Monday 12 December 2011

Gingerbread Cookies


I wanted to make a Ginger Bread House from the time Shyama gave me the cutter last New year as a present. But as you all know it is decorated with so much sugar and sweets that i would be a bit too much for just us.
So I asked Shyama if I make one would you take to her place so that she can share with all ther friends from her group.
But then she remarked I do agree to her, that it would be too dicfficult for her to take a delicate ginger bread house as she has to go by train for 2 hours and then walk 15 minutes to the place she is staying. Also when she goes back on sunday evening her luggage is filled with all her clothes , then the food I prepare for her for the week and her books, then she has her violin with her etc....
So as you can see I decided tomake ginger bread cookies as this I can put in a tupper ware and she can take with her.
So that is what I did , made them on friday decorated the same day and anyway Vera  had mentioned in her place that the cookies can be kept for long, not that it would surive that lonf with a whole bunch of college students. I am sure it will be finished in a flash with them.

The original recipe you can see here she used half rye flour and half normal flour, but I used fully normal flour. And i have written in brackets the amount of spices I used.
I could make 4 tray's of cookies, I forgot to glaze them with egg mix in the first two tray's, but I don't think that made any difference.
The cookies are really good, and this is a Keeper recipe so I am sure going to make this every year from now on and they are so easy to make too. Thankyou Vera for the recipe.




All ready for Shyama to take with her :-)


500 gm flour
2 tbsp cocoa powder (Dutch processed)
2 tsp baking soda
120 g butter (at room temperature)
170 g honey
120 g sugar ( I used 90 gm)
3 tbsp milk or buttermilk
1 egg

Spices.
3 star anise (used 1)
4 cloves
1 tsp ground cinnamon ( added a bit more)
¼ tsp ground ginger ( 1 tsp ginger)
¼ tsp fennel seeds
¼ tsp ground allspice
¼ tsp aniseed

To glaze:
1 egg yolk
1 tsp water

Icing:

1 egg white
170 g icing sugar
1 tsp lemon juice
Food color of your choice to mix with the icing when you want to decorate with colors.



Start by grinding the spices in a grinder or with a pestle and mortar. Mix the spices with both flours, soda and cocoa in a large bowl. Add the butter, sugar and honey and mix well. Add the egg and milk and mix just enough to combine everything. Wrap the dough in plastic or put it in an air-tight container and let it rest in the fridge for up to 2 days, but at least overnight. This is important for the flavours to mingle.

On the baking day:

Preheat the oven to 160 degrees Celsius.

Take the dough out of the fridge about 15 min in advance. Roll it out on a lightly floured surface to 4-5 mm thick. Cut into shapes of your choice and put them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. The cookies do not spread much, but allow a little space between them. Mix the egg yolk with water and use the mixture to glaze the cookies.

Bake the cookies until crisp, about 10 to 12 min. Let them cool on a wire rack.

Icing:

Mix the egg white with sugar and lemon juice until smooth and shiny. If the glaze is too thin, add a little sugar. If it is too thick, add a little lemon juice. Put the icing in a small, but firm plastic bag. Cut off one corner, making a tiny opening for the glaze. Pipe your design on the cookies by applying a steady pressure on the bag.

Let the icing dry completely before putting the cookies in an air-tight container and storing them in a cool room. The cookies can be made up to 4 weeks before Christmas.
Sending this to 'Only' Cookies and Cakes event Which is hosted at Foodelicious.


31 comments:

  1. What cute gingerbread cookies!

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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  2. I love these Finla look delicious and so pretty:))

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  3. Sound good with so many spices...Looks beautiful...

    Deepa
    Hamaree Rasoi

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  4. Cute and elegant cookies..well done F.

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  5. Pretty decorated ginger bread cookies, lovely :) Great effort!

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  6. I have already baked twice for my son, he loves those cookies, i like the different shapes u used.
    I guess nothing would have been left by now for Shyama!
    It is a Holiday favorite :)

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  7. These look so cute and festive. :)

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  8. Pretty gingerbread cookies. Nothing says Christmas more than the smell of spicy cookies baking in the oven :-)

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  9. Very pretty! I love those!

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  10. So cute cookie ....I wish can grab few :)

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  11. Apt for xmas...looks absolutely cute

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  12. you are amazingly talented...looks sooooooo cute..
    Tasty Appetite

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  13. wow I would love to make this for a gift so cute

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  14. Your cookies looks so cute and delicious!

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  15. Ginger bread cookies looks delicious and cute Finla.

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  16. Beautiful cookies...I recently learned to make this,yet to try some of them :)

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  17. Cute Cookies Finla. Hope you are enjoying the belgium weather....
    Iam missing Brussels already :(

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  18. My daughter will love these! :) They are absolute cute looking and delicious too!

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  19. Perfect for Christmas but at our place we're not fans of spice biscuits :-(

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  20. nicely decorated ginger bread and perfect for christmas... i am your new follower...

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  21. thanks for dropping by n your wonderful comments...wow..these ginger bread cookies looks so inviting :-)

    http://onlyfishrecipes.blogspot.com/

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  22. Looks very cute with those colourful icing, perfect for holidays.

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  23. Love your gingerbread cookies. They are so cute and so beautifully decorated.

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  24. Cute cookies Finla! I am also planning to make gingerbread cookies for my little A this week...

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  25. How sweet are you Finla. I could visualise you painstakingly decorate each cookie for your darling daughter. I could also see her carrying them carefully for 2 hours on the train, then walking 15 minutes ... and I bet they were gone in a flash! They are adorable. I like Veras site...and these look delicious!

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  26. These are adorable Finla! Love the piping.

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  27. These are so cute and festive!

    Maria
    x

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