Gingerbread Snow Globe Recipes

GINGERBREAD SNOW GLOBE

Steps:

• Mix water and vinegar. In a large bowl, cream shortening and sugar until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Beat in molasses. In another bowl, whisk flour, cinnamon, ginger, baking soda, salt and cloves; add to creamed mixture alternately with water mixture, beating well after each addition., Divide dough into 6 portions. Shape each into a disk; cover and refrigerate 2 hours or until firm enough to roll., Preheat oven to 350°. On a lightly floured surface, roll each portion of dough to 1/4-in. thickness. Cut dough with assorted holiday cookie cutters. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake 10-12 minutes or until set. Cool on pans 1 minute. Remove to wire racks to cool completely., Using a new paintbrush, brush corn syrup onto edges of cookies; dip into coarse sugar. Decorate with sprinkles. Let stand until set., For snow globe, place coarse sugar in a decorative glass jar. Arrange cookies in jar. Decorate jar with ribbon.

SNOW GLOBE CHEESECAKES

Steps:

• For the crust: Add the graham cracker crumbs, butter and salt to a large bowl and mix to combine. Mix in the red sprinkles.
• Divide the crumb mixture equally among the cavities of a 5-cavity silicone muffin mold with 4.57-ounce cavities and press into the bottom. Put the mold on a baking sheet and freeze while you make the cheesecake mixture.
• For the cheesecake: Combine the gelatin with 1/4 cup water in a small microwave-safe bowl and set aside to soften, about 5 minutes.
• Beat the cream cheese in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until completely smooth, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the confectioners' sugar, sour cream, lemon juice, vanilla and salt and beat on medium-high speed until incorporated and smooth, about 1 minute.
• Microwave the gelatin mixture, stirring as needed, until melted, about 30 seconds. Add the gelatin to the cream cheese mixture and beat on medium-high speed to combine, about 30 seconds.
• Divide the cheesecake batter among the cavities of the silicone mold on top of the crust and smooth out the tops. Tap the baking sheet a few times on a tabletop to release any air bubbles in the cheesecake. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until set, at least 2 hours and up to overnight.
• For the gelatin snow globes: Place the attached PDF of Christmas trees on a rimmed baking sheet and place a piece of parchment on top.
• Add the green candy melting wafers and coconut oil to a small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave in 15-second intervals, stirring in between each, until melted and smooth, about 1 minute. Add about 3 drops of green food coloring and mix to combine. Transfer to a small piping bag.
• Trace the outside border of the Christmas trees with the melted candy, then fill inside the borders, using a toothpick to move the melted candy around. Freeze to harden, about 5 minutes, and set aside at room temperature.
• Pour 3/4 cup of the lemon-lime soda into a small saucepan, sprinkle over the gelatin and whisk to combine. Let stand until the liquid is absorbed, about 5 minutes.
• Add the granulated sugar to the gelatin mixture and heat over medium-low heat, whisking occasionally, just until the gelatin and sugar dissolve, about 5 minutes.
• Pour the gelatin mixture into a large liquid measuring cup and stir in the remaining 2 cups lemon-lime soda. Use a spoon to scoop away any bubbles at the surface. Let sit at room temperature until the gelatin just begins to thicken and is the consistency of thin fruit jelly, about 20 minutes. Add the silver glitter and stir with a spoon. Scoop away any bubbles or lumped up sprinkles at the surface.
• Pour the mixture into the cavities of a 5-cavity silicone half-sphere mold with 4-ounce cavities and scoop away any bubbles at the surface. Refrigerate until the gelatin has thickened and is slightly set on top but still very wobbly, 6 to 8 minutes.
• Push a tree straight down into the center of each cavity and hold for a few seconds to allow the gelatin to split and fill back up around the tree. Refrigerate until completely set, at least 6 hours and up to overnight.
• To assemble: Fill a 9-by-13-inch glass dish with warm water. Set the half-sphere mold into the water and let sit until the gelatin spheres have loosened from the mold, about 5 minutes. Lift the mold from the water and invert onto a baking sheet. Set aside in the refrigerator.
• Carefully unmold the cheesecakes from the mold. Put the white nonpareils in a small bowl. Carefully dip the top of each cheesecake into the white nonpareils and transfer to a serving platter. Add a gelatin snow globe on top of each cheesecake.

SNOW GLOBE COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F and line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper. Dust a work surface with flour, then flatten the cookie dough into a rectangle and roll to about 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick. (If the large piece dough is hard to work with, cut it into 2 equal pieces.) Use a 3 1/2-inch circle cutter to cut as many rounds as possible (you should get about 10). Transfer to a baking sheet.
• Use a 2 1/2-inch round cutter to cut the centers from the larger circles to make "O's". Using the bottom of a small gingerbread woman cutter (or other cutter with a flat base), cut the rolled center scraps into bases for the snow globes. Place the bases on the baking sheet touching the bottom of each "O" (they will fuse together when they bake). Place the cut cookies in the freezer for 20 minutes. Pat the dough scraps into a disc and chill until you can roll again and cut out more cookies to make about 1 dozen snow globes. When ready to bake, transfer the frozen cookies to 2 room-temperature baking sheets lined with parchment paper, evenly spacing 5 cookies per sheet. Bake the cookies, rotating halfway through cooking time, until crisp and golden, about 15 minutes. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
• For the glass centers: Set up a workspace with your decorations and cooled cookies. (You will have to work fast once the glass syrup is made.) Transfer the cookies to clean pieces of parchment set on baking sheets. Stir together the sugar and corn syrup in a 2-cup or larger glass liquid measuring cup until it looks like wet sand. Microwave until the sugar is completely dissolved and is bubbling but still clear with no caramel color, about 2 to 2 1/2 minutes. Stir and microwave 30 seconds more. (This will depend on the power of your microwave, you want the syrup to be bubbling rapidly, but before it begins to caramelize).
• Pour the syrup into the center of 2 or 3 cookies, letting it spread to fill the entire opening. Working quickly, while the syrup is still hot and has not yet begun to harden, sprinkle with the decorations of your choice. Continue, filling a few cookies at a time and reheating the syrup in the microwave for 5 to 10 seconds to keep it pourable, as necessary, until all of the glass centers have been poured.
• For the icing: Combine the confectioners' sugar and meringue powder in an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and whisk to combine. With the mixer on low, add the lemon juice and 3 tablespoons water. Mix until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed, and add about 1 to 3 tablespoons more water, a little at a time, to make an icing that drizzles slowly from a spoon dipped into the bowl. Increase speed to high and beat until the icing is very smooth, about 1 minute. Spoon half the icing into a pastry bag fitted with a small plain tip. (Alternatively, transfer to a resealable plastic bag and snip off a corner.) Color the remaining icing in the bowl with red food coloring and transfer to another piping bag fitted with a small plain tip.
• Pipe the white icing on the top of the snow globes, leaving a little in the bag to decorate the glass, if desired. Pipe the red on the bases. If desired, use the remaining white icing to pipe small snowmen in the glass part of the snow globes. Let sit until the icing hardens, 20 to 30 minutes.

GINGERBREAD SNOW-GLOBE COOKIES

Steps:

• Make the cookies: Whisk the flour, gingerbread spice, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Beat the butter, granulated sugar and molasses in a large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Reduce the mixer speed to low. Working in two batches, beat in the flour mixture until just combined. Divide the dough between 2 large pieces of plastic wrap, flatten each into a disk and wrap. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour or overnight.
• Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven; preheat to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with silicone baking mats; set aside. Roll out one disk of dough on a lightly floured surface until about 1/4 inch thick. Cut out rounds using a 3 1/2-inch cookie cutter. Arrange 1 1/2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets; cut a round out of the center of each using a 1 3/4-inch cookie cutter. Refrigerate until firm, about 15 minutes. Gather the scraps and cut-out centers and refrigerate until firm; reroll to cut out more cookies.
• Bake the cookies, switching the pans halfway through, until just set, 10 to 12 minutes. Meanwhile, finely crush the candies in small batches in a resealable plastic bag. Remove the cookies from the oven and fill the centers of two-thirds of the cookies (about 12) with some of the crushed candies. Return all of the cookies to the oven and bake until lightly browned around the edges and the candies are bubbling, 6 to 8 minutes. Let cool 10 to 15 minutes on the pans, then transfer to racks to cool completely. Repeat with the remaining disk of dough and candies. You should have about 24 candy-filled cookies and about 12 empty cookies; you'll need 2 candy-filled cookies and 1 empty cookie to assemble each snow globe.
• Make the icing: Whisk the confectioners' sugar and meringue powder in a large bowl. Beat in the water with a mixer on medium-high speed until soft glossy peaks form, 3 to 5 minutes. (The icing should be pipeable but not runny.) Press plastic wrap directly onto the surface until ready to use.
• Assemble the cookies: Transfer the icing to a resealable plastic bag and snip a corner. Lay out 12 candy-filled cookies upside down. Pipe icing around the edges (don't get too close to the candy). Top each with an empty cookie; fill the cavities about halfway with sprinkles. Pipe icing around the edge of the empty cookies and set the remaining candy-filled cookies on top to create 12 snow globes. Let set 10 to 15 minutes. Pipe the remaining icing on the top of each cookie.