Much loved in the Anglo-Saxon world, and now also in our parts, gingerbread have Northern European origins. Their rich and spicy taste has conquered everyone! These cookies are made in many different shapes: little men, reindeer, little trees, socks or stars, everything is allowed as long as it recalls the magic of Christmas.
But there is a special shape that just can't be missing. Thanks to it this cookie becomes the gingerbread man. A touch of royal icing and your gingerbread cookies will take on the desired shape, you can transform them into reindeer and make them the protagonists of many delicious stories that evoke the atmosphere of the Christmas holidays.
Package them as a Christmas gift to include in your DIY Christmas baskets or to enrich the Epiphany stocking together with other typical delicacies such as coal, candy cane twists in cookies version, sweets and delicious lollipops!
You can also use the gingerbread dough to make Gingerbread house, Gingerbread crown, Gingerbread garland. You can enjoy the gingerbread Christmas cookies as soon as the icing has solidified and dried completely. It is better not to rush, otherwise the decorations will be ruined.
They are fine as they are, but if you like, you can add a dusting of icing sugar and a pinch of cinnamon to your cookies, to stay in theme. You can enjoy them for breakfast with hot drinks or fruit juices, or eat them as a snack. They can be arranged on a tray to be placed on the table to accompany a coffee after lunch or a cup of hot tea or a chocolate on Sunday evening if we have guests.
Plus, you can wrap them in cute ways with transparent food paper and make bags to close with bows and ribbons. This way they become a perfect gift idea to bring to friends and relatives when we go to visit them during the holidays!
Their origins take us back to England in the sixteenth century, where Queen Elizabeth I, famous for her passion for sweets, had spiced biscuits made in the shape of little men representing her most important guests. These sweets were prepared with precious ingredients such as ginger, cinnamon and cloves, spices that at the time were symbols of luxury and well-being. Over time, they have become Christmas symbols of great charm, linked both to English tradition and popular beliefs.
According to some superstitions of the past, gingerbread men could be used to perform small love spells: it was believed, in fact, that giving one of these biscuits to a loved one could give rise to or strengthen romantic feelings. Furthermore, several legends revolve around these biscuits, making them appear not only as decorative sweets, but also as small amulets of good luck for the holidays.
Gingerbread men later became popular outside the UK, especially in Nordic countries and the US, where European settlers brought their recipes. Beginning with the tale of the gingerbread house in the Brothers Grimm's Hansel and Gretel, German tradition has also contributed to the spread of gingerbread culture, making it an international Christmas icon.
Preparation Time: 30 mins
Cooking time: 10 mins
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 134.2 calories
Ingredients:
6 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 egg yolk
1 tbsp cinnamon
1 tbsp ginger
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp grated nutmeg
1 cup butter
1 cup molasses
2 tbsp milk
1 tsp honey
1 cup cold water
Salt to taste
Recipe Method:
Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Lightly grease the special mould surface on which to bake the gingerbread cookies.
In a mixer bowl, combine the flour, honey, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger and cloves. Add the butter. Gradually add the molasses, egg yolk, water and milk. Process until the dough mixture is smooth and creamy.
Divide the dough and roll it out between two sheets of parchment paper to a height of 4 or 5 mm. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and Keep it in the refrigerator for at least two hours or even better overnight, or put it in the freezer for 15 or 20 minutes.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough until it reaches a thickness of about half a centimeter. Take back the dough and cut it with special moulds shapes that you like suitably dusted with flour.
Place them on the baking sheet a few inches apart, and bake for 10 minutes, until they harden well. When cooked, remove the pan or mould from the oven and let cool thoroughly on a wire rack.
Now you can decorate with icing as you like, with the aid of a syringe and a little fantasy creating beautiful cookies to decorate your Christmas tree.
