First time baking gingerbread cookies. I started with searching for the best recipes on the internet. To narrow my search, I focused on Czech websites and the recipes which use honey, not molasses. I tried two different recipes, one from a blogger and one from a quite broadly used website where anyone can share a recipe and where the best recipes are reviewed and commented on by many amateur bakers. The recipes are almost identical, but the difference in taste and texture is definitely recognizable. The main differences are in amount of butter and ofsugar and in spices used.
Recipe 1 “the spicy one”: shared by Czech blogger bjukitchen here . Right after baking it wasn’t the softest one, but became softer and softer over days. The spicier taste was very interesting.
Recipe 2 “the milder one”: this one came out soft immediately, although after a week, recipe 1 became softer than recipe 2. Milder, less spicy, taste. This particular recipe was so far reviewed by 1,643 people and received 4.6 starts out of maximum 5, it is No. 10 in Top 10 of all recipes on the page I found it.
Preferences? I might stick with Recipe 1. I also did a small voting among three other people, and the result was 2:1 in favour of Recipe 1. Mostly because of more interesting spicy taste.
Ingredients (enough for at least three baking trays, depending on how thick you roll the dough)
Dough No 1 (Recipe 1):
- 400 g all-purpose flour (“hladká” in Czech shops)
- 60 g softened butter
- 100 g powder sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 eggs
- Optional: 1 egg for brushing of the dough before it goes to the oven
- 2 tablespoons liquid honey. It is important you don’t use more, the more honey you use, the less soft the cookies are, two spoons are just enough!
- 2 teaspoons of good gingerbread spice mix, I used ready-made one which contained cinnamon, coriander, star anise, allspice, cloves, anise, nutmeg, fennel seeds, all milled
- zest from one lemon
- zest from one orange
- additional 1/2 teaspoon milled cloves
Dough No 2 (Recipe 2):
- 400 g all-purpose flour (“hladká” in Czech shops)
- 100 g softened butter
- 140 g powder sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 eggs
- Optional: 1 egg for brushing of the dough before it goes to the oven + 1 teaspon of milk
- 2 tablespoons liquid honey. It is important you don’t use more, the more honey you use, the less soft the cookies are, two spoons are just enough!
- 2 teaspoons of good gingerbread spice mix, I used ready-made one which contained cinnamon, coriander, star anise, allspice, cloves, anise, nutmeg, fennel seeds, all milled
Glaze (optional, but highly recommended:):
- 1 egg white
- 140 g powder sugar, sifted
- juice from 1/4 lemon
Directions (same for both recipes)
Preheat oven to 180ºC (356ºF). You should have at least two baking trays, so that you can place the dough on one while the other one is already in the oven. Better to place baking paper on the trays. You will also need cookie cutters and dough roller.
Make the dough
In a large bowl, mix together flour, baking powder and all spices you use depending on which recipe you follow. Set aside.
Beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add in eggs and beat until combined. Add in honey and beat again until combined. Gradually add the flour mixture until well combined (mix in a robot or use spoon and, once more solid, your hands).
Wrap the dough in a plastic foil and store in a fridge for at least 30 minutes.
Cut out the cookies
Take the dough out of the fridge. Cut off a piece, place it on a large work surface and roll a disc of dough. When the dough is too sticky and difficult for rolling, place flour on the work surface (below the dough) as well as on the dough roller. Cut out cookies and place them on baking tray.
Bake the cookies
Once you have one tray full of cut-out cookies, place it in the oven. Before placing the tray in the oven, you may brush the cookies with egg wash (raw egg thinned with a teaspoon of milk) to add better color and shine to them. In the meantime continue with cutting out more cookies and placing them on the second tray etc. Bake for about 8 – 10 mins.
Decorate the cookies
Mix all ingredients together in a bowl until smooth. If the glaze is too thin, add more powdered sugar. If too thick, add a bit water or lemon juice.
Use a piping bag, or a ziplock bag (with the corner snipped off) to pipe the icing onto the cookies. Or you can simply use a teaspoon and pour the glaze on the cookies (you can see the result on my pictures).
Storing
It is the best to bake the cookies at least several days in advance so that they have time to become softer.
Store them in cool and dry place (cellar should be ideal) in closed plastic box.
BakinginPrague 