Gingerbread cookies
This post is being published in a super-late manner. I initially planned to present you with this recipe way in advance , so you can enjoy it during the holidays. Seems like this Christmas, this recipe is going to be useful for the more spontaneous ones. Though it’ll always be useful for the years to follow. And besides, you can have gingerbread cookies all year long. There’s nothing wrong in re-living the holidays spirit!
The following recipe will provide approximately 50 cookies. The cutters I used were 7-8cm long (the tree and leaf shapes).
If you wish to decorate your cookies, the beginners’ way is by icing it. Icing is generally used as a simple top coating on a cookie. It makes a beautiful top coating, which can be considered as decoration. You can’t, however, decorate with it in the traditional (and more advanced) sense of piping with it, for example.
To create the icing, simply combine icing sugar with a little bit of liquid and food coloring. I used small portions of white, red and green icing. Each of the three icing mixtures contained 1 tbsp water, approximately4 tbsp of icing sugar and few drops of food colouring. If still too liquidy, add some more icing sugar. Allow the icing to rest for 15-20 minute. After decorating the cookies, allow to rest again, before you start enjoying them, as it will harden as it dries.
Disclaimer: I do not encourage the consumption of artificial food colouring in any shape or form and take no responsibility for such consumption.
You’ll need:
- Your oven tin
- Shaped cookie cutters
- 600g plain flour
- 200g honey
- 100g brown sugar
- 50g unsalted butter
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
Spices:
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp ground allspice
- 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
Preparing the dough:
(1) In a small saucepan over a low heat, combine honey, butter, brown sugar and spices, and stir occasionally. Do not bring to the boil
(2) once the butter melted and the sugar dissolved, remove from the heat and allow to cool
(3) In a large bowl, combine flour and baking soda
(4) Form a well in the centre, and add the eggs and the spicy mixture
(5) Knead with a food processor until a ball is formed. Alternatively, knead with your hands. If the dough appears to be too sticky, add a little more flour
(6) Wrap the ball in cling film and chill for several hours or overnight
Preparing the cookies:
(1) Preheat oven to 180c and line your oven tin with baking paper
(2) Roll out the dough on to a lightly floured surface
(3) Using a rolling pin, flatten the dough until it’s about 0.5 cm thick
(4) Form your desired shapes in the dough, using cookie cutter(s) and place on the baking paper
(5) If necessary, collect dough leftovers and knead together. shape a ball and repeat steps 2-4
(6) Bake for 10-15 minutes until golden brown
(7) Let the cookies cool on a wire rack
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