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Christmastime is, by far, my favorite time of year. I love everything about it. If it were up to me, it would be Christmastime all year round. But, here in the real world, once per year will have to suffice. One of the amazing things about food though, is how easily it can transport us to another place and time. Anytime I'm missing Christmas, I can whip up a batch of this yummy spice blend and wrap myself in all the warmth of eating gingerbread cookies by a crackling Winter fire. This spice blend is the perfect addition to your morning coffee, a hot cup of cocoa, a bowl of vanilla ice cream, or even spicing up your breakfast with a piece of warm buttered toast topped with a sprinkling of a little sugar or stevia and this gingerbread spice. So, even if it's the middle of a blazing hot Summer, you can still celebrate your own private little Christmas in July.
P.S. You can also add this spice blend to candy-making chocolate melts and pour it into molds to make little chocolate gingerbread men, like I did in the picture below. Sooooooo delicious and easy, and it makes a great gift!
INGREDIENTS
- 2 parts ground cinnamon
- 2 parts ground ginger
- 1 part ground allspice
- 1 part ground or grated nutmeg
- 1 part ground clove
DIRECTIONS
- Add all of the ingredients to a small bowl and whisk them together with a small wire whisk or fork.
- Once mixed, store in a small mason jar or spice jar. Seasoning mix will keep in a sealed container in the cabinet for months.
TIPS
- You can use pre-ground nutmeg for this recipe, but I really prefer to buy whole nutmegs and grate them myself with a small spice grater. The flavor is more rich when it is freshly grated. I buy my whole nutmeg bulk online and keep them in a mason jar in the cabinet and grate them fresh for recipes. You can also put the partially grated nutmegs back in the jar for later use if you don't use a whole one.
- This recipe is listed in "parts" instead of tablespoons, teaspoons, etc. I like to use ratios for things like spice mixes, when possible, so that they are easier to convert based on how much you need to make. You can insert any measurement that fits, as long as you are using the same one for each. For example, if you only want to make a tiny bit for a few cups of coffee, you could use a teaspoon measurement to represent each part (2 parts equals 2 teaspoons, 1 part equals 1 teaspoon, etc.). Or, if you want to make a bulk batch for gifts or lots of baking, you could use a half cup measurement for each part (2 parts equals 1 cup, 1 part equals 1/2 cup, etc.).