Tonight is my late night. No, not a late night of Letterman, or a late night baking pies for Thanksgiving tomorrow, but a late night here on the Baker’s Hotline. Once a week we all take turns closing down the hotline, answering questions after the kiddies have gone to bed, and the sourdough starter is at rest.

So, what is it like here after most of the company has left for the day?

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Every spring and summer as our merchandising team begins their search for our newest holiday products, I get excited to begin my own holiday decorating season with a new gingerbread house design. This year it was…

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I realize that you know that I love a good gingerbread house. I like traditional houses, I like whimsical houses, and I especially like outrageous houses. Inevitably, though, even the best architects need a break from designing houses and want to try something different. What do you say to a host of gingerbread crafts such as…

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Welcome to our special holiday series of blog posts, Holiday Baking Traditions. We’re very excited to bring you our versions of several cultural and regional holiday favorite recipes, the ones that families and friends turn to year after year.

These are the recipes that have to be on the table for the holiday meal, the ones that are eagerly awaited all season long. They speak to our ethnic upbringings, our traditions to pass on to the new generation. Some have crossed cultures over the years; some are less well known, but all are rich in history, meaningful to our community of bakers… and, above all, amazing and delicious!

Out of all of the Holiday Baking Traditions recipes this year, I found Lebkuchen to be the most daunting to approach. It certainly wasn’t the most technically challenging; in fact, it’s very simple to put together. No, this recipe for me was the first to bring up the  comment we knew we would get from readers more than any other…

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Run, run, as fast as you can, you can’t catch me—I’m the gingerbread man!

Now, I ask you: was the original gingerbread man happily enjoying the holiday season, lounging around the Christmas tree, waiting for Santa to arrive? No way. (more…)