These ginger and cinnamon scented Christmas cookies do not have, as is often believed, American origins.
Indeed, it was Queen Elizabeth I who commissioned her pastry chefs to prepare gingerbread men that depicted foreign dignitaries and people at court.
Truly a very sweet tribute from her majesty! And definitely, much appreciated too.
Let's tie up the apron and let's get started!
INGREDIENTS for 15 biscuits about 15 cm high:
For the biscuits:
300g 00 flour
80 g icing sugar
140g butter
1 medium yolk
80 g acacia honey
a pinch of salt
8 g baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
half a teaspoon of nutmeg
2 teaspoons of ginger
For the royal icing:
150 g icing sugar
30 g egg white
5 drops of lemon juice
PROCEEDINGS
Preparing the biscuits
Pour the flour and the cold butter cut into small pieces into a mixer and activate the blades at maximum speed for a few seconds, until you obtain a sandy mixture:
Add the spices, salt, bicarbonate and icing sugar and chop again for a few seconds:
Transfer the mixture onto a pastry board, make a hole in the center and pour in the honey and yolk:
Knead with hands until a soft and compact dough is obtaied, which we will wrap in some transparent film and let it rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes:
Roll out the dough with a rolling pin to a thickness of 4 - 5 millimeters and then... shape our little men:
Have you noticed the beautiful stencil?
One of a kind, specially printed for me by my sweetie husband on his own 3D printer!
Arrange the men on a baking tray lined with parchment paper, spaced far enough apart:
Bake in a STATIC OVEN preheated to 175 °C for 12 minutes, using the middle shelf of the oven.
As soon as possible, which means as soon as the men have cooled slightly and solidified, remove them from the pan and let them cool completely before decorating them.
Royal icing preparation
In a bowl, semi-beat the egg white with electric whisks (or by hand), i.e. do not let it harden completely:
Gradually add the sifted icing sugar, continuing to mix with the whisk (electric or by hand, the important thing is to be vigorous!):
Decorating the cookies
Transfer the royal icing into a decorating syringe or into a sac-à-poche with a very very small tip and let our imagination run wild to make the decorations:
Let the decoration harden overnight and then... let's finally enjoy a gingerbread cookie!
Keep the Gingerbread Cookies for 2 - 3 weeks, tightly closed in a container with a lid, at room temperature.
If you want to download this recipe card, click on the link below:
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