Spiced dunking cookies make breakfast cookies rich with a special taste, typical of winter holidays, where the aromas of cinnamon, cloves, cocoa, and ginger combine to create a mix of scents that make the Christmas atmosphere special and magical, along with breakfasts with dunking cookies, suitable for dipping in milk, tea, or even a little liqueur at the end of a meal, so not just for breakfast. Preparing dunking cookies is very easy; start with a simple dough of flour, eggs, sugar, and milk, which I enriched with spices, and orange zest and juice, to make them special for the upcoming holiday season, making them an excellent gift idea. Just prepare them a few days in advance, then let them dry well in the oven, and once cooled, close them in bags or tin boxes. The uniqueness of dunking cookies is their extraordinary growth in the oven, thanks to the type of leavening agent used, baking ammonia, which is essential for the perfect outcome of this kind of cookie. Yes, it smells a bit during baking, but I assure you that once cooled, there will be no trace of it in the cookies. So what are we waiting for? Let’s rush to the kitchen to make the most festive dunking cookies of the year. Here are some other ideas for Christmas cookies. You can already find on the blog the classic version of dunking cookies, as well as with chocolate pieces or cocoa.
- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 20
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All Seasons, Christmas
Ingredients for Spiced Dunking Cookies
- 4 cups flour
- 2 medium eggs
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- juice of 1/2 orange
- zest of 1 orange
- 2 tsp baking ammonia
- 2 tsp of unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 tsp of cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp of ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp of ground cloves
- sugar for sprinkling (about 2 tablespoons)
Tools to Prepare Spiced Dunking Cookies
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Baking tray
- 1 Parchment paper
- 1 Small bowl
- 1 Knife
- 1 Grater
Steps to Prepare Spiced Dunking Cookies
In a small bowl, dissolve the baking ammonia in the milk. Then, in a large bowl, combine the flour with the sugar and spices, mix, make a well in the center and add the eggs, milk, and oil, and also add grated orange zest and some orange juice, about half an orange. Work to obtain a homogeneous dough, similar to shortcrust pastry.
Divide the dough into pieces and work to form logs, cut small pieces and shape them into ping pong-sized or slightly smaller balls, then elongate them between your hands to about 3 inches. It’s important to make smooth balls and then give them a perfect cylindrical shape to give our cookies a nice form.
Once the cookies are shaped, pass them in granulated sugar, placed in a small bowl or a plate. Cover them in sugar on all sides and place them on the baking tray lined with parchment paper. Space them adequately because they will grow at least double in the oven.
Bake in a preheated static oven at 350°F for about 25 minutes. If they are too soft when cool, you can place them back in the oven for a few more minutes. If necessary, bake a little at a time. I made 21, lined up in rows of 7 on the large oven tray. Remove from the oven and let them cool before enjoying; they are great for dunking but also delicious to eat at any time of the day.
Store them in a closed container for several days.
