No confection symbolizes the holidays quite like gingerbread in its many forms, from edible houses to candy-studded gingerbread men to spiced loaves of cake-like bread. In Medieval England, the term gingerbread simply meant ‘preserved ginger’ and wasn’t applied to the desserts we are familiar with until the 15th century. The term is now broadly used to describe any type of sweet treat that combines ginger with honey, treacle or molasses.
These cookies are one of my favorite types of cookies. Crispy at the edges, soft in the center, with an ideal combination of spices and an amazing burst of flavor in mouth these cookies will soon become your favorite ones aswell !
- For recipe you will need a batch of my Royal Icing Recipe
Method:
Preheat your oven to 176°C and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside
In a small bowl, combine together dry ingredients (without sugar) and set aside
In a bowl cream together the butter and sugar until creamy
Add in the egg and molasses and mix to incorporate
Add the dry ingredients and mix everything together until sticky dough forms
Dump dough (whole or cut into pieces, I cut mine into 3 pieces. I suggest to do same because it is easier to work with) onto a well-floured board
Sift some more flour into the top of the dumped dough and just work it a bit with your hands
Note: Do not work the dough with hands thinking that would create a compact and strong dough. Dough should get much flour, just on the surface, otherwise you will end up with bread formed cookies
Wrap these measures with plastic wrap and freeze for at least 1 hour
Note: This dough can be stored in freezer up to 1 month
Dust generously your working surface with flour and put one piece of the dough in the center
Dust the top of the dough again with flour
Using a rolling pin roll it out until the dough is about 0.5-1 cm thick (or if you prefer it thicker, feel free to do it)
Immerse cookie cutters into flour and then cut the dough into desired shapes (or be creative to design you own shape)
Using a spatula to help put the cookies on the tray covered with paper oven. Remove excess dough to cookies
Bake the cookies for 10-15 minutes (if the designed cookies are bigger, they will need more time to fully bake)
Let them cool completely before decorating them with royal icing
Photography by Eranda Janku, unless otherwise stated
