Photographs: Claire Bogusz
Text: Claire Bogusz
Your home will smell like Christmas in no time with these soft and chewy gingerbread cookies! The delicious and lightly spiced treats can be decorated beautifully with a simple royal icing. Be sure to set aside time this holiday season to bake some cosy family fun together!
Decorated Gingerbread Cookies
(Makes approximately 36 cookies)
Ingredients for the cookies:
225 g softened butter
200 g sugar
280 g golden syrup (lys sirap)
1 large egg
2 tbsp white vinegar (lagereddike-klar)
1½ tsp baking soda (natron)
½ tsp salt
2 tsp ground ginger (ingefær)
1 tsp ground cinnamon (kanel)
1 tsp ground cloves (nellike)
700 g flour (hvedemel)
200 g granulated sugar
Ingredients for the royal icing:
30 ml liquid pasteurised egg whites (æggehvider)
250 g icing sugar (flormelis)
1 tsp vanilla flavouring (vanilje aroma) or vanilla sugar (vaniljesukker)
1 tsp lemon juice
Method for cookies:
#1 Beat butter, sugar, and golden syrup using an electric mixer until smooth, about 3
minutes. Mix in the egg, then the vinegar, baking soda, salt, and spices. Mix until
combined. The mixture may look a bit curdled, but this is normal.
#2 Mix in the flour in small increments, until cohesive dough forms.
#3 Divide dough into two sections, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours
or overnight.
#4 After chilling the dough, roll out one section with a rolling pin on a floured surface, or
between two sheets of plastic wrap. The dough should be slightly thicker than 0.5 cm.
Use your cookie cutter of choice to cut shapes. Place shapes on a parchment-lined
baking sheet. Gather scraps and repeat, and repeat the process with the second section
of dough.
#5 Bake cookies in a preheated 160°C oven for 10-12 minutes, depending on the size of
the cookies. The outer edges should be lightly browned.
#6 Remove cookies from oven and allow to cool completely before decorating.
Method for royal icing:
#1 Using an electric mixer and large bowl, beat egg whites, lemon juice, and vanilla
together until combined. With the mixer turned on low, gradually add powdered sugar
until the consistency of the mixture resembles toothpaste.
#2 If you would like to colour the royal icing, add food colouring at this point until you have
reached your desired shade.
#3 Fill a pastry bag with icing, snipping a tiny hole at the tip of the bag with scissors.
#4 Pipe designs on top of each cookie.
#5 Allow frosting to set for at least an hour before stacking.
#6 Cookies can be kept in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
HELPFUL TIPS AND HINTS
If your cut shapes have more intricate details, you can chill them directly on your parchment-lined baking sheet again for 30 minutes in the refrigerator, before placing in the oven to bake. This will help prevent the cookies from spreading and losing their shape while baking.
If you feel your frosting is too thick, you can thin it out using a small amount of warm water. Add ½ teaspoon at a time and mix well until you’ve reached the desired thickness.
To pipe frosting onto the cookies, use your dominant hand to apply pressure to the pastry bag while using the pointer finger of your opposite hand to guide the flow of the frosting to create your desired design.
Leftover frosting can be placed in a sealed plastic bag and frozen for future use. Simply thaw on the counter for 15 minutes before using again.