Gingerbread cookies

 Gingerbread cookies

Ingredients:

Dough:

Flour- 340 g. (may need a little more)

Butter- 120 g.

Honey- 130 g.

Brown sugar- 100 g.

Sugar- 50 g. (Or a little more, to your taste)

Eggs- 1.

Lemon juice- 2-3 teaspoons.

Baking powder- 1 teaspoon.

Spices- all spice, cinnamon, ginger. To your taste.

Salt- A pinch of salt.

Icing:

Powdered sugar- 100 grams.

Eggs white- 1.

Lemon zest- to your taste.

Method of preparation:

1. In a small pot (preferably a thicker bottom) add butter honey, sugar and a pinch of salt. Heat over low heat, stirring constantly, until the mass is smooth and no sugar particles remain. This is very important, but do not heat for too long as the mass will harden. The heated mass can bubble very easily, but do not allow it to boil vigorously.

2. When the sugar is completely dissolved, remove the formed caramel syrup from the heat and leave to cool for 20-30 minutes. The cooled caramel should be warm to the touch but not burning in any way (so as not to break the egg. Stir in the lemon juice.

3. In a bowl, add flour, baking powder and spices to the gingerbread, stir. Beat in the egg, mix lightly with the flour. Add the caramel syrup, mix lightly with a spoon, and then knead the dough well by hand. It should be soft, may be slightly sticky. If it looks very sticky, add a little more flour, and if it's hard, add a little milk.

4. Squeeze the kneaded dough into a ball, then flatten it a little into a thick disc (so it freezes more evenly). Wrap in cooking film and refrigerate for at least 2 hours (or overnight). 

5.Preheat oven to 180 C, top and bottom. Take a piece of dough, roll it out thinly on the floured surface. When the dough starts to climb on the rolling pin or countertop, sprinkle a little flour, turn over and roll again. Use your creativity to form biscuits. The easiest way to shape round cookies by hand. Divide the dough into palm-sized pieces, wrap each piece in the palm of your hand into a palm-sized ball and place it on the baking tray. P.S. do not push the ball down, they will lower themselves during baking and will form itself. This way the inside of the biscuit will be soft and brittle and the surface will be crunchy. Or use the cookie shapes. Store unused dough and leftovers in the refrigerator. The biscuits will bake for about 8-12 minutes. When the cookies bake. You can check if the inside is well baked aswell. Use a wooden pin. Stab middle of the biscuit. Pulling out a wooden pin from biscuit, if pin stays clean biscuits is baked well. If there is dough left over on the pin, biscuits need few more minutes to cook.

 

6. Wait for the cookies to cool. For icing- add egg white, icing sugar and lemon zest or lemon juice in a bowl. Mix all together. Place your icing in to the confectionery bags and decorate biscuits.