It was white outside – finally, the long-awaited snow fell from the sky, which made us think even more about Christmas. Housewives most often think about Christmas Eve dishes, such as borscht with dumplings, dumplings with cabbage and mushrooms, or carp. Sweets must also be present on the Christmas table. Certain cookies are a real hit even on St. Nicholas Day. Already know what this is about?
In November, you can not only make cake for , but also bake… gingerbread. These Christmas cookies are very hard at first, so when stored properly they will soften by Christmas. They will be delicate and melt in your mouth.
We use spices to make gingerbread, such as cinnamon, cloves, ginger, cardamom. This mixture will make freshly baked cookies spicy, but their flavor will soften over time. All the spices will combine to create a harmonious whole.
As mentioned before, we will save a lot of time in December. After all, we have a lot of things to do at home during the Christmas period. Therefore, it is worth making sweet Christmas baking in November. Then all that remains is to decorate them with icing.
Ingredients:
- 500 g of wheat flour;
- 200 g of honey;
- 200 g of butter;
- 100 g of cream 18%;
- 50 g of sugar;
- 40 g of spices;
- 15 g kakao;
- 2 eggs and 2 extra yolks.
Preparation:
First, heat the butter, honey and sugar in a pot until they dissolve. Set aside to cool.
Prepare 4 bowls: mix the cream and baking soda in the first one, 2 egg yolks in the second one, 1 egg white in the third one and 1 egg white in the fourth one (it will be used for greasing the cookies).
In the next step, beat 4 egg yolks and 1 egg white with sugar until light and fluffy. Then we add butter mixed with honey and sugar, cream with baking soda, flour and cocoa. Mix everything until the ingredients are combined and knead the dough. Wrap them in foil and put them in the fridge for 24 hours.
After this time, place the cooled dough on a kitchen counter sprinkled with flour. We divide them into 3 parts and roll each of them to a thickness of 4-5 mm. Cut out gingerbread cookies using cookie cutters and place them on a baking tray lined with baking paper, leaving a 2-3 cm distance between them..
Brush the Christmas cookies with 1 reserved egg white using a brush and bake them in an oven preheated to 180 degrees for 10 minutes.
Storage is as important as a good gingerbread recipe. Therefore, we have to put Christmas cookies in a tin, because such a packaging provides a humid environment, which favors their ripening. We keep them in a cupboard or pantry, away from heat sources.
We separate the cookies that have already been decorated with icing with parchment paper to avoid sticking them together. It is best to decorate them before the holidays.
If you want the gingerbread to soften faster, put a piece of orange or apple in the can. Just remember to replace the fruit every few days. Otherwise, mold will develop.
