Gingerbread Ravioli Recipes

S'MORE ROCKIN' REINDEER RAVIOLI

Steps:

• For the filling: Pulse the graham crackers in a food processor until crumbly. Add the chocolate and cream cheese and continue to pulse until crumbly but pasty.
• Using the filling portion ('the bumpy side") of a 12-section ravioli mold, cover the indented side with plastic wrap. Pack some of the filling into each indentation, leveling each one so it's flush with the top of the mold. Remove and place on a plate. Repeat to make 24 fillings. Cover the filling with plastic wrap and refrigerate. (Eat the crumbs left behind.)
• To make the dough: Combine the butter and sugars in a large mixing bowl. Beat at medium speed, until fluffy and combined, about 2 minutes. Add the molasses and vanilla and beat until combined.
• In a separate bowl, whisk both flours, the baking soda, salt and cinnamon together. Add flour mixture to butter mixture in 3 parts, alternating with cream in 2 parts, beginning and ending with flour. Be careful not to overwork the dough. Divide into 2 disks, wrap in plastic warp and chill until very firm, about 1 hour.
• Lay out an 11 by 15-inch piece of foil on a clean workspace and sprinkle generously with flour. Place a disk of dough on top and cover with a large sheet of plastic wrap. Roll the dough between the two layers (Voila, no messy hands) until you have a rectangle measuring 10 by 13 inches, cutting and patching as needed. Repeat with the other disk of dough. Transfer each foil to a cookie sheet and refrigerate for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
• When chilled, remove plastic wrap from 1 flat of chilled and rolled dough. Spray the zigzag side of the ravioli mold with nonstick spray and sprinkle it with flour. Place the mold, zigzag side down, onto the lower half of the dough, making a slight indent in the dough. Take the chocolate filling from the refrigerator. Place a round of filling on the center of each square ravioli impression.
• Using the foil to lift the top of the dough, fold it over the mounds on the bottom half leaving plenty of give to tuck dough between each mound. Gently press out the air around the mounds with wet fingers to keep the dough from cracking. Spray the zigzag side of the mold again and sprinkle the top of the ravioli with flour. Invert the press on the cookies, making another impression in the dough, and press very firmly to seal the 2 layers together and cut off excess dough.
• To remove the mold, gently lift by pressing downward on the 2 mounds on the end. Lift up on the mold working your way across the dough slab. Use a dry pastry brush to brush off excess flour. Cut ravioli into individual portions, trimming away excess dough with a knife or fluted pastry cutter. Arrange on a baking sheet. Chill the molded ravioli in the refrigerator until firm to the touch, 30 more minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Bake the ravioli for 25 to 30 Minutes. Remove from oven and let sit on cookie sheet 5 more minutes, using a pastry cutter to cut in between the ravioli while warm, if desired. Then slide the slab onto a cookie sheet to cool. Eat 1 slab and freeze the other to keep it really fresh. Yummmmm!!!!

GINGERBREAD RAVIOLI

Steps:

• Put honey, butter and sugar into a pot and heat over low heat until sugar is dissolved completely. Remove from heat and let cool down slightly.
• In a bowl mix together flour, cocoa, gingerbread spice.
• Add honey mixture to flour and mix using the dough hook. Add egg and mix again.
• Dissolve salts of hartshorn in 2 tablespoons of milk in a small bowl.
• In a second small bowl dissolve potash in 1 tablespoon milk.
• Add first salts of hartshorn mixture to dough and mix well. Than add potash mixture and mix well. Wrap dough into cling film and set aside for about 24 hours.
• On the next day: preheat oven (355 F, 180 C). Line out baking tray(s) with parchment paper.
• Dust the work space with some flour and knead the dough a few times. If the dough is too sticky dust it with flour. Divide the dough into smaller parts you can handle easily.
• Roll out one part of the dough very thinly (about 1(8 inch thin). Dust the dough with flour from time to time, so that it is not sticky. The dough should be elastic, but dry. Halve dough.
• On one part mark squares of about 2 inches. On each square placs some filling (see below). Now cover it with the second half of the dough and press slightly with your fingers in between the fillings to mark the ravioli. Cut out the ravioli with a knife.
• For each ravioli: press the edges slightly with your fingers. Seal the edges by pressing a fork into the edges.
• Place ravioli on baking tray and bake for about 12 minutes until ravioli a slightly browned. Remove from oven and let cool completely on cooling rack.
• Keep them in an airtight container. They will get better with time, but I guess they will not stay that long.
• FILLING: You can use almost any filling you like. Take my fillings as an idea for your own fillings.
• Filling 1: chop dried fruit and walnuts an mix them together. Place a little of filling in the center of the ravioli.
• Filling 2: soak raisins in a little rum. Take two or three soaked raisins and wrap them in a little piece of marchpane and place it in the center of the ravioli.
• Filling 3: you can use you favorite jam. I use about 1/2 teaspoon for each ravioli.
• Filling 4: cut solid praline paste into cubes of about 1/2 inch in size and roll them between your hands to form a ball. Place it in the center of ravioli.
• CUSTOM YIELD: is a vague guess. It depends on how thin you roll out the dough and which size your ravioli have.
• NOTE on potash: when you dissolve potash in milk a "strong" smell might occur. This is normal.
• NOTE on potash and salts of hartshorn: these are very typical for German christmas bakery. They work a little like baking soda/powder, but give a very different flavour to the cookies.
• NOTE on gingerbread seasoning: the one I use contains cinnamon,coriander, aniseed, allspice, cloves, star-anise, cardamon, ginger, and vanilla. I always use a commercial product.
• NOTE on time of making: this is a guess. Sometimes I need longer, sometimes I'm faster. But it doesn't matter, because it is such fun to make these.
• SERVING & PRESENTATION: Why don't you try to present gingerbread ravioli like a pasta dish? Here the idea (and take a look at the pics). With a few drops of green food colouring make green coconut flakes (to represent chopped herbs). Roll small pieces of marzipan into little balls and colour them red (to represent cherry tomatoes). Grate white chocolate (to represent parmesan cheese). Put some raspberry jam (tomato sauce) on a pasta plate. Sprinkle some green coconut flakes over sauce. Place some gingerbread raviolie on the plate. Sprinkle with some white chocolate. At last place the marzipan tomatoes around the ravioli. Ready to serve gingerbread ravioli.
• -- and now: ENJOY and HAVE FUN.