Gingerbread cookies, the perfect step-by-step recipe.
Original recipe of the famous English Gingerbread cookies
These delicious spiced cookies (cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, molasses), the famous gingerbread cookies, are made with the original recipe by Peggy Porschen, a famous English pastry chef. I was immediately captivated by the scent of spices they spread throughout the house and the magical cauldron bubbling with molasses, honey, and spices.
These gingerbread cookies, can also be hung on the Christmas tree or given as gifts in small bags for Christmas or Epiphany stockings, and are really delicious to enjoy with coffee or hot tea.
The dough for the gingerbread cookies can be used for any cookie cutter shapes and, of course, to make the famous gingerbread houses and men. Have fun making them with your kids, and it will instantly feel like Christmas!
They are Christmas cookies, egg-free.
The Gingerbread cookies are the typical Christmas cookies perfect for DIY Christmas gifts because, when properly wrapped or stored in Christmas cookie tins, they keep for many days. In fact, the longer they sit, the better they taste, as they need to age.
Don’t be discouraged if you see unusual ingredients:
– dark molasses, you can easily find it on Amazon (see Shopping Tips below);
– golden syrup, you can substitute it with dark honey, or find it on Amazon (click the links below).
If you’re looking for Christmas recipes, click on my “Christmas/New Year Special“
If you’re looking for Epiphany recipes, click on my “Epiphany Special, treats for the stocking”.
You may also be interested in:
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Medium
- Rest time: 2 Hours 15 Minutes
- Preparation time: 50 Minutes
- Portions: approximately 30 cookies
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: English
- Seasonality: Christmas, Epiphany
Ingredients for Gingerbread Cookies
- 4 1/2 cups flour (weak flour, I use Caputo pastry flour, SIFTED)
- 1/3 cup water
- 7 1/2 oz light brown sugar (light brown sugar)
- 3 tbsp dark molasses (approximately 75 g, on Amazon)
- 3 tbsp golden syrup (approximately 100g, or alternatively dark honey)
- 3 tbsp ground cinnamon (approximately 25 g)
- 2 tbsp ground ginger (approximately 10g)
- 3 g ground nutmeg
- 9 oz cold salted butter (I use Lurpak)
- 1 tsp baking soda (approximately 5 g)
- 1/2 tsp salt (approximately 3 g)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 6 oz powdered sugar
- 1 oz pasteurized egg white
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- to taste gel food coloring (optional)
- to taste colored sprinkles (optional)
Tools
- Scale digital, with removable bowl and alarm timer
- Bowls set of various sized Guzzini bowls
- Stand Mixer Kenwood with a powerful 1400 W, illuminated bowl
- Cookie Cutters
- Decorating Pens
- Rolling Pin decorative Christmas rolling pin by Folkroll
- Mixer electric Philips, with a powerful 450 W
- Baking Tray perforated non-stick
Steps for Gingerbread Cookies
Pour into a double-bottomed pot: the water, salt, molasses, golden syrup, brown sugar, ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-low heat, stirring.
Once it reaches a boil, off the heat, add the diced butter, little by little, and mix until fully incorporated.
Finally, put the pot back on the heat, and add the sifted baking soda, paying attention as the mixture will rise, thickening it.
Once again bring the mixture to a boil over medium-low heat, immediately turn off and let it cool slightly.
When the mixture is at room temperature, pour it into the stand mixer bowl, sift in the sifted flour (important to sift the flour, to make the cookies more crumbly), add the vanilla extract (optional), and mix until you get a non-sticky, smooth and slightly moist dough.
Wrap the dough in cling film, flatten it with the palm of your hand, and place in the fridge to solidify. It will take about 2/3 hours. You can also do it the night before and keep it in the fridge overnight.
Take it out of the fridge, roll it with a rolling pin between two sheets of parchment paper to a height of about 1/4 inch. I used rolling pin spacers of 1/4 inch (see Shopping Tips below).
Cut the cookies with various cutters, pressing well on the dough, place them on parchment paper (or better, a silicone mat) and put them in the fridge to solidify (or the freezer) for about 40 minutes (very important, otherwise they won’t hold their shape while baking).
If desired, make holes with a straw to hang them on the Christmas tree.
Preheat the oven to 392°F and bake the cookies for 9 minutes. No longer, otherwise they harden and lose crumbliness, but it also depends on your oven.
Although they seem too soft right out of the oven, they will harden.
Let these delicious Christmas treats cool completely before decorating them with royal icing or as your creativity inspires you.
Put the egg white in a bowl with a few drops of lemon.
Start whisking.When the egg white is well whipped, gradually pour the sifted powdered sugar into the bowl.
The royal icing will be ready if smooth and lump-free.
To decorate the gingerbread cookies, I used a decorating pen for sweets/cookies and colored sprinkles.
Royal icing keeps for a few days, but well covered, otherwise it dries out.
Store your gingerbread cookies in food bags or tin boxes, they keep for at least a week and are even better if you prepare them in advance and enjoy after a few days.
Shopping Tips!!!
To roll the dough out to 1/4 inch thickness, I used these very convenient rolling pin spacers, or you can also use a rolling pin with adjustable discs.
To shape the Christmas cookies, I used this charming Folkroll rolling pin made of beech wood with embossed designs, and also these Christmas cookie cutters and the stamps for Christmas cookies.
To bake the cookies evenly this Master Class perforated baking tray is ideal.
To mix the dough, I use my Titanium Chef Patissier XL Stand Mixer with EasyWarm Bowl 7L, Integrated Scale, and Blender, a faithful kitchen ally for: kneading, weighing, whipping, cooking, chopping, pasteurizing eggs.
You can find this stand mixer on Amazon at a special price.
If you’re looking for a more affordable stand mixer, you can easily purchase the Kenwood Titanium Chef Baker stand mixer, with double bowl 5L and 3.5L and 1200 W power, integrated scale.
These beautiful and useful Christmas tin boxes, to store cookies for a long time or for DIY gifts.
You can purchase all the items I recommend here above, on Amazon, at a great price, just click directly on the respective links.
FAQ (Questions and Answers)
What is the origin and history of gingerbread men?
The gingerbread men, spiced shortcrust biscuits characterized by their brown color and unmistakable aroma of ginger and cinnamon, have noble roots: it was Queen Elizabeth I of England herself who gave life to these creations during one of her banquets, famous for their elaborate and elegant preparations: the queen “instructed her pastry chefs to prepare gingerbread men representing foreign dignitaries and courtiers“. A smart diplomatic strategy by the queen, which gradually caught on outside the royal palace.
What does gingerbread mean?
Gingerbread is a dough made by mixing a mixture of honey (or molasses) and butter, flavored with various spices (generally ginger and cinnamon, with the possible addition of cloves).
The popularity of gingerbread and especially its association with Christmas festivities is partly due to the belief that spices warm up in winter.
