Christmas Caramel Gingerbread Cookies

⏳ Time

2 hours 30 minutes

🥕 Ingredients

🍽️ Servings

Description

The spice blend is special; you can use it as is or mix it to your taste. The set of spices added to the dough is one of the secrets to a truly delicious gingerbread cookie. The shape of the cookies and their decoration depend only on your imagination. You can build a gingerbread house, cut out snowflakes and ornaments for the tree, make them round if you prefer, or decorate them together with children.

Ingredients

Wheat Flour - 24 oz
Sugar - 14.1 oz
Water - 12 fl oz
Butter - 6.3 oz
Whole egg - 1 piece
Salt - 0.2 oz
Activated Baking Soda - 0.2 oz
Spices - 0.2 oz

Step by Step guide

Step 1

In a fairly large pot (at least 3–4 liters), pour in the sugar (400 g), place it on the stove (over medium heat) and cook the caramel. It should be beautiful, uniform, and transparent. Carefully pour in boiling water (350 ml) in several portions, stirring well, preferably with a wooden spatula. You will get a rather liquid caramel mixture; it should not boil.

Step 2

Add small cubes of butter (180 g). Its temperature doesn't matter; it will melt anyway. Melt it on the stove, constantly stirring the mixture with a spatula. Next, add the baking soda (5 g), salt (5 g), and spices (5 g). The mixture will start to foam, which is why a large pot is needed; otherwise, it will overflow. Continue stirring the mixture with the spatula. Pour the mixture into a mixer bowl or a large bowl.

Step 3

The recipe calls for only 5 grams of spices. However, to achieve the right and good flavor, you should prepare a bit more so that the composition and proportions are the same each time — the larger the total mass, the lower the chance of error. One common spice blend for gingerbread includes: cinnamon (1.5 teaspoons), nutmeg (1 teaspoon), ground ginger (1 teaspoon), cardamom (0.5 teaspoon), ground cloves (0.5 teaspoon), and white pepper (0.5 teaspoon). Gather this mixture, mix well, and then add the 5 grams specified in the recipe to the dough.

Step 4

Add about a third of the flour. Knead the dough until uniform. Next, add the yolk (from a large egg). Then add the remaining flour. The dough will become denser. As it cools, it will resemble plasticine and will not stick to your hands. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3–4 hours.

Step 5

Place the cooled dough on a work surface. It will not stick to your hands at all, and you can roll it out without parchment or flour. The thickness of the rolled-out dough will determine whether the cookies are crispy or softer.

Step 6

Bake in a preheated oven at 338°F (340 degrees Fahrenheit), in 'top-bottom' mode. It is important not to overbake the cookies, so they should be taken out when they are still slightly soft to the touch. This takes about 9–10 minutes. They will rise well, so do not place them too closely together.