Gingerbread Cookies
Here’s a lovely and very simple gingerbread cookie recipe that always turns out great. In our family we used to make these for New Year’s — we’d cut out little animals and funny shapes, then decorate them with icing. Sometimes we’d make a hole in each cookie and hang them on the Christmas tree. Of course this was all inspired by our beloved cookbook by Ida Savi, which I’ve mentioned before — and I still use her recipes as the base for my own experiments.
INGREDIENTS
600 g syrup (honey, light molasses or sugar beet syrup work well);
150 g sugar;
200 g baking margarine or butter;
2 tbsp ground cinnamon;
1 tsp ground cloves;
½ tsp ground ginger;
1 tsp ground cardamom;
2 tbsp finely chopped orange zest;
2 eggs;
1 tsp baking soda;
1 tsp baking powder;
1 kg flour (see note below).
A NOTE ON FLOUR
This time I used a special local Lebkuchen mix (80% rye flour and 20% wheat flour). Traditionally though, like in the Estonian version from Ida Savi’s book, it’s made with just wheat flour. I've also seen recipes using a 50/50 mix of rye and wheat, or even ⅓ rye to ⅔ wheat. So feel free to experiment — even whole wheat works! What really makes gingerbread cookies shine is the syrup, the spices and some resting time for the dough.
Gently heat the syrup, sugar and margarine (or butter) until everything is melted together. Let it cool down to about 40°C / 104°F. In a large bowl, mix the flour with all the spices, baking soda and baking powder. Add the eggs to the cooled syrup mixture and stir well. Pour the mixture into the flour and knead into a smooth dough (a stand mixer makes this easier, I use my Kenwood with K-hook). Shape the dough into a ball, wrap it in cling film and refrigerate for at least 12 hours. Once rested, knead the dough again by hand until soft and pliable. Roll out the dough to about 1 cm thick. Cut out shapes using cookie cutters — or simply slice into strips or diamonds with a knife. Place the cookies on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake at 200°C / 392°F for 8–10 minutes.
Let the baked cookies cool completely, then store them in a tin box. This resting time lets the spices deepen and bloom — the gingerbread becomes beautifully aromatic and even more delicious. The longer they sit, the better they taste!
