Lamb pilaf with chickpeas. Pilaf with chickpeas or oriental dishes in your family

There is a story: a long time ago, in a small kitchen in a monastery, a man was kneading dough. But the room was so small that he accidentally spilled a whole jar of ground ginger into the dough. The man was upset and looked out the window at the moon and stars for a long time, wondering what to make from the “spoiled dough.” As a result, stars, angels, a month were made - the most fragrant and crispy cookies! Often, real magic happens as a result of simple accidents! And today, on the eve of Christmas, all people bake tart gingerbread cookies.

The good thing about the dough for this recipe is that it is suitable for both thin, crispy cookies and plump gingerbread cookies. The finished result will depend on the thickness of the dough you roll out. But these gingerbread cookies taste equally magical, regardless of their thickness.

Ingredients for the dough:

• Fragrant honey (I recommend taking buckwheat) - 3 tbsp. l. with a slide
• Granulated sugar (preferably brown, but white is also possible) - 150 g
• Butter - 80 g
• Eggs (I use medium ones, category C1) -2 pcs.
• Sugar with natural vanilla - 1 tsp. with a slide (I use Dr Oetker), can be replaced with vanilla extract (1 tsp)
• Flour - 2.5 cups (I needed about 400 g)
• Soda - 0.5 tsp. (use only quicklime)
• Cinnamon - 1 tsp.
• Ground ginger - 0.5 tsp. (can be replaced with 1/3 tsp fresh ginger, chopped in a blender)
• Coriander - 0.5 tsp.

Ingredients for glaze:

• Egg white - 1 pc.
• Powdered sugar - 200 g
• Lemon juice - 0.5 tsp.

You can use any other spices to your taste. If you have a mortar and pestle, it is better to grind cardamom, cloves, and cinnamon yourself - this way they will be twice as fragrant as ground ones from the store.

How to make ginger cookies (step-by-step recipe with photos)

Pour water (two fingers thick) into a small saucepan or stewpan and bring to a boil on the fire. There will be a steam bath for gingerbread dough. While the water is boiling, let's begin the great sacrament of mixing the ingredients.

Break eggs (2 pieces) into a metal bowl and add granulated sugar (150 g). I made gingerbread dough using this recipe with both brown and white sugar. With brown it turns out tastier, a caramel color and flavor appear.

Add sugar with natural vanilla (1 tsp) to the bowl.

We also send baking soda (0.5 tsp) here.

Add spices to the dough (I used cinnamon -1 tsp, ground ginger -0.5 tsp, coriander -0.5 tsp)

Pour honey (3 tbsp) into the remaining ingredients for the dough. Stir with a whisk.

Place the bowl in a steam bath (make sure that the bottom of the bowl does not touch the boiling water). As soon as the water in the saucepan boils, reduce the heat to medium and begin stirring the contents of the bowl.

Keep the mixture in a steam bath for at least 10 minutes, it will increase slightly in volume and become covered with soft foam. All grains of sugar should dissolve, and the spices should fully open up and impart their aroma to the dough. Add a piece of butter (80 g) and stir.

Meanwhile, sift 2.5 cups of flour. Remove the bowl from the heat and add one glass.

Stir and leave the mixture to cool.

When the dough becomes slightly warm, continue to add flour in parts, constantly stirring and controlling the thickness of the dough. It should turn out sticky and tender.

Leave the dough for half an hour at room temperature (you can cover it with cling film to prevent it from airing).

Forming ginger cookies

Set the oven to preheat at 180°C and begin rolling out the dough and cutting out the cookies. I recommend rolling out on a silicone mat or parchment, and then baking on it (this way we prevent the cookies from becoming deformed during transfer).

After resting, the dough becomes even more elastic and almost does not stick to your hands. Look at it in cross-section!

Using a rolling pin, roll out the cake to a thickness of 0.4-0.5 cm. If you want thin and crispy cookies, you need to roll out a layer no thicker than 0.2-0.3 mm. Using molds, press out figures from the dough.

By the way, in these two photos (above and below) you can see the difference between the dough using regular and brown sugar. In the bottom photo the color of the dough is richer and, in my opinion, more beautiful.

We leave the figures on the parchment, and roll the scraps into a ball and turn them into a cake again. Try not to place the cookies too close to each other on the baking sheet to prevent them from sticking together. Due to the soda in the dough, the cookies increase significantly in volume.

Bake cookies for 5-7 minutes until slightly golden brown at 180 degrees.

Cool the finished cookies on a wire rack (this will allow them to cool evenly without getting soggy at the bottom).

Frosting for honey cookies

Carefully separate the white from the yolk.

Sift powdered sugar into a bowl with egg whites (you will need about 200 g in total, but you shouldn’t add everything at once). Add about 5 tbsp. l. The powdered sugar must be sifted (this way we eliminate lumps and get a homogeneous glaze).

Stir with a mixer at the lowest speed (or grind with a spoon).

Add 1 tsp to the glaze. lemon juice, stir again.

The result is a thick, shiny glaze that dries very quickly (the bowl with the glaze should be constantly covered with cling film).

Transfer the glaze to a pastry bag, cut off the tip and decorate the cooled gingerbread cookies.

If the glaze seems too thick to work with, you can add a few drops of regular warm water to it and stir until smooth. As a rule, the thickness of the glaze for drawing small details and for filling is different. To fill, you need a thinner glaze, which can easily be made by adding water. The most important thing is to be careful when adding water drop by drop.

If it happens that you have thinned the glaze too much, add a little powdered sugar.

Instead of a pastry bag, you can use a regular cornet made of baking paper.

Show off your creativity by painting gingerbread cookies! Entrust this task to the children, they will really like it! Ginger cookies are suitable for decorating a Christmas tree, they can be eaten with milk or cocoa, and will look great as a gift to family and friends.

Cookies should be stored in a closed container to prevent them from becoming hard.

It’s impossible to imagine the New Year holidays without gingerbread men! During the long winter holidays, our apartment turns into a gingerbread factory. You can look into our refrigerator at any time of the day; there will be fragrant gingerbread dough there. And the most interesting thing is that ginger cookies seem so fragrant and tasty only in winter, and only for the New Year! Gingerbread cookies, just like , are a lovely tradition that is passed on from year to year, from one generation to another.

Bon appetit!
For cookie lovers, I suggest you watch the oatmeal cookie recipe on our You Tube video channel:

I look forward to your feedback on the recipe, comments and photos of the cookies. I’m very interested to look at your masterpieces, share your New Year’s mood!

If you post photos on Instagram, please indicate the tag #pirogeevo or #pirogeevo so that I can find your photos on the Internet. Thank you!

In winter, it is cold and muddy outside, but the joy of celebrating the New Year makes you forget about the short days and lack of sun. Gingerbread cookies are associated with Christmas and New Year's holidays. Its pungent, special aroma cannot be confused with any other. The smell of pine needles, citrus fruits and ginger are the same signs of approaching fun and gifts under the tree, like Father Frost and the Snow Maiden.

Everyone will love the delicious baked goods. It will be an excellent present if it is beautifully packaged in a canvas bag, or a pleasant addition to the main gift. Each country has its own recipe for ginger cookies, and residents consider it the most correct and appetizing. Usually the products are decorated with glaze and mastic, and candied fruits, nuts and chocolate chips are added to the dough.

Children love the New Year not only because of meeting with friends and going to Christmas trees and parties. At this time, relatives prepare their favorite dishes and sweets for them, including the famous ginger cookies.

The component that gives the dessert its name is useful due to its content of the natural antibiotic curcumin, trace elements, amino acids and vitamins.

It is used in cooking and has a pungent taste. It not only gives the liver originality, but also has a tonic and anti-inflammatory effect.

The delicacy in its properties resembles a prophylactic remedy that strengthens the body during the cold season. In addition, it is stored for a long time, although this is not particularly necessary. Family members and guests will not allow the cookies to lie in the vase.

In Europe, cookies with ginger have been baked for the Christmas holidays for almost a thousand years. It is believed that the tradition came from English monks who decorated the Christmas tree with dough and ginger figures. In Nuremberg, not only cookies, but also gingerbread are prepared with the popular spice. The products are shaped like angels, houses, hearts and stars. After baking, a lasting, delicious aroma spreads throughout the house, making you want to immediately try the fresh delicacy.

Classical

The recipe for gingerbread cookies is very simple. You can modernize the standard dough composition by adding pieces of chocolate or candied fruit, although thin, crisp pastries are good without them.

Cooled cookies must be painted with multi-colored glaze and food coloring. It is better to involve children in this activity.

Compound:

• 0.450 kg wheat flour;
• 60 g chopped ginger;
• 0.150 kg granulated sugar;
• 120 g butter;
• 1 egg;
• 1 tsp cinnamon powder;
• 2 tsp baking powder;
• a pinch of ground cloves.

The baking order is as follows.

1. Combine dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, chopped ginger, cloves and cinnamon.
2. Mix the egg with sugar and beat with a whisk, add softened butter to them.
3. Add flour and spices and prepare the dough. Roll it out into a thin layer and cut into shapes using molds.
4. Place the products on baking paper and place in the oven, heated to 180°C for 8 minutes.

Honey is no less useful than ginger. This is a natural product that is popular in winter as a separate sweet and baking ingredient. It is better to prepare cookies at home with fresh ginger root. It will come out spicy, with a bright aroma.

Honey is much sweeter than sugar, so do not add too much of it, reducing the amount of sand if necessary.

Compound:

• 350 g wheat flour;
• 120 g ginger root;
• 3 tbsp. liquid honey;
• 100 g granulated sugar;
• 200 g butter;
• 2 eggs;
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder.

The baking order is as follows.

1. Remove the peel from the ginger root and grate it.
2. Combine flour and baking powder and sift them into a container.
3. Beat the eggs with a whisk with sugar, add soft butter and honey. Lastly, add the chopped ginger and stir until smooth.
4. Combine the mixture with flour and prepare the dough. Wrap it in cling film and place it on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator for 1 hour.
5. Make the layer no thicker than 1 cm and cut out figures from it with a knife or mold.
6. Heat the oven to 180°C and bake the cookies until they turn beige.

With glaze

Gingerbread cookies look beautiful with frosting covering one entire side of the cookie. Sometimes patterns are drawn on it in a contrasting color. The glaze is made from sugar, water and lemon juice, so the baked goods, in addition to the spiciness from ginger, will receive a slight sourness.

The stores offer a huge selection of food dyes, allowing you to create designs of any shade and complexity.

Test composition:

• 300 g wheat flour;
• 40 g chopped ginger;
• 80 g granulated sugar;
• 120 g butter;
• 1 egg;
• 1 tsp cinnamon;
• 1 tsp baking powder.

Glaze composition:

• 150 g powdered sugar;
• 1 tsp citrus juice.

The baking procedure is as follows.

1. Beat the egg with granulated sugar. Add softened butter to the mixture and stir until smooth.
2. Combine flour with baking powder, cinnamon and ginger. Gradually pour them into the mixture with the egg and knead the dough. Place it on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator.
3. After 30 min. Roll out the dough into a layer, cut cookies into molds and bake at 180°C.
4. For the glaze, mix 1 teaspoon of lemon juice with 150 g of powdered sugar and gradually pour in a tablespoon of water. Add food coloring if desired.
5. Decorate the cooled cookies and let them dry for several hours.

Gingerbread cookies are more tender and doughy than gingerbread cookies. This is achieved by adding both baking powder and soda to the dough at the same time. The texture of the products is crumbly. Depending on the thickness of the layer from which the men are cut out using a stencil or molds, they will become soft or crispy.

Compound:

• 450 g wheat flour;
• 40 g chopped ginger;
• 150 g granulated sugar;
• 100 g butter;
• 200 g liquid honey;
• 1 egg;
• 1 tsp cinnamon;
• 1 tsp baking powder;
• 1.5 tsp. soda;
• a pinch of salt.

The baking order is as follows.

1. For the choux pastry, mix butter, honey, granulated sugar, cinnamon, ginger, salt and soda in a saucepan. Place it on low heat and stir the mixture until foam appears on it.
2. Remove the pan from the heat and cool to room temperature.
3. Combine flour with baking powder and gradually add to the custard mixture. Then break the egg and mix the dough.
4. Roll out the dough into a layer, as thick as you like, and cut into shapes.
5. Send them to the oven, heated to a temperature of 160-180 ° C, and bake until done.

In English

The British came up with a recipe for ginger cookies and bake them, like other desserts, not only for holidays. The tradition of drinking tea at 17-00 forces them to constantly invent new types of sweets.

British residents prepare about 15 varieties of gingerbread and gingerbread alone. Among them, baked goods with lemon zest stand out with a particularly delicious taste.

Compound:

• 0.4 kg wheat flour;
• 25 g chopped ginger;
• 150 g granulated sugar;
• 120 g butter;
• 1 egg;
• 1 tbsp. lemon zest;
• 1.5 tsp. baking powder;
• a pinch of salt.

The baking order is as follows.

1. Sift the flour twice, combine with baking powder, ginger and salt.
2. Whisk the egg and sugar, add the softened butter and stir until smooth. At the end, add finely grated lemon zest.
3. While stirring, add dry ingredients to the egg mixture.
4. Cover the baking sheet with baking paper and place the dough on it with a tablespoon, forming round cakes. Stick pieces of candied orange peel into them on top.
5. Bake for about 6 minutes. at a temperature of 180 °C.

Many people enjoy the taste of nuts, and they are often added to dough or used as decoration. Please note that the kernels contain fats that increase the calorie content of baked goods.

Almonds and hazelnuts go best with ginger. The nuts should be ground until the texture of the dough is uniform. The cookies will be darker if you use brown sugar instead of regular sugar.

Compound:

• 0.4 kg wheat flour;
• 30 g chopped ginger;
• 0.1 kg of ground nuts (walnuts, almonds or hazelnuts);
• 150 g granulated sugar;
• 120 g butter;
• 2 eggs;
• 60 ml liquid honey;
• 2 tsp baking powder.

The baking order is as follows.

1. Remove the butter from the refrigerator until it becomes soft.
2. Gradually add flour, baking powder, nuts and ginger.
3. Beat eggs with sugar and combine with the main mass.
4. Roll out the dough into a layer 0.7 cm wide and cut out cookies with cookie cutters. Place the products on baking paper and bake in an oven preheated to 180°C.

Chocolate

The chocolate ginger cookies will turn a beautiful brown color after baking. It can be served with coffee or cocoa. If some of the products are sprinkled with powdered sugar, in a vase they will look like a different type of dessert.

Compound:

• 0.2 kg wheat flour;
• 20 g chopped ginger;
• 100 g granulated sugar;
• 0.12 kg butter;
• 1 egg;
• 2.5 tsp cocoa powder;
• 0.5 tsp ground cinnamon;
• 1.5 tsp. baking powder;
• a pinch of salt.

The baking order is as follows.

1. Before kneading the dough, place the butter in the freezer for 1 hour.
2. Mix the bulk ingredients in a deep container. Add chopped butter to them.
3. At the end, add the egg and knead the dough. Roll it out into a layer and cut out cookies.
4. Bake it in the oven for 8-9 minutes. at a temperature of 180 °C.

The highlight of Australian gingerbread cookies is the thick layer of honey glaze. It is an essential and essential part of baking. It is not difficult to prepare, although it includes many components and requires cooking.

The dough is dried in the oven in a layer without cutting out the figures. Then it is covered with glaze and only then cut into rectangles with a knife.

Compound:

• 0.45 kg wheat flour;
• 20 g chopped ginger;
• 150 g granulated sugar;
• 130 g butter;
• 1 tsp baking powder.

Glaze composition:

• 100 g butter;
• 250 g powdered sugar;
• 1.5 tsp. ginger;
• 3 tbsp. liquid honey.

The baking order is as follows.

1. Beat softened butter with sugar.
2. Mix the bulk ingredients and combine with the oil. Place the dough on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator for half an hour.
3. Roll out the layer no thicker than 1 cm and bake it in the oven on baking paper.
4. Place butter and honey in a ladle, mix with ginger and powdered sugar. Heat over low heat, stirring until the glaze foams.
5. Cover the cooled dough layer with glaze and dry for several hours. Cut into individual cookies with a knife.

How to decorate gingerbread cookies

The most common way to decorate cookies is to sprinkle them with powdered sugar when placing them on a baking sheet. In this case, one side will become beige, and the other, with powder, will remain light.

Also, before going into the oven, chopped nuts, candied fruits or pieces of chocolate are stuck into the soft cookie dough. You can also put them in the dough, but this way the look will be more colorful.

The primacy among the options for decorating gingerbread cookies is glaze. It is prepared from water and sugar, with the addition of lemon or orange juice and egg white.

With the last component, the glaze will become snow-white, as the whites are whipped into a thick foam. The ornament is applied directly to the cookies themselves or the background is first painted over and thin lines are drawn on top. Multi-colored dots and strokes look no less attractive.

The baking tray should not be greased with vegetable oil, otherwise the cookies will not become crispy. It can be covered with baking paper or lightly sprinkled with flour.

If the glaze dries out immediately, there is not enough water in it. It should be added in minimal volumes, almost drops, so as not to pour too much. The glaze is transferred into a pastry bag, after which it is applied to the cookies. It lays down in a thick layer, so you need to dry the products for at least 7-8 hours.

Conclusion

This easy-to-prepare, aromatic pastry will melt in your mouth because the dough contains butter. Ginger cookies do not spoil for at least a week and you can bake them before the holidays, so that on the last day before the New Year you can spend more time with your loved ones, and not in the kitchen.

Although cookies are associated with Christmas, no one will refuse to treat themselves to them in the summer. Having depicted suitable pictures on it, it is prepared for birthdays and any other celebration. There is no need to wait until the end of the year to eat a delicious treat, because it is so quick to make.

My name is Julia Jenny Norman and I am an author of articles and books. I cooperate with the publishing houses "OLMA-PRESS" and "AST", as well as with glossy magazines. Currently I help promote virtual reality projects. I have European roots, but I spent most of my life in Moscow. There are many museums and exhibitions here that charge you with positivity and give inspiration. In my spare time I study French medieval dances. I am interested in any information about that era. I offer you articles that can captivate you with a new hobby or simply give you pleasant moments. You need to dream about something beautiful, then it will come true!

Gingerbread cookies have long been considered a New Year's sweet. The year of the Red Fire Rooster will not be an exception. We bring to your attention the 5 best recipes for gingerbread cookies that will suit every taste.

Classic gingerbread cookies

INGREDIENTS

• honey - 3 tbsp. l.
• sugar - 2 tbsp. l.
• ginger and cinnamon - 2 tsp each.
• ground nutmeg and coriander - a pinch each
• soda - 1 tsp.
• butter - 70 g
• egg - 1 pc.
• flour - 1.5 cups.

For the glaze:

• powdered sugar - 180 g
• protein - 1 pc.

COOKING

Mix honey, sugar and all spices in a saucepan. Place on the stove and melt over low heat, stirring until bubbles form. After boiling, add soda to make the mixture rise, add butter and stir until it is completely dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool. Next step: add the egg and stir well. Add flour and knead the dough. Let him rest for 10-15 minutes. Roll out the dough, cut out shapes and place on a baking sheet with parchment. Bake gingerbread cookies for 10-13 minutes at a temperature of 180-190 degrees.

Preparing the glaze:

Mix powdered sugar and egg white in a deep bowl and beat with a mixer until soft and fluffy. Pour the resulting mass into a pastry or disposable plastic bag and color the finished gingerbread. Let the glaze harden (on average 1-1.5 hours). Bon appetit.

Gingerbread cookies without butter and sugar

INGREDIENTS

• dense cottage cheese - 200 g.
• finely ground wheat or oat bran -50 g.
• egg white - 1 pc.
• whole grain flour - 3 tbsp. l.
• liquid stevia, or maple syrup, or heated honey - 1 tbsp. l.
• ground ginger - 2 tsp.
• ground cinnamon - 1 tsp.
• ground cloves - 1 tsp.
• cocoa powder - 1 tsp.
• baking powder - 1 tsp.
• A pinch of salt, nutmeg, cardamom

COOKING

Using a mixer, mix cottage cheese, egg white, sweetener and all spices in a bowl. Mix the bran into this mass, and then begin to add flour, continuing to knead the mixture with your hands or a spoon. Afterwards, wrap the resulting dough in cling film and put it in the freezer for an hour. Afterwards, roll out the dough into a layer 4–5 mm thick, cut out the figures and place them on a baking sheet with parchment. Place the baking sheet in the preheated oven for 12-15 minutes. Bake gingerbread cookies at a temperature of 180-190 degrees.

Gingerbread cookies with fresh ginger

Gingerbread cookies with fresh ginger. Photo: Social network

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups sifted flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 100 g softened butter
• 1 egg
• 2 small ginger roots
• 5-6 carnation inflorescences
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking powder

COOKING

Peel the ginger and grate it on a fine grater. Grind cloves and cinnamon in a mortar. Mix flour with baking powder, grated ginger, cloves and cinnamon. Beat butter and sugar until white, add egg. Add flour to the resulting mixture and knead the dough. Sprinkle the table with flour, place the dough on it and roll out. Cut out cookies from the dough using cookie cutters. Sprinkle with sugar or ground almonds. Grease a baking sheet with oil or sprinkle with flour and place cookies on it. Bake cookies in a preheated oven for 25-30 minutes at a temperature of 180-190 degrees.

Gingerbread cookies with chocolate

INGREDIENTS

• Butter - 125 g
• Sugar - 200 g
• Vanillin - 2 g
• Ginger - 80-90 g
• Chicken egg - 4 pcs
• Wheat flour - 250 g
• Soda - 1 tsp.
• Dark chocolate - 400 g
• Raisins - 200 g

COOKING

Beat softened butter with sugar until smooth. Add vanillin and beat in eggs, one at a time, beating thoroughly each time. Grind the ginger using a blender or coffee grinder and add to the oil-egg mixture. Mix sifted flour with soda. Pour it into a deep container. Grate the chocolate on a coarse grater or cut into small pieces with a knife. Stir in chocolate and mix thoroughly. Wash and dry the raisins. Add it to the dough. Sprinkle the table with flour, place the dough on it and roll out. Cut out cookies from the dough using cookie cutters. Place the cookies on a greased baking sheet and place in an oven preheated to 180 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

Ginger cookies with almonds

INGREDIENTS

• Wheat flour - 250 g
• Baking powder - 1 tsp.
• Salt - 1 tsp.
• Butter (or margarine, softened) - 200 g
• Sugar (less possible) - 150 g
• Vanilla sugar - 1-2 tsp.
• Ginger (ground) - 1 tsp.
• Chicken egg (1 for dough + 1 yolk for greasing) - 2 pcs.
• Milk (for greasing) - 1 tbsp. l.
• Vegetable oil (for greasing the baking sheet)
• Almonds (chopped) - 50 g

COOKING

Beat the egg with sugar, add softened butter and continue beating. Add vanillin, chopped almonds and ground ginger to the resulting mixture. Start mixing flour and baking powder into a homogeneous mass. Knead the mixture into an elastic dough. Then place the dough in a bag and put it in the refrigerator for 45 minutes - 1 hour. Roll out the dough to a thickness of 3-5 mm, cut out cookies with cookie cutters. To make the cookies shiny, beat 1 yolk + 1 tbsp. l. milk and grease. Place the cookies on a greased baking sheet and place in an oven preheated to 180 degrees for 25-30 minutes until golden brown.

How to prepare ginger cookies at home for the New Year, Easter or any other occasion so that they turn out tasty, aromatic and beautiful, like experienced chefs? A selection of the best proven recipes, useful tips on cooking and decorating, as well as creative ideas and new design options will help you make your homemade baked goods flawless in every way. Learn to prepare a Christmas delicacy according to all the rules and surprise your family and friends as often as possible.

Secrets and rules for successful baking with ginger

The basic recipe for gingerbread cookies has been known for a long time. Despite this, there are many options for preparing it. You can even say that every housewife has her own signature method of cooking, not similar to the others. However, there are several universal rules that make baked goods tasty and aromatic.

Gingerbread cookies with decor

The history of the delicious tradition

The history of Christmas baking with the addition of spicy ginger root goes back to the distant Middle Ages. In those days, spices were highly valued because they were brought from distant exotic countries. People allowed themselves spices only on major holidays.

Christmas is one of the main Christian holidays. It is believed that the history of gingerbread cookies begins in an English monastery. While preparing holiday baking, one of the monks decided to experiment a little and added spices to the dough, including grated ginger root.

New Year's decor

The result exceeded all expectations. The fragrant hot cookies with a spicy taste were liked not only by the monks, but also by everyone who tried them. The tradition has taken root, and for many Christmases in a row, not only in England, but all over the world, housewives bake gingerbread cookies in the shape of angels, men, stars and other Christmas symbols.

Gradually, gingerbread cookies began to be baked for Easter, using appropriate decorations for them. In a simple version, you can prepare sweets every day without thinking about the occasion.

Decoration for Easter

How to get perfect shortcakes

In order for the cookies to turn out the way you want, you need to take into account several important details during preparation.

First of all, you need to take care of the ginger. It is this root that makes Christmas baking so special. The quality of the spice determines how pronounced and pleasant the taste will be.

You can also use dried ground ginger, which is sold in bags. But, according to the experience of many housewives, dry spices are inferior to freshly grated root in terms of brightness of taste and smell. A good ginger root should be light, firm and juicy. For the dough, grate it on a fine grater.

Not everyone knows about another secret ingredient. Many novice housewives, faced with popular recipes for gingerbread cookies, are perplexed why in the picture they look dark and appetizing, and the result is white, blurry shortcakes. It's all about dark molasses - a sweet syrup that is added to the dough.

Molasses is the secret ingredient

The properties of molasses are not limited to rich color. It makes baked goods softer, airier, and the cookies do not crumble or dry out. In addition, it retains its taste properties longer. The use of molasses in baking is very common in the West, but it is not always possible to buy it here. Therefore, resourceful housewives came up with the idea of ​​replacing it with cocoa powder. But in this case, only the color of the finished product will improve.

Rolling out the dough, it turns out, is also not without tricks. Unlike yeast dough, ginger dough does not tolerate an excess of flour. Rolling it out is not so easy; it sticks to the rolling pin, to the table, to your hands. Instead of endlessly flouring all surfaces, thereby degrading the quality, you can resort to another method - using cling film.

To do this, before rolling out, the dough should be cooled and placed between two layers of cling film. You can safely roll it out, not paying attention to the cellophane. This way the dough will become the desired thickness and will not stick or tear. Then you can carefully remove the film and start cutting out the figures.

Another option is to use parchment paper instead of film.

Gingerbread recipes - from classic to unique

Each of these recipes differs from the others not only in ingredients, but also in cooking technology. You may have to try making several types of cookies at once to choose the perfect option. Because it’s very difficult to decide on a favorite without trying it. One thing can be said with confidence - all these recipes have been tested by many chefs, pastry chefs and housewives and will not let you down.

Variety of decor

Classic ginger dough recipe

The classic recipe for New Year's cookies with the addition of ginger is suitable for those who prefer the classics. It is worth noting that this method came from European countries; in our country, Christmas gingerbreads were more often prepared and they used something completely different - choux pastry and rye flour. Classic gingerbread cookies prepared according to the basic recipe will definitely turn out the way you imagine them, since it has been tested by more than one generation of chefs.

Classic light crispy shortcakes

Ingredients:

• flour – 320 g;
• butter – 180 g;
• sugar (preferably brown) – 100 g;
• egg – 1 large;
• baking powder – 15 g;
• salt – 1 pinch;
• dark molasses – 100 g.

• ginger - a piece the size of a thumb (grated);
• nutmeg – 0.5 tsp;
• cinnamon – 1 tsp;
• cloves – 0.25 tsp.

It’s easy to prepare this dough:

1. Mix all dry ingredients except sugar in one container: flour, baking powder, salt and spices.
2. Separately, beat the butter and sugar, add the egg and molasses.
3. Then both parts need to be mixed, adding dry ingredients to the butter-egg mixture until a ball is formed. The dough will be smooth, soft and slightly sticky.

It turns out so tiny

The next stage is to give the dough time to rest. To do this, you need to wrap it tightly in cling film and put it in the refrigerator for an hour and a half. The dough should be rolled out. Not too thin - about 4 mm thick. To prevent it from melting, work with a small part of the ball and keep the rest in the refrigerator.

Store the dough in the refrigerator in film

You need to bake in an oven preheated to 180 degrees. If you have an electric oven, set the “warming from below and from above” mode, so the gingerbread cookies will be baked equally well on all sides. Lay parchment paper on a baking sheet and place the shortcakes at a short distance from each other. You need to bake for about 15 minutes. Depending on the oven and the size of the figures.

Comet cookie cutters

Option for every day

Cookies with royal icing for decoration

Homemade gingerbread cookies with icing are a favorite childhood treat. It is bright, colorful, and even the little ones can be involved in decorating baked goods. The recipe is not very different from the classic version. The trick here is making the right glaze. You can beautifully color cookies prepared according to any recipe you like. The classic version will also work.

Show off your artistic talent by coloring

The proposed recipe for icing is called Royal icing. Royal icing is simple to prepare, easy to apply to baked goods, dries quickly, does not stick to your hands, and has a beautiful glossy sheen.

Ingredients for making gingerbread cookies with icing:

• finished and cooled cookies;
• eggs – 2 pcs. (only proteins are needed);
• lemon juice (freshly squeezed) – 2 tsp;
• vanilla sugar – 1 sachet;
• powdered sugar – 3 tbsp;
• food coloring - optional.

Royal icing ingredients

In a completely dry and fat-free bowl, beat 2 egg whites with lemon juice at maximum mixer speed. This takes about 2 minutes. When the whites turn into a dense foam, you need to reduce the mixer speed and gradually add the sifted powdered sugar.

Use a mixer to beat

After this, the mixer is again set to maximum speed and the icing is whipped for at least 5 minutes. The result should be a white, dense, smooth and shiny glaze. To get colored icing, you need to divide the icing into the required number of parts and add food coloring to each. Then you need to transfer the royal icing into a piping bag for drawing on the cookies.

The bag can be made from a plastic bag

Ginger and honey – a duet for those with a sweet tooth

Adding honey to baked goods is a favorite technique of many confectioners. Honey is not only much healthier than sugar, but also gives a pleasant floral aroma. These cookies go very well with aromatic herbal tea or hot mulled wine.

Ingredients for making honey ginger cookies at home:

• flour – 200 g;
• soda – 0.25 tsp;
• powdered sugar – 75 g;
• salt – 0.25 tsp;
• egg – 1 pc. (you only need the yolk);
• butter – 3 tbsp. l.;
• honey - 2 tbsp. l.;
• dry ground ginger – 1 tsp;
• cinnamon – 1 tsp.

The ingredients are simple and can be found in every kitchen.

Again, just like the basic gingerbread cookie recipe, start with the dry ingredients. Mix flour, salt, soda and spices in one container. To ensure they are better mixed and saturated with oxygen, do not neglect sifting through a sieve.

Dry ingredients together

Next you need to tackle the butter. This recipe uses cold butter. It needs to be chopped into small cubes with a knife. This should be done as quickly as possible so that the butter does not start to melt from contact with your hands. Add the frozen butter chunks to the dry ingredients and start preparing the butter crumbs - rub the butter into the flour with your palms until you get uniform crumbs.

Add oil

Now you can add honey, yolk and powdered sugar to the resulting mixture, knead the dough - it comes out cool and shiny. Depending on the quality of flour and the size of the egg, the dough may not roll well into a ball and crumble. In this case, you can add a little more liquid honey.

Add remaining ingredients

The ball of ginger dough should remain in the refrigerator for at least an hour, wrapped in cling film. Roll out the cold dough into a layer 3-5 mm thick, cut out the molds and bake at 180 degrees for 10 minutes. Hot cookies seem too soft and even raw. But once the shortcakes cool and sit at room temperature for a while, they will become crispy and moderately hard, just like gingerbread cookies should be.

Figures can be anything

Walnut cookies with ginger - indescribable aroma

In order for the nuts to fully reveal their full range of flavors, they need to be roasted in the oven. You can add raw nuts to the gingerbread cookies in the hope that they will bake sufficiently in the oven, but most likely the moisture from the dough will not allow them to do this, so it is better to use chopped and pre-roasted nuts.

Lush nut trees

You already know how to make ginger cookies with your own hands; below is another proven recipe with the addition of nut crumbs. You can add available peanuts or walnuts, as well as any other types: almonds, pecans, hazelnuts.

Ingredients:

• flour – 400 g;
• egg – 1 pc.;
• sugar (optionally brown) – 3 tbsp. l.;
• salt – 0.2 tsp;
• soda – 0.5 tsp;
• black molasses or honey - 0.5 cups;
• chopped nuts – 0.5 cups;
• fresh ginger, finely grated – 1.5 tsp;
• cinnamon, nutmeg, black pepper - 0.5 tsp each.

Ingredients for this recipe

Preparation:

This recipe uses soft butter at room temperature. It is better to remove it from the refrigerator several hours before cooking. Beat butter and sugar with a mixer until smooth. Add honey and egg, mix.

Soft butter whips well

Now it's time to add spices. At this same stage, soda comes into play. In this recipe, there is no need to extinguish the soda, since it will interact with honey, which is in the composition and contains a large amount of fruit acids. If you prefer dark molasses, it is better to use baking powder instead of soda.

Add everything to one bowl

Add flour gradually; you may need a little less or more depending on the quality. After this, you will have a smooth dough that does not stick to your hands. Roll it into a ball and place it in the refrigerator for at least an hour. Some argue that homemade gingerbread cookies taste better and hold their shape better if the dough is completely frozen at this stage and then defrosted.

Cutting out figures is the fun part

Lemon cookies with dry ginger

This recipe uses boiled eggs and dry ground ginger - perfect for those who don't want to take the time to prepare fresh root.

Ingredients:

• boiled egg yolk – 4 pieces;
• powdered sugar – 70 g;
• butter – 80 g;
• premium flour – 200 g;
• ginger powder (or grated root) – 2 tsp;
• lemon zest – 2 tsp.

Simple people

Preparation of ginger liver step by step:

1. Thoroughly grind the cooled yolks with powdered sugar to a smooth paste.
2. Add soft butter and mash again.
3. If the ginger is grated, add it to the mixture; if it is dry, mix it with flour and zest.
4. Combine the flour with the egg-butter mixture and place the resulting sticky dough in the refrigerator for half an hour.
5. Roll out the dough into a layer and cut out the figures.
6. Place on a baking sheet lined with baking paper and bake at 180 degrees until the cookies are golden.

Lemon cookies

Decorate with icing sugar flavored with ginger powder or frosting for a festive twist.

Spicy rye cookies without eggs

For those who don't like baking with eggs, there is a recipe for gingerbread cookies without this ingredient. Products needed:

• 300 g butter;
• 3 cups rye flour;
• Partial (2/3) cup of brown sugar;
• 3 tsp. ginger powder;
• 3 tsp. cinnamon;
• 3 tsp. cardamom;
• 0.5 tsp. nutmeg;
• 6 tsp. sour cream;
• 1.5 tsp. soda, slaked with lemon juice.

Other spices can be used

First of all, mix all the dry ingredients, then add soft butter to the mixture and knead the dough. Keep it in the refrigerator for half an hour, then roll it out and cut out the desired shapes.

Bake for a quarter of an hour at 180 degrees.

All the secrets of decorating baked goods

You already know the recipe for classic glaze for gingerbread cookies. Lemon juice gives the sugary-sweet cake the necessary sourness. If desired, you can add a few drops of flavoring - mint or rum. This addition will give baked goods an unusual touch. It remains to add that in order to accurately decorate baked goods, professional confectioners resort to decorating with icing in two stages.

First, a thicker version of icing is prepared - contour. Its density should be such that when applying the glaze using a pastry bag with a thin nozzle, the icing does not spread, but holds its shape. With this glaze you need to draw the contours of the figures and separate the borders of the colors.

The contours of the figures are drawn with white glaze

The contour glaze for cookies with ginger hardens very quickly, but it must be applied strictly to cold cakes. Then the main, more liquid glaze is prepared. It will be the main decoration of the delicacy. This glaze is painted in the desired colors. The “correct” density allows it to spread evenly within the boundaries of the contour.

Soft colored glaze

In addition to icing, homemade gingerbread cookies can be decorated with coconut flakes, almond petals, special icings and frostings, which are sold in confectionery departments. Edible beads, glitter, colored sprinkles – there are now more than enough options for decorating New Year’s baked goods.

Glaze and coconut flakes - very stylish

Creative design and presentation ideas

Ginger cookies can simply be laid out on a plate, placed in a tin or a beautiful basket. But these colorful figures look much more interesting in a different role. Try making a gingerbread house; it will be a very interesting activity for children during the holidays. More ideas: decorate a Christmas tree with cookies or, even more original, make a Christmas tree from the cookies themselves.

Coloring baked goods is an art

How to make a snowy gingerbread house

Probably everyone remembers the fairy tale about Hansel and Gretel - two children who were attracted by a fairy-tale gingerbread house in a deep forest. A delicious house made of gingerbread cookies, the walls, roof and all other elements of which can be eaten - the dream of every child.

A home made with your own hands looks very cute

It is customary to bake such delicious houses on cold winter evenings - for the New Year and Christmas. To treat yourself to this unusual delicacy, prepare the version of ginger dough that you like best. Please note that the cakes should be smooth and not rise much in the oven.

You can come up with the design of the house yourself. If you don’t have enough imagination, take a ready-made diagram. All you need is to draw and cut out all the parts: the roof and base one at a time, and the large side wall and the facade (aka the back) two at a time.

House drawing

Roll out the dough into a thin layer. Lay out the cut out elements and trace them with a sharp knife. Then the walls and roof of the house need to be baked in the oven until cooked, removed and cooled. Better yet, let it sit for several hours.

To glue all the parts together, use a white glaze - beat the eggs with powdered sugar until stiff peaks form. Fill the mixture into a pastry syringe and connect all the parts of the ginger dough house. Windows, doors and other small details can be painted with icing. Show all your imagination in decorating the gingerbread house, then it will become unique.

Most attention should be paid to decor

Christmas tree decorations with ginger scent

You can decorate the main attribute of the New Year's holiday - the Christmas tree - not only with standard balls and tinsel. Unusual decorations made from gingerbread cookies can dilute the rest of the decor and even replace it completely.

There is nothing complicated about how to make gingerbread cookies for decorating a Christmas tree with your own hands. Select the desired molds, prepare the ginger dough, roll out and cut out the shapes. Already at this stage there is one little trick. To make it convenient to hang the gingerbread cookies by a string, make holes in the raw figurines using a wooden stick.

Beautiful and natural toys for the Christmas tree

Bake for as long as directed in the recipe. When the ginger-scented Christmas decorations have cooled, start decorating. The figurines, painted in the style of traditional Arkhangelsk gingerbread - roe, look very colorful. The molds must be appropriate: birds, goats, horses, cockerels. Decorative glaze is not applied in a continuous layer, but in an elegant pattern of thin wavy lines and dots.

A classic of the genre - gingerbread men. In their preparation they do not differ from other types of these baked goods. The main thing is to give them the desired shape and draw facial features.

Sometimes a minimal amount of decor is enough

Delicious and fragrant Christmas tree

You can even make a New Year tree from ginger dough - small, but impressive and original. The most magnificent is the Christmas tree made from figures in the shape of stars.

Cut out and bake a sufficient number of stars of varying sizes using one of the step-by-step gingerbread cookie recipes above. Glue them together with icing, stacking the stars in layers, from largest to smallest. Fold them so that the corners of adjacent layers do not coincide, this way the “branches” will look more natural.

You can decorate a tree in different ways. Some people like green icing and painted balls. Others prefer traditional white icing. Here everyone chooses an option to their taste. This Christmas tree will be a wonderful addition to a New Year's gift and a decoration for the holiday table.

Making ginger cookies at home is a very exciting and unifying activity. Preparing Christmas delicacies with the whole family, and then exchanging delicious fragrant figurines with relatives and friends - this tradition preserves the very spirit of Christmas. Do not deny yourself the pleasure, feel free to start baking!