Date:  December 1, 2023  |   Story: Eileen Beard  |   Photography: Rett Peek  |   Styling: Bailey Dougan  |  

Jennifer Maune honors her grandmother with a recipe for a Christmas classic

If you don’t recognize the name Jennifer Maune, chances are you will soon. In September, the lifestyle blogger from Little Rock became one of three finalists on Season 13 of MasterChef, Fox’s popular cooking competition hosted by Gordon Ramsay. Besides creating recipes and other inspiring content for her website, Jennifer is hard at work developing concepts for a future restaurant and forthcoming cookbook. But this busy creative is used to juggling plates, and she’s thrilled to share her passion with the world. “I love to gather people around the table,” Jennifer says. “It’s where milestones are celebrated, memories are made, and holidays are spent with loved ones. I count it as an honor to be a part of people’s celebrations when they’re making my recipes.”

Though Jennifer has pastry and culinary degrees from the School of Culinary Arts and Hospitality at the University of Arkansas Pulaski Tech and an advanced pastry certification from Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, Jennifer counts her grandmother as her most influential teacher. “We would cook and bake together, and I wanted to have a big family because of her,” she says, recalling Christmas celebrations with 40 or more relatives filling the house. That’s where Jennifer learned to embrace the beautiful chaos of hosting holiday get-togethers, such as cookie swaps and gingerbread-decorating parties. “Christmas is for sure my favorite holiday—the decorating, the food, the faith, and spending those precious moments with my family,” she says.

Just as her grandmother did, Jennifer turns baking into quality time with her six kids. “They gather and measure ingredients and take turns cracking eggs and using the mixer,” she says. “I always tell the kids we can be as messy as we want in the kitchen as long as we clean up, because messy is fun.”

For Jennifer and her family, gingerbread is more than a special treat around the holidays; it’s a reminder of the woman who inspired her to pursue a career in the kitchen. “When she was still alive, my grandmother used to come and read ‘The Gingerbread Man’ story to the kids,” she says. In fact, her grandmother actually lived on a street called Gingerbread Lane in Little Rock. For this issue, Jennifer honors these memories with a cookie recipe that trades molasses for honey. “It has a different flavor and a softer texture than a gingerbread cookie usually provides,” she says. Read on for Jennifer’s gingerbread cookie recipe, and visit jennifermaune.com for more inspiration.

Updated Classic
“Gingerbread is definitely a favorite,” Jennifer says. In her rendition, the sweetness comes from honey rather than molasses. Scroll down for the recipe.

Neutral Ground
Jennifer loves to decorate for the holidays and often shares seasonal design tips on her blog. Her current Christmas scheme of earth tones with touches of gold plays into the modern organic aesthetic of her home.

Share the Love
For this cookie swap set-up, Jennifer called on one of her former culinary school professors, Jan Lewandowski—who owns Blue Cake Co. with her husband, Steve—for an array of sweets. Peanut butter blossoms, chocolate crinkles, Christmas spritzes, and Linzer cookies complement Jennifer’s gingerbread treats.

“When I’m in the kitchen cooking or baking, it’s my happy place.”­
—Jennifer Maune

Jennifer’s Gingerbread Cookie Recipe

Yields 12-24 cookies

SHOP
Cookies
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground allspice
½ cup cocoa powder
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup honey
2 eggs

Icing
2 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar
1 ½ ounces water
1 ½ ounces light corn syrup
½ teaspoon almond extract

PREPARE
In a large bowl, whisk flour, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt until well combined. Set aside. In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and brown sugar together until light and fluffy. Add honey and eggs and mix. Slowly incorporate dry ingredients, mixing until fully incorporated and a dough forms.

Transfer the dough to parchment paper and lightly knead to form a ball, being careful not to overwork. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator. After 30 minutes, remove dough from the refrigerator and preheat the oven to 350°F. Line half-sheet tray with parchment paper.

On a lightly floured work surface, roll out chilled dough to ½-inch thickness. Cut out cookies using holiday-themed cookie cutters, then use an offset spatula to transfer to lined baking sheet tray. Bake until edges are firm, about 10 minutes. Allow cookies to cool on sheet tray for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

While cookies are cooling, prepare icing. Exchange the paddle attachment for the whisk attachment on your stand mixer and whip confectioners’ sugar and water on low speed for 2-3 minutes. Add corn syrup and almond extract and mix until incorporated, scraping the sides and bottom of the mixing bowl as needed. Transfer icing to a piping bag.

Once cookies are completely cool, cut a small opening at the bottom of the piping bag to decorate each cookie. Allow to dry completely before storing or serving.