My discovery this Christmas baking season has been Gingerbread Spice Mix. Ever since making the Gingerbread Oreo Cookie Balls I have a stash of the spice mix in my cupboard.
I realized, that it is so much easier to have a ready-mix than gathering ground cinnamon, ginger, cloves and whichever other spices are needed for any specific Christmas-y baked treat.
Gingerbread spice mix is a pretty flexible combination. I looked up a variety of recipes and usually the ones called “German Lebkuchen Spice” were most appealing to me (probably because of the spice variety they use).
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In the end I made my own creation based on the spices I had at hand. All of them were already ground, except for the star anise, which I ground with my coffee/spice mill.
Feel free to adapt the spice to what you have on hand and according to your preferences. Cinnamon, ginger and cloves are kind of like a ‘gingerbread standard’, but the remaining ingredients could be adjusted as needed.
Now, I use this mix for all my seasonal baking with a gingerbread flair. Instead of using the spices in the recipe, I just add up the total spice amount and replace it with my own mix.
In the pictures you see a double batch of the recipe I posted below. I made this big batch to give to my mom and sister for Christmas. I filled it in this cute little glass spice jar and printed a label to put on.
Christmas is almost here. But I still have a couple gingerbread flavored recipes for you in the coming days. Both will use this Gingerbread Spice Mix.
How are you doing with all your Christmas gifts? I finished the last today and it’s just waiting to be wrapped. Are you looking for some last-minute ideas? Did you see my list of other homemade food gift ideas?
- 2 tablespoons cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons ginger
- 2 teaspoons cloves
- ½ teaspoon allspice
- ½ teaspoon cardamom
- ½ teaspoon coriander
- ½ teaspoon star anise
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon finely ground black pepper
- Grind any spices that aren't pre-ground. A coffee/spice mill or mortar & pestle will work best for this. Measure after grinding.
- Whisk all spiced together until evenly combined. Store in a small airtight container. I use these glass spice jars.
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YUM! YUM! YUM! Homemade spices are always the best. This would most certainly be a welcomed gift. Happy Holidays, Regina!
This was the first year I made my own spice mixes. Pumpkin, apple and gingerbread. Time to dabble with the savory??
It’s so much fresher and better than the store bought mix. Thanks for sharing, Regina.
Have a happy holiday season!
Angie
I think store-bought gingerbread spice mix is way more common in Germany. I haven’t actually seen any in stores here in Canada. One of the reasons I make my own 🙂