Aromatic, crisp and full of festive cheer, these gingerbread cookies are one of those recipes that fill your home with the unmistakable scent of Christmas from the moment they go into the oven. Perfect to enjoy with your coffee, to give as a homemade gift, or to decorate your festive table. Hang them on your Christmas tree as wonderfully fragrant ornaments, and every time you walk past them, they’ll make you want to have a bite. The good thing, of course, is that if you give in to temptation, you can actually eat them! And naturally, they are also perfect for making your very own gingerbread houses!
Gingerbread
Aromatic, crisp and full of festive cheer, these gingerbread cookies are one of those recipes that fill your home with the unmistakable scent of Christmas from the moment they go into the oven. Perfect to enjoy with your coffee, to give as a homemade gift, or to decorate your festive table. Hang them on your Christmas tree as wonderfully fragrant ornaments, and every time you walk past them, they’ll make you want to have a bite.
Ingredients
- 170 grams unsalted butter
- 150 grams brown sugar
- 80 grams golden syrup
- 80 grams molasses black treacle
- 1 large egg
- 470 grams self-raising flour
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
Instructions
- Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the golden syrup and molasses and continue beating until well combined. Add the egg and beat until fully incorporated.
- Sift the flour together with the salt, bicarbonate of soda, ginger, cinnamon and cloves. Add the flour mixture to the bowl with the remaining ingredients and beat until a soft cookie dough forms. The dough should not stick to your hands, but it will be soft. If necessary, add just a little more flour.
- Divide the dough into two portions. Place a sheet of baking paper on your work surface and lightly dust it with flour. Place one portion of dough on top. Roll it out with a rolling pin, dusting with a little flour if necessary, until it is approximately 3 mm thick. Repeat with the remaining dough.
- Place one sheet of rolled-out dough on top of the other and cover with cling film. Transfer to the refrigerator. Once the dough has chilled, it will be much easier to cut into shapes.
- Preheat the oven to 160°C fan-forced.
- Remove the first sheet of dough from the refrigerator. Use cookie cutters in various shapes to cut out the cookies (see note below). Transfer them to baking trays lined with baking paper.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 15–20 minutes. The cookies will darken around the edges. They will be soft when they come out of the oven, but will firm up as they cool.
Notes
If you find the dough difficult to work with or it sticks and the shape of the cookies gets distorted when you try to transfer them to the baking tray, do what I do. Cut out a cookie and remove the excess dough from around the cutter. Then, use scissors to cut the baking paper around the cookie, cutting the paper and cookie together. Transfer the cookie to the baking tray together with its piece of baking paper, and you’ll have a perfectly shaped cookie.
If you are making a gingerbread house, this method will definitely help you achieve precise dimensions.
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