Gingerbread is a cookie dough made from a mixture of honey or molasses with sugar, cinnamon, and ginger. A dough that characterizes the Christmas period with which we can create fun cookies to decorate, we usually make gingerbread men but we can create many sweet constructions to eat like houses and trains.
The gingerbread dough is very spiced and soft, to work it requires resting in the refrigerator. I do not recommend increasing the amounts of flour because the characteristic of this cookie is precisely its ability to melt in the mouth.
The unique taste of these cookies is normally appreciated by the whole family and the aroma they release during cooking will remain in your home for hours.
For lovers of traditional holiday sweets, I remind you
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Medium
- Rest time: 1 Hour
- Preparation time: 5 Minutes
- Portions: 24 cookies
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Armenian
- Seasonality: Autumn, Winter
- Energy 176.74 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 31.16 (g) of which sugars 20.51 (g)
- Proteins 2.01 (g)
- Fat 5.57 (g) of which saturated 3.51 (g)of which unsaturated 1.96 (g)
- Fibers 0.43 (g)
- Sodium 51.14 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 41 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients
- 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 egg
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2/3 cup butter
- 2/3 cup honey (or molasses)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda (level)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (powder)
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (level)
- 1 2/3 cups powdered sugar
- A few drops lemon juice
- 4 tablespoons water (might need 5)
Tools
We can divide the tools for dough creation of the cookies
- 1 Stand Mixer howork
- 1 Rolling Pin
- 3 Cookie Cutters
- 1 Piping Bag
- 1 Plain Nozzle
Steps
The preparation of the dough is very quick but requires a resting time in the refrigerator of at least 1 hour.
Start by inserting all the ingredients together in the stand mixer with the paddle attachment: flour, sugar, egg, honey or molasses, cold butter in pieces, baking soda, and spices. Start the mixer and let it knead all the ingredients until you get a homogeneous dough. The dough, as you can see from the photo, will be soft and slightly sticky. With the help of a spatula, put it in a covered container and let it rest in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
After the resting time, the dough will be less sticky but you still need to work it little with your hands and keep it out of the refrigerator as little as possible. I suggest you cover the work table with a sheet of parchment paper, dust the parchment paper with flour, and roll out your gingerbread with a rolling pin always floured. Cut out your cookies, place them on a baking sheet always covered with parchment paper, and bake in an already hot oven at 350°F for about 10 minutes but no more than 12 minutes; the time also varies depending on the size of the cookie.
Once the cookies are out of the oven, prepare the icing by simply mixing quickly with the help of a fork (to avoid whisking the sugar) the powdered sugar, lemon drops, and little by little the water because the glaze should be soft to work with the piping bag but not too liquid to not maintain the desired shape. A good icing “writes” as you mix with the fork.
Let the icing dry, about half an hour will be enough for such fine decorations, and you can enjoy your gingerbread cookies or wrap them to give as gifts.
Notes
Gingerbread cookies are always appreciated as a gift, but personally, being homemade without the use of preservatives, even if well sealed in food bags, I recommend consuming them within a week.
If you liked the recipe or if you have questions, do not hesitate to comment here or on social media Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter.
