Gingerbread Cookies - Pfefferkuchen

Christmas is around the corner once again and so I want to share with you some recipes which after some tweaking here and there have become my favourites. Todays' recipe is meant for cookie cutters, stars, hearts etc. But if you have a gingerbread man cutter, all the better because the cookies are ideal for decorating with coloured icing. Or coating with melted baking chocolate or couverture. Both methods are great in temperate zones but here in the tropics any icing will just melt. Nevertheless the cookies are delicious!

First batch

And now for the recipe:
500 g wheat flour                                                          2 Tbsp water
1 tsp. baking powder                                                     1 medium egg
1 Tbsp bicarbonate of soda                                           2 Tbsp ground cinnamon
100 g sugar                                                                    2 Tbsp ground ginger
200 g golden syrup or molasses                                    1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp vanilla extract                                                       1/2 tsp ground green cardamoms
125 g soft butter                                                            1/4 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt                                                                                     

Ready for the oven

Method:
Mix all dry ingredients in a large bowl, including the spices. Then add the soft butter, syrup or
molasses, vanilla extract, water and egg. Mix with the dough hooks on your hand mixer, use a stand mixer or do it the old-fashioned way by hand. When dough is smooth wrap in clingfilm and chill for about an hour. Then cut dough into about 4 portions for easy handling.

Lightly flour your work surface and start rolling out the dough to about 1/2 cm thickness or slightly thicker. Place shapes on lined baking trays and bake at 190 degrees Celsius (375 F) in preheated oven for 15 minutes.

Remove to cooling racks together with the baking paper and allow to cool. Initially the cookies will be quite soft but will get crisp by next day. Once they are completely cool, store them in airtight tin containers. I find that plastic containers are not as efficient in keeping cookies fresh.

On the cooling rack

If you wish to decorate your cookies, the next day will be best. This recipe yields about 90 cookies, depending on size and thickness.


I would love to hear from you if you decide to try these cookies!

Spicy!

After the last article I was asked what Lebkuchen spice is or rather what it is composed of. The professional bakers all have their own spice mix which is a well kept secret. Apart from that there are also regional differences, so the choice is not easy for the home baker. Ready-made spice mixes are now available but not in every part of the world. So I did some research and came up with my own version.

In order to get the best out of spices one should preferably buy whole spices instead of ground because they keep their flavour and aroma for a much longer time. Some spices like cinnamon and ginger are acceptable ground because generally they are used more frequently.

Another important factor is the ratio of each spice in relation to the others. Some spices are so strong in flavour that only a little is used in order not to overpower the rest.

Let me show you the spices I used:

From top to bottom on the left side:

ground cinnamon

ground ginger

whole cardamoms (only seeds are  used)

whole cloves

From top to bottom centre:

whole nutmeg

whole allspice (pimento)

who;e star anise

fennel seeds

From top to bottom on the right:

mace

ground coriander (I ran out of seeds)

ground pepper

Quantities for whole spices should at least be double of what is needed when ground. Remember to calculate well. I shall give you the amounts needed when ground to a fine powder.

cinnamon               2 Tbsp

ginger                     1/2 tsp

cardamoms

(seeds only)            1/2 tsp

cloves                      2 tsp

nutmeg                    1/4 tsp

allspice                    1/2 tsp

star anise                  1/2 tsp

fennel                       1/2 tsp

mace (blades)           a generous pinch

coriander                 1/2 tsp

pepper                      1/4 tsp.

The first five spices listed are essential to the mix, but adding the others will really enhance the complexity of flavours. But if you do not fancy a particular spice you can omit it or substitute for one with similar taste, e.g. fennel seeds for aniseed. 

To make up your batch of Lebkuchen spice put all the whole spices in a dry frying pan, after calculating and measuring,

 and fry on medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Take off the heat and allow to cool. When cool place in spice grinder or coffee grinder and grind to a fine powder. If the quantity is too small to be processed properly add the already ground spices like cinnamon and ginger to help with the processing. 

I hope you enjoy making this, so you can create your own personalized Lebkuchen or Pfefferkuchen!

More From My Grandmother's Christmas Kitchen

The enticing aroma and bewitching taste of Pfefferkuchen and Lebkuchen at Christmastime make them an unforgettable experience no matter how many years pass. These baked treats are in a class of their own and have no relationship with gingerbread in my opinion.

Recipes go back to the Middle Ages down to the 12th century when the spice trade was flourishing. Guilds were formed and no one not belonging was allowed to bake any Pfefferkuchen! Luckily we do not have these restrictions anymore and we have the choice of hundreds of well tested recipes!

My recipe today is not that ancient but just over a hundred years old. It is also fairly easy to prepare, considering that we now have blenders and mixers and food processors, items our grandmothers had to substitute with elbow grease!

What you need:
2 baking sheets, buttered and dusted with flour
Cooling racks, 2
Hand mixer with whisks and kneading hooks
Cookie cutters

Ingredients for the dough:
250 g granulated sugar (or a little less if you don't want it so sweet)
3 eggs
2 tsp Lebkuchen spice
60 g candied orange peel, finely chopped
zest of a fresh lemon
375 g plain flour
4 tsp baking powder

Preparation:
Sift flour and baking powder together in a bowl and keep aside. In a fairly large bowl whisk sugar and eggs until light and fluffy. add all the spices and mix in at low speed. Change whisks to kneading hooks and gradually incorporate the flour. On slow speed so you would not spread flour dust everywhere! When all flour ha been added increase speed and continue kneading for about 5 minutes until well combined. At this stage the dough is very sticky and impossible to work with. So wrap it in clingfilm and keep in the fridge for a few hours. Overnight is even better.
Preheat oven to gas 4 (180 C), placing the shelf just above centre. Flour your work surface and rolling pin. Roll out dough to almost finger thickness (one of the many quaint measurements), a generous 1 centimetre is fine. Using cutters of your choice cut out as many cookies as you can, re-rolling any leftover dough. Place on prepared baking sheets and bake for 10 - 15 minutes. Mine took 12 minutes! At 10 minutes they were not quite done and at 15 minutes they had become too crisp.
I think every oven is different, so it is advisable to bake a trial piece first in order not to ruin the lot! When done place on cooling racks and then prepare the icing.

For the icing you will need:
200 g icing sugar
1 egg white large
a very few drops of lemon or almond essence

Preparation:
Sift icing sugar into a bowl. In another bowl lightly whisk the egg white then gradually add the icing sugar on low speed and your chosen flavouring. Whisk until smooth and thick. Immediately brush the icing over the cookies and allow to set and harden before storing in airtight tins.

This recipe yields about 40 cookies.