Gingerbread cookies have never been my favorite. Typically dry, cloying taste, and a little too hard to enjoy biting into them, gingerbread are like the fruitcake of the cookie world. When I saw this Swedish recipe, I decided to give it a shot. I was not disappointed. These have a lovely spicy flavor, crisp yet tender texture and they are lovely with the minor embellishment of sprinkled sugar crystals. (I am not a patient piper of royal icing, nor will ever be.) I took these to work and received rave reviews.
Nov 11, 2009
Gingerbread Cookies
Gingerbread cookies like these are popular in Sweden during the holidays and can be served plain or decorated with icing. This recipe comes from the 80-year-old Vete-Katten bakery in Stockholm.
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Credit: Todd Coleman
INGREDIENTS
3 3⁄4 cups flour3 tsp. ground cloves
3 1⁄2 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 1⁄2 tsp. ground ginger
1 1⁄4 tsp. baking soda
11 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1⁄2 cup golden syrup or dark corn syrup
1⁄2 cup heavy cream
2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1 egg white, lightly beaten
INSTRUCTIONS
1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cloves, cinnamon, ginger, and baking soda; set aside. In another large bowl, beat together the butter, brown sugar, and golden syrup using a handheld mixer set to medium speed until the mixture is pale and fluffy, 1–2 minutes. Add the reserved spice mixture and the heavy cream in 3 alternating batches, beginning and ending with the spice mixture, until the dough just combines. Transfer dough to a work surface, divide in half, and shape each half into a flat disk. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap; refrigerate for 1 hour.2. Heat oven to 350°. Unwrap 1 disk of dough and place on a floured work surface. Using a rolling pin, roll dough to a 1⁄8" thickness. Cut out cookies using the cookie cutters of your choice and place cookies 2" apart on parchment paper–lined baking sheets. Repeat with remaining dough, rerolling scraps. Refrigerate for at least 20 minutes. Bake cookies, 1 sheet at a time, until browned and set, about 12 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack and let cool.
3. To make an icing, if you like, whisk confectioners' sugar, lemon juice, and egg white in a medium bowl until smooth. Transfer icing to a resealable plastic bag (or a pastry bag). Snip off a bottom corner of the bag and pipe icing onto cookies in a decorative pattern.
Ratings & Reviews (7)
Very tasty, all seven of them, because that's all I was able to get out of the whole recipe! Even though I refrigerated the dough for five hours and then divided it into four portions to roll out,keeping the others refrigerated, The dough turned to paste within a minute or so. I even rolled the dough out unto marble to no avail. Did you test this recipe? The dough is so soft and warms up so quickly! I followed the recipe exactly. Very disappointing. I also made the saffron buns from the same issue of Saveur today and they turned out wonderfully. I sure would like to know why these cookies turned out so BAD!
Good cookie, substituted ammonium carbonate for the baking soda. Made a crisp cookie. I also added 1 1/2 tsp white peppper and allspice.
Great recipe and very tasty, my whole family loved the first batch I made for the holidays. However, I tried making another batch and they turned out the same as brunhilde's. The only thing I did differently the second time was that while combining the wet and dry ingredients, I allowed each batch to homogenize before adding the next batch (spice - homogenize - cream - homogenize - spice). The first time I dumped them in one after another. I ended up using a lot of flour while rolling out the dough to help the cookies keep shape and made generic shapes like circles and squares instead of patterns.
I love this recipe.I have long searched for a thin roll out ginger cookie to pair with my butter cookies at christmas.I used a cloth covered rolling pin and counter.The recipe produced over 100 paper thin cookies of all shapes and sizes baked for 5 minutes.The only alteration was using garam masala instead of cloves.
excellent. have made a few times.
I was looking for a gingerbread cookie recipe for my Christmas plates. I am not a fan of traditional gingerbread. I just made these, and I am quite pleased. The dough seems a bit sticky at first, but just be patient and press down hard on those cookie cutters! The more you collect the scraps and re-roll, the more flour will be in the dough, and the easier it gets. I think these cookies resemble ginger snaps, as they are nice and crisp. I am going to use this recipe for my Christmas plates.
Gingerbread Cookies
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