Gingerbread

America’s Test Kitchen Gingerbread Snack Cake / Photo Courtesy of America’s Test Kitchen

Why focus on Gingerbread in February? Is it due to the laziness of the poster, who couldn’t get the post together earlier? Why, yes. But is it also related to the year-round appeal of Gingerbread? Yes, again.

Dominique Ansel’s Gingerbread Croissant / Photo Courtesy of Dominique Ansel

Before we go much further, let’s define Gingerbread. According to the Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets, “Gingerbread is a term that applies to a broad category of baked goods, flavored with a combination of spices such as ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg, and sweetened with honey, sugar, or molasses. Gingerbreads range from cakes to breads to cookies.” And as you can tell by the image above, you can even find Gingerbread Croissants. (For anyone who might be curious, Dominique Ansel, of Cronut fame, is the creator of this Gingerbread Croissant, and it’s made with Gingerbread-spiced almond frangipane [pastry cream] and topped with pecans and marshmallows.)

Breezy Hill Orchard’s Gingersnap Cookie / Photo Courtesy of Marcia Mermelstein

I guess my adoration of sweets is pretty evident. While I dislike a strong ginger flavor in savory foods, when it comes to dessert, I’m usually all in. I also find the texture of Gingerbread particularly appealing, especially when it’s in the form of thin and chewy cookies.

Pop-Tarts Lodge, Listed on Zillow / Photo Courtesy of Pop-Tarts

Gingerbread turns up in a lot of unexpected places—in Eliksir Gingerbread Gin, in Carb Killa Gingerbread protein bars, and even as a limited Kellogg’s Pop-Tarts flavor. (The snack division of Kellogg’s is now known as Kellanova.) To keep the “gingerbread spirit” going, Kellogg’s created a lodge made out of Pop-Tarts, listed the lodge on real estate platform, Zillow, and sponsored a $15,000 gingerbread contest.

Working PNC Bank Branch, Made Out of Gingerbread / Photo Courtesy of Bredenbeck’s Bakery (bakers) and PNC

But if you think Kellog’s Pop-Tarts gingerbread-Zillow promotion was a bit over the top, stay tuned for more eye-opening gingerbread news. As reported by American Banker and Adweek in 2015, PNC Financial Services arranged for the construction of a (temporary but functional) gingerbread bank branch made out of 5,000 pounds of Gingerbread. The company situated this branch in Philadelphia. Presumably, to ensure bank customers and staff were not hit by falling Gingerbread walls, they used a wooden frame. PNC used this 12-foot banking novelty to publicize its Christmas Price Index—a calculation of the adjusted prices of the gifts featured in the song, The Twelve Days of Christmas.

Jefferson Market Library Gingerbread Replica – at the Museum of the City of New York – Artist: Maria Sieber of Cray Cray for Cakes / Photo Courtesy of Marcia Mermelstein

Let’s move along to more traditional gingerbread structures—Gingerbread houses. In addition to boosting the reputation of local bakers/artisans, these whimsical models can even comprise museum exhibits, as was the case with the Museum of the City of New York’s Gingerbread Borough Bake-Off.

Some of the Gingerbread Houses at Mohonk Mountain House / Photo Courtesy of Mohonk Mountain House

Gingerbread houses can also be a force for good. In 2023, The Food Bank of The Hudson Valley raised $25,000 through a Gingerbread Competition, held at Mohonk Mountain House, a resort in New Paltz, NY. Mohonk publicized this competition, raised money through day passes and its Executive Pastry Chef, Audrey Billups, was one of the competition judges.

Costco’s Gingerbread Muffins / Photo Courtesy of Costco

Let’s hear it for all kinds of Gingerbread desserts!

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