of these out. 

Not Your Typical Scary GHOST  Books

A Ghost in the House by Ammi-Joan Paquette

This book has monsters, mummies, ghosts, skeletons, and more in this not scary but fun.  This Ghost Story counts up to 5 and has a great rhythm to a popular children's tune.  There are a lot of onomatopoeia in this book as well which would be great for a lesson with 3rd-5th graders. .  

Best for Toddler through 2nd, but fabulous read aloud for a lesson with kids up to 5th grade.

Zen Ghosts by Jon Muth

Zen Ghosts is wordy like the other Zen books, but there is depth to the story and inferring needed to really "get" it. 

This book is best for 3rd through 6th grade, but kids as young as toddlers that have the attention span for the longer books will still enjoy it as well.

The Ghosts Go Haunting by Helen Ketteman

This book includes ghosts, zombies, witches, skeletons, and more.  This book is counting concept book, a fun book, and a great book to teach Word Choice (onomatopoeia).  It is a fun read aloud for many ages.   

Best for Toddlers to 2nd grade.

Leo a Ghost Story by Mac Barnett

Leo is a friendly ghost that really just wants a friend.  It’s a cute simple story, and it is one where Leo is needed for his unique attributes.  This book is not even close to being scary, just sweet.

Best for Preschool through 3rd grade.

At the Old Haunted House by Helen Ketteman

This book is a counts up to 10 with simplicity, repetitious phrases great for crowd involvement, great rhythm and rhymes, and there are plenty of fun characters like ghosts, witches, and more Halloween characters kids will love. 

Best for 2nd through 7th grade. 

Ghosts that are friendly and fun, like Casper :), make for some pretty fun, and not scary at all, Halloween books.  

Happy Not your typical Ghost Story book reading! 

An Epic Pi Day 3.141592653 aka 3/14/15 Menu

I'm a total nerd.  I'm a librarian, and I love math.  I was a math minor in college, and absolutely love math.  The combination of librarian and math geek may possibly be the worst combination for "being cool."  

Such it is.  I've come to embrace my nerdiness.  

With that nerdiness comes a baker and food lover that is uber excited for tomorrow.

Today is Pi Day! It is actually an Epic Pi Day.  It not only is your normal 3-14 Pi Day fun, but it is 3-14-15, and at 9:26:53 in both the AM and the PM you can have quite the Epic Pi Day extravaganza. 

I plan to start this epic day with a delicious, nutritious, and healthy 5 minute Breakfast Pizza Pie.

Lunch and/or dinner can consist of an Actually Thin Crust Homemade Pizza. I LOVE this thin crust and pizza sauce recipe.  

Butternut Squash, Bacon, and Spinach Pizza on a thin crust, b/c that is the best (and a bit healthier), is amazing and will make a perfect dinner, snack, or lunch.  Plus Pizza is also known as "Pie" so it is perfect for this Epic Pi Day!

 I'm of the belief that dessert can and should be enjoyed several times throughout the day.  Therefore, Pie, and especially "fruit pie" is pretty close to being good for you since it has fruit in it.  Don't bother to think of all the sugar. ;)

This Sweet and Simple Strawberry Pie with the uber easy homemade Pie Crust is perfect for this epic Pi Day!

Lemon Pie aka Sunshine Pie is always delicious, creamy, and perfectly sweet and tart. 

I love Pi Day! I love that math nerds unite and truly embrace their nerdiness.  I love that you have good reason to eat delicious pies, including pizza pies, for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert.  

Happy Epic Pi Day celebrating and eating!