Give Your Christmas Gingerbread Cookies Some Extra Oomph With This Morning Staple

Gingerbread has been an icon of holiday baking for centuries and we expect it in every form as soon as the fall season winds down. Every year gingerbread men (are they secretly cannibal propaganda?) decorate storefronts and cookie platters while gingerbread lattes take the coffee world by storm. As Mariah Carey says, "It's time!" Tim again for Christmas baking, but we have a secret. There's something you may already be using in your house that will turn your gingerbread cookies up a notch. Pull out your trusted gingerbread cookie recipe and add espresso powder to the list of ingredients.

Espresso and gingerbread are as natural a pair as cinnamon rolls and chili in the Midwest or catfish and sweet tea in the South. Flavors that would normally seem antagonistic to each other collaborate instead of compete, creating a balance that highlights a new level of delicious. It's a pairing that's trending in the baking world right now and home chefs are climbing aboard with the concept, whipping up variants on gingerbread espresso cookies under one name: gingerbread latte cookies.

Gingerbread latte cookies can be made into any shape, decorated with an icing drizzle, dunked in chocolate, garnished with spiced sugar, or made into sandwiches with buttercream filling. How you incorporate espresso powder into the cookies depends on your style. If you make classic gingerbread men without any icing or garnish, just add some espresso powder to the dough before baking. Take it a step further by incorporating espresso powder into a spicy sugar garnish, putting it into the icing, or making an espresso buttercream filling for those gingerbread cookie sandwiches. It's not one or the other; combine a few options together as you see fit.

Pair gingerbread latte cookies with other traditional holiday foods. Add them to a DIY hot chocolate bar if you're hosting for the holidays or give Santa some extra energy with espresso gingerbread cookies on his plate this year. With the rich flavors of gingerbread and the bitterness of the espresso, pair these cookies with bright citrus for an interesting contrast –- maybe with a sparkling fruit punch at your next holiday gathering to set the festive mood.