Christmas Gingerbread Cookies
Can it really be Christmas without the aroma of freshly grated Cinnamon filling the house? These Ginger Cookies make a great festive nibble with coffee or eggnog or wrap them in brown paper with a red and white gingham bow for an edible gift for Santa’s little helpers.
Makes: approx. 25 cookies
Ingredients for the dough:
250g runny honey
50g butter
80g candied orange and lemon peel, finely chopped
125g flour, plus extra for the work surface
1 medium free range egg
2tsp cinnamon, freshly grated with the Microplane Black Sheep Zester
1tsp ginger, freshly grated with the Microplane Black Sheep Zester
½ tsp cloves, freshly grated with the Microplane Spice Mill
1 lemon, zest freshly peeled with the Microplane Black Sheep Zester
Ingredients for the decoration:
1 free range egg white, whisked
100g blanched almonds, halved
100g candied cherries, halved
Method:
- Heat the honey and butter in a saucepan over a low heat. Set aside to cool
- Put the rest of the ingredients for the dough in a bowl and mix. Pour the honey-butter mixture over it and mix to a firm dough with a wooden spoon. Cover and rest in the fridge for 24 hrs – the longer the better
- Preheat the oven to 180°C. Cover the two baking sheets with baking paper
- Roll out the dough on a floured surface to approx. 8mm thick and cut rectangles 4cm wide x 7cm long. Carefully place them on the baking sheets. Leave a space of about 3cm between each of the gingerbread, as they will become slightly wider during baking
- Brush the gingerbread with egg white and top with the halved almonds and cherries. Bake in the oven for about 8-12 minutes. Leave to cool.
The Microplane® range is available from John Lewis, Borough Kitchen, Divertimenti, hartsofstur.com and independent cookshops nationwide.
