Dragon-Shaped Ginger Cookies Recipe

YUMMY! 

The only thing better than gingerbread cookies, is dragon gingerbread cookies!

I have photos of the cookies somewhere on Instagram, but I cannot seem to find them right now... I thought I had them here on Nerdovore too.

For those people who want to make something more sculptural, here's an idea to consider... 

 

Dry Ingredients:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour

• 2 tsp ground ginger

• 1½ tsp ground cinnamon

• ½ tsp ground cloves

• ½ tsp baking soda

• ½ tsp salt

Wet Ingredients:

• ¾ cup unsalted butter (softened)

• ¾ cup brown sugar (packed)

• ⅓ cup molasses

• 1 large egg

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

   

   

  1. Mix the Magic

  In a large bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar together until fluffy — about 2 minutes with a mixer (or 5 with a sturdy spoon and determination).

  Add the molasses, egg, and vanilla. Mix until the potion looks smooth and glossy.

  ---

  2. Combine the Dry Ingredients

  In another bowl, whisk together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, baking soda, and salt.

  Gradually add this to your wet mixture. Stir until a soft, slightly sticky dough forms — something that feels like enchanted clay.

  ---

  3. Chill the Dough of Dragons

  Divide the dough in half, flatten each piece into a disk, and wrap in parchment or plastic wrap.
  Refrigerate for at least 1 hour (or up to 24). Cold dough is easier to roll and helps the cookies keep their dragon shapes during baking.

  ---

  4. Roll and Cut

  Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
  Lightly flour your countertop and rolling pin. Roll the dough to about ¼ inch (6 mm) thickness.

  Use your dragon-themed cookie cutters to press out shapes — wings, tails, and all! Gather scraps, reroll, and keep cutting until every last bit becomes a dragon.

  ---

  5. Bake

  Place cookies on parchment-lined baking sheets about 1 inch apart.
  Bake for 8–10 minutes, depending on size. The edges should be slightly darker but not burnt — think “crispy dragon scales.”

  Let cool on the pan for 2 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack.

  ---

  6. Decorate (Optional but Awesome)

  Once cool, you can:

• Use royal icing or colored glaze to outline scales and eyes.

• Dust with powdered sugar for a “frost dragon” look.

• Add edible gold dust or shimmer for a Smaug-inspired treasure hoard effect.

According to ChatGPT what foods are considered to be Nerdy?

 

We asked ChatGPT to tell us what foods are considered to be Nerdy and here's what it spat out:

When it comes to nerdy foods, there's a wide range of options that often pay homage to popular culture, video games, movies, and other aspects of nerd and geek culture. Here are some foods that are often associated with nerdy themes or events:

1. Space-themed snacks: Alien-shaped cookies, rocket-shaped popsicles, or galaxy-inspired cupcakes.

2. Fantasy-inspired foods: Dragon-shaped cookies, Hobbit-style pies, or Game of Thrones-themed dishes like "Direwolf" bread.

3. Sci-fi snacks: Star Wars-inspired treats like Wookiee Cookies, lightsaber pretzel rods, or Death Star-shaped cakes.

4. Superhero-themed foods: Spider-Man pancakes, Batman-themed burgers, or Avengers-themed desserts.

5. Gaming snacks: Pixelated cookies, Tetris-shaped sandwiches, or Minecraft-themed cakes.

6. Anime and manga-inspired foods: Themed bento boxes, sushi shaped like popular characters, or ramen noodles inspired by Naruto.

7. Potion drinks: Colorful drinks resembling potions from fantasy games or movies, such as Harry Potter-themed Butterbeer.

8. Pop culture desserts: Doctor Who-themed cupcakes, Pac-Man cookies, or Zelda-themed triforce brownies.

9. Board game treats: Candy or snacks shaped like popular board game pieces, like chess pieces or Monopoly houses.

10. Geeky cocktails: Drinks inspired by geek culture, such as a "Jedi Mind Trick" cocktail or a "Sonic Screwdriver" drink from Doctor Who.

Remember, the nerdy aspect often lies in the presentation, decoration, or theme associated with the food rather than the food itself. These ideas can be a great addition to themed parties, gaming nights, or any gathering where nerdy culture is celebrated.

Viking Slices and Kanel Snegl

Viking pastries are some of my new favourite things to eat.

The Danish Pastry House at the Eaton's Centre is conveniently close to where I DM my weekly Dungeons and Dragons games.

#1. Viking Slices

#2. Kanel Snegl

#3. Kanel Bread Loaves

If you are not hungry after looking at all 3 images, I pity you. There must be something seriously wrong with you.

Also...

D&D wise... Wouldn't it be fun to play a Viking Pastry Chef?

Croissant Dragons

Croissant Dragons???

Edible draconic pastries? Num num num!

Townsends - Food for 18th Century Nerds

Okay, so if you go to the official Townsends website they say they are:

"Townsends is dedicated to exploring the 18th century living, cooking, clothing, and much more."

Frankly the "and much more" covers a lot of territory. They aren't limiting themselves to just the 18th century either, but rather the 18th century and any of centuries during the colonial period and sometimes the rare recipe dating from before then.

If you are the type of person is into recreating 16th century, 17th century and 18th century clothing, food and the lifestyle then Townsends is certainly up your alley.

Speaking for myself, I mostly just watch the Townsends YouTube channel, which has over 822,000 subscribers, and covers topics like how to make your own ale/beer, recipes for fried chicken, and what kind of rations soldiers, sailors and other people got to eat during the time period.

Here are a few videos as examples:

18th Century Fried Chicken Recipe



18th Century Brewery



18th Century Sailor Rations, Burgoo


So a few things...

#1. High production value. Townsends, as a cooking show goes, is on par with any television cooking show.

#2. Yes, they will try to sell you on the recipe books and other products they sell, but frankly buying the recipe books is unnecessary as they tell you everything you need to know during the episode anyway.

#3. The costumes. Really adds to the authentic experience of watching the videos.

#4. I could see someone making a themed restaurant based off of this, where all the waiters and the decor is done in the 18th century, and all the recipes are period recipes.



Post Updated - April 2019.

Easy Bread Dough for Nerdy Creations

The Garlic Awakens

Below is a super easy and basic bread recipe that can be used for a variety of different Nerdy creations. The recipe below is enough to make two loaves of bread.

May the loaf be with you.

Ingredients

• 1 package (1/4 ounce) active dry yeast
• 2-1/4 cups warm water (110° to 115°)
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 6-1/4 to 6-3/4 cups all-purpose flour

Instructions

1. Make sure you have all ingredients and tools needed to make the bread. Recommend you read ALL of the instructions first.
2. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the sugar, salt, oil and 3 cups flour. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, to form a soft dough.
3. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 8-10 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1-1/2 hours.
4. Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide dough in half. Shape each into a loaf. Place in two greased 9x5-in. loaf pans. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30-45 minutes.
5. Bake at 375° for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown and bread sounds hollow when tapped. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool. Yield: 2 loaves (16 slices each). 

Basic loaf pans are easy.

The tricky part is when you want to make something more creative and trying to figure out how much time it needs to bake for with unusual shapes.

And getting the desired shape correct.

Like the Klingon symbol on the right, which while edible doesn't look quite perfect.

When in doubt, start with a shorter period of time and then test your creation every 3 to 5 minutes with a toothpick. (Depending on the shape of your creation you may need to bake parts of it separately, or test the parts separately to make sure they are all done.)

You can also add things to the recipe and experiment a bit.

If you accidentally burn bread, oh well. Take a walk to the park and feed the local ducks.

Cute Ducks

Hungry Bread

Bread Heads

Durpy Turtles

Chocolate Centipede

Princess Leia Buns

Millennium Falcon Buns

Stormtrooper Buns

BB8 Buns

Star Wars Gingerbread

The following Millennium Falcon was created by my friends Adam and Amanda, inspired by Star Wars of course.

So it got me thinking... What other Gingerbread Star Wars things have people made?

And what I found is that this is really quite a popular thing for people to do...

Oh and Merry Xmas and May the Force be with you!

One nerdy comedian's response to Vegans

The above video is from the nerdy comedian JP (see his Youtube channel AwakenwithJP), who regularly pokes fun at hippies, hipsters and people who often claim to be "holier than thou".

I also recommend the following additional video:

Nerd Pizza

Yep. For when a bunch of nerds get really hungry get a really big pizza.

Cthulhu Inspired Cupcakes

Bacon Toys for Nerds

I saw the above shelf while out shopping with a nerdy friend of mine. They had:

Bacon Mints

Bacon dice game

Bacon frosting

  Wow!

More Nerd Foods

Below

230 lb giant Reece peanut butter cup.

Spaghetti Zombie Heads

Bacon wrapped pineapple with ham.

Clearly new heights of nerd foods are available to be reached.

Lunch Time!

Did anyone bring a fork?

Scientific Cookie Testing

Want to make really good cookies using SCIENCE?

Start by making 8 different cookie recipes, using different variations to experiment with the quality of the cookies - and have kids / adults do taste tests to determine which cookies they think taste best.

Continue your research, periodically changing the recipe and comparing which cookies people respond best to in terms of taste, texture, etc.

Food is like religion, part 2 - Vegan Nerd Foods

See my previous post, Food is like religion which basically delves into topics like the Church of Bacon.

When it comes to vegans and other non-meat eaters however what you find is that it truly is like a religion for them. For the vast majority of vegans, vegetarians, pescetarians, etc is that their primary motivation for being a vegan/etc is that they are doing so for ethical reasons, namely their love of animals.

For vegans their love of animals extends so far that they won't even have animal byproducts, whether it be eggs, milk, honey or even food colouring made from insects (apparently there is a red food colouring made from the crushed shells of beetles).

As part of my search for Nerdy Foods I have therefore decided to devote this page Vegan Nerd Foods...

And I am separating this into two parts, One - Nerd Foods you can purchase at a restaurant, and Two - Nerd Foods you can make at home.

Part One - Restaurant Nerd Foods

Exhibit A - Veggie Burgers - Honestly you cannot get much more nerdy than a hamburger. Nerds love their hamburgers, so being able to have a veggie burger ranks up there.

Exhibit B - Smoothies - Who doesn't like smoothies??? eg. Rawlicious is a raw food restaurant in Toronto which sells a huge variety of smoothies made out of nutmilk. So nutmilk, various ingredients for flavour = very tasty and nutritious.

Exhibit C - Specialty Desserts - Nerds have a sweet tooth, so to use the example of Rawlicious again they also sell desserts like macaroons, cinnamon snowballs and cheesecake. Not very healthy in some cases, but still healthier than the average nerd who lives in his parents' basement and eats Cheetos daily.

Smoothies from Rawlicious

Part Two - Homemade Nerd Foods

Exhibit A - Vegan Drop Scones - I found these on the website nerdsandnomsense.com and they look both easy to make (great because nerds are lazy) and delicious. Nerdsandnomsense.com is apparently a food oriented nerd website. Sound familiar? Their website apparently has a bigger emphasis on food than mine does, whereas mine has more emphasis on nerd culture. The recipe for vegan drop scones is on their website here.

Exhibit B - Scallion Buttermilk Biscuits - I am noticing a trend here. Nerd foods tend to be in the shape of cookies... coincidence? I think not! I found the recipe for Scallion Buttermilk Biscuits on "vegan nerd love". So there are apparently plenty of other foodist nerds out there. Now if only they used Darth Vader cookie cutters to shape them...

Exhibit C - Homemade Smoothie - This is easily my favourite choice when at home. Strawberries, bananas, milk or nutmilk (I am not a vegan so I don't mind normal milk in my food). I also sometimes toss in some yogurt or ice cream. To each their own.

:)

Food is like religion

Food is like religion. You are raised with it, eventually you choose to either stick with what you were raised with or change to something different. Most people choose not to change simply because they like what they were raised with and have never known anything different. Traveling overseas, trying new foods, visiting ancient temples from around the world - these experiences broaden the mind to new things.

With respect to sausages it would really depend on how many people could watch pigs being slaughtered, watch sausages being made, and then still feel hungry for sausages afterwards. It really depends on what they love more: The pig, or the sausages.

To which the chubby nerd then responds:

"Mmm bacon..."

Why?

Partially because the nerd has probably watched way too many Simpsons episodes, but also because they feel bacon perfectly epitomizes their love of meat. They would never give up meat eating because they love bacon so much. (A vegan or vegetarian would never understand that because they simply don't share the love of bacon, and thus will be confused by the response of "Mmm bacon..." This failure to connect with omnivores who love bacon is part of the whole food feud between vegans and omnivores.)

The pig? Sorry piggy, but you are far too tasty for your own good.

Thankfully we also know that bacon is unhealthy for us, so we tend to eat bacon in low dosages.

And I guess we should also be thankful that Coca-Cola has yet to come out with bacon flavoured cola.

In the end trying to convince people to change their eating habits is a bit like trying to get them to change their religion. If I told my mother to stop eating bacon because of her health she would just ignore me - partially because she knows I love bacon too, but also because she loves bacon too.

I would have just as much luck trying to convince my mother to "not celebrate Christmas this year". Why? Because she loves Christmas. She might not go to church, but celebrating the pagan holiday of Christmas is something she would never give up.

Bacon and paganism.

I think from now on whenever I encounter someone trying to encourage me to change religions (I am not religious) I will simply say "Mmm bacon..." and whenever someone tries to convince me to stop eating meat I will respond with "Mmm Christmas..."

The truth is bacon and Christmas both make me fat, but that isn't going to encourage me to stop eating Christmas dinners or bacon.

And the cute little piggy who is so yummy and tasty? Sorry little guy, but you're getting made into sausages, bacon and pork chops.

And this is not meant as a slap in the face to the vegans out there trying to push their "food religion". This is an upholding of my own little food religion.

The Church of Bacon.

It goes well with lettuce and tomato on whole wheat bread.

Don't like other people's "food religion"...? Deal with it. Keep it to yourself. Don't go pushing your agenda on others.

The "Mmm bacon..." response to vegans is actually a fair minded one. It sums up simply the concept that you love bacon, will never give it up, that bacon is your "food religion", and that nothing other people can say or do will change the fact that you will continue to have a special place in your heart for bacon.

Let us just hope you don't overdose on it however and get heart disease.

More nerdy food topics to come! Subscribe to Nerdovore!

Unicorn Meat - Mmm tasty!

Mmm! Unicorn meat, tasty and nerdy!