When the Irish Foodies Christmas Cookalong was announced I knew instantly that I wanted to make gingerbread cookies. There is something about the sight of a cute little gingerbread person that always brings a smile to my face. I have a stash of cookie cutters cluttering up the kitchen so couldn't wait to get stuck in. I was really pleased with the results, a deliciously moist cookie with just the right balance of Christmas spice. Although you will have to excuse my icing skills, they are not quite what they should be. Enjoy!
Gingerbread Cookies
(The amount of cookies you yield will depend on the size and shape of your cookie cutters, depending on size you should yield between 12 and 36.)
350g/12oz Plain Flour
1.5tsp Ground Ginger
0.5tsp Ground Cinnamon
1tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
100g/4oz Unsalted Butter, chilled
175g/6oz Dark Muscovado Sugar
1 Large Egg
2tbsp Black Treacle
30ml/1floz Milk
Icing and sweets of your choice to decorate.
1. Sieve the flour, spices and bicarbonate of soda into a large bowl.
2. Grate the butter into the dry ingredients and rub in until the mixture has a breadcrumb consistency. Add the sugar and stir in. (you may notice some dark spots in my cookies, my sugar had some lumps that I didn't take the time to break down as I was a bit up to my eyeballs in flour so take the time to break them down to avoid this happening.)
3. Break the egg into a separate bowl and mix with the black treacle. Add to the flour mixture and stir to form a smooth dough.
4. Add the milk to help to bind the dough together, form into a ball, wrap in clingfilm and pop into the fridge for half an hour to chill.
5. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4. Line 2 baking sheets with grease proof paper.
6. After half an hour remove the dough from the fridge. Place on a floured work surface and roll out to a depth of 5mm. Flour cookie cutters, cut out shapes and place onto the lined baking sheets. If you are left with off cuts form them into a dough ball, roll out to 5mm and repeat the cutting process.
7. Place the cookies into the middle of the preheated oven and bake for 12-15 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
8. Decorate as you wish with icing and sweets of your choice or leave plain if you prefer. The cookies will keep for up to 5 days in an airtight container.
*** If you do not have cookie cutters you can simply cut into squares or use an upturned glass or cup to make rounds. To make the houses in the picture above simply cut the dough into rectangles and then cut two small triangles from the top to form the point of the roof. ***
