If you ask us, there’s nothing cozier on a cold day than a freshly baked gingerbread cookie. The sweet-and-spicy blend of ginger, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, nutmeg and black pepper (yes, black pepper!) always warms us right up, evoking memories of happy holiday gatherings. That’s why we believe gingerbread shouldn’t be limited to Santa's Christmas Eve plate, decorated cutouts or cookie houses. With these recipes, you can enjoy this quintessential treat any day, all winter long. And, if you make your own gingerbread spice mix you can easily add it to pancakes, coffee cake, hot cocoa and more—and treat yourself to comfort and warmth whenever the craving strikes.

This giant gingerbread snowflake cookie is a triple threat: super simple to prepare, a great baking project with kids and show-stopping enough to take center stage on your holiday dessert table.

As with most gingerbreads, this cake only gets better with time. When it's first baked, it will be light and cakey. If you wrap it and let it sit a day, it will become even more moist and the warm spices will intensify. Either way, it's homey and delicious and perfect for your holiday table. And if you don't have gingerbread cookies to decorate the bottom with, don't worry. This cake can easily stand alone and still impress.

If you love cutesy gingerbread cookies, but not the work it usually takes to make them, then this recipe is for you. These cookies have the same great flavor as the classic cutouts but there’s no need for a rolling pin, cookie cutters, icing or special equipment like piping tips. Instead, just shape the gingerbread people by pressing your fingerprint into the dough as you would with a thumbprint cookie. Then fill the indentations with easy microwave-melted chocolate and top off the holiday treats with festive sprinkle buttons.

Warm up your holiday mornings with Rachael Ray’s spiced gingerbread waffles, perfectly crisp on the outside and fluffy inside for a festive twist on a breakfast favorite.

This gingerbread cookie blends rich cocoa with warm Indian spices for a bold, aromatic take on the classic holiday treat.

Trisha plays up the gingerbread flavor in this festive martini by making a homemade simple syrup that’s infused with cloves, cinnamon and fresh ginger. The perfect finishing touch for her cocktail? A sprinkle of crushed-up gingerbread cookies.

resenting the easiest ever holiday dump cake: All you do is dump your ingredients into a pan and put it in the oven. What emerges is a layer of spiced apples blanketed in moist spice cake and a crown of golden, buttery crumb topping.

These cookie sandwiches are packed with holiday cheer, thanks to a hint of molasses and gingerbread spice in the soft, chewy cookies, as well as a generous dose of spiced cookie butter spread in the filling. Plus, there's an extra dusting of sanding sugar to add the perfect sweetness and festive sheen.

Here's the perfect holiday cookie recipe for cut-outs and decorating. The balanced blend of warm spices and molasses adds just the right amount of seasonal flavor. A combination of butter and shortening creates a dough that rolls out easily and holds its shape during baking.

This showstopping gingerbread cake is sugar and spice and everything nice, and it’s the perfect centerpiece for the holiday table! Best of all, it’s as simple to prepare as it is delicious.

Ginger, cinnamon and allspice bring a gingerbread flavor to this hot chocolate. Intense Dutch-process cocoa powder balances the spices, and chopped milk chocolate is mixed in at the end for a creamy, rich texture.

Talk about sugar, spice and everything nice! These nuts are so simple to make and unbelievably delicious. If you’re a fan of a good salty-sweet-smoky combination, you’ll be snacking on these non-stop. These pecans and almonds also make a great addition to wintry salads — if you can manage to save a few when they come out of the oven.

These biscotti have the same warm spices and crispy-crunchy texture that you love in a traditional gingerbread person, but require less time and effort than the classic cutout cookie! Each one gets an extra dip of melted white chocolate and a sprinkle of sanding sugar, for a sparkly holiday treat fit for a cookie tin.

The homemade gingerbread syrup in this creamy dessert cocktail has all the elements you'd expect from one of our favorite Christmas flavors, including cinnamon, nutmeg, and of course, ginger! Blend it with your favorite salted caramel ice cream and rum, if desired, for the perfect holiday boozy cocktail. For a nonalcoholic version, just leave out the rum!

These granola bars are the perfect way to get your gingerbread fix first thing in the morning without actually eating a cookie. They get the signature gingerbread flavor from molasses in the syrup, lots of ground holiday spices and a couple tablespoons of candied ginger.

These gingerbread treats are bursting with flavor, perfectly chewy on the inside, crisp on the outside…and vegan to boot! The dough can be made up to a week in advance and refrigerated. It's also perfect for building vegan gingerbread houses—just bake the dough forty-five minutes longer than the suggested baking time for cookies.

This frosting-filled confection makes the perfect treat after your holiday dinner. The finish work is easy, too—simply dust with powdered sugar right before serving.

This easy, festive cake is perfect for any winter celebration. Go nuts with the decorations, if you like. You can use candy canes, gumdrops or pretty much any holiday-centric candy that helps conjure up that gingerbread-house mood. 

It only takes 5 minutes and a handful of common pantry ingredients to make this rich, flavorful sundae syrup.

Warming spices add a measure of holiday cheer to these silver dollar pancakes. The warm cream cheese sauce can be made without rum if you're serving the pancakes to your kiddos.