Today, you can buy anything in the store, and if you wish, of course, you can also purchase Christmas gingerbread. But will their taste and flavor meet the expectations, or will it be just beautiful pastries, hastily baked on a production scale for the Christmas holidays?
Anyway, homemade pastries are not only naturally and incredibly tasty, they are also some kind of family traditions, warm friendly relations in the family.
Christmas Gingerbread Cookies - General Cooking Principles
• The dough for Christmas gingerbread can be different: prepared in the raw way, where, due to the huge content of sugar, honey or molasses, it turns out to be both friable and viscous; cooked in a custard way, where the flour is first brewed, then the mixture is cooled and only then the other ingredients are added; and in other ways.
• The form for Christmas gingerbread plays a special role - it should be really festive, in the form of various little animals, snowmen, Christmas trees, gifts. To shape it, you can use either special molds, or a sharp knife, which should be rolled in flour before cutting.
• You can also add various fillings and fillings to Christmas gingerbread cookies. Christmas gingerbreads are honey, ginger, chocolate, mint; nuts, candied fruits, citrus zest, chocolate chips are added to the dough. Here a lot depends on your creativity and imagination. Do not be afraid to experiment and create something new.
• Frosting. Perhaps, for Christmas gingerbread cookies its presence is the main detail. After all, thanks to the glaze, you can easily give a festive look to your baked gingerbread figures. To prepare the icing for such delicious pastries as Christmas gingerbread can be any: sugar, chocolate, protein, lemon.
How to Make Gingerbread Christmas Glaze
Painting gingerbread with this glaze will bring real pleasure from the process of creating a culinary masterpiece. By joining children to such an exciting experience, you will provide an evening of Christmas fun and happiness in your cozy kitchen.
In order to paint 30 Christmas cakes, you will need one egg white, a glass of powdered sugar and food dyes, ready-made or cooked with your own hands.
Powdered sugar can be used, either finished or made with your own hands. Before use, the powder must be sieved to avoid the formation of lumps. Now you need to mix egg white and icing sugar, first with a spoon, and then with a whisk or mixer. You need to beat for a long time, at least five minutes, the consistency of the finished glaze should be dense and homogeneous.
It remains to separate the icing for tinting and put a picture on the Christmas gingerbread using a pastry bag, a regular plastic bag or a toothpick, as much as it is convenient here.
If you do not have or you just do not like food colors, you can color the glaze using natural raw materials. For example, to make it brown, add a few drops of strong tea or coffee. To make the glaze yellow, use saffron tincture or a grated and crushed orange peel. A variety of tones of red can be made using various jams, jams. Shades of green will turn out if boiled chopped spinach is boiled.
Christmas gingerbread cookies
Ingredients:
• two glasses of premium flour;
• two spoons of baking powder;
• 110 grams of butter;
• 150 grams of granulated sugar;
• one egg;
• two teaspoons of ground ginger;
• 20 ml molasses (light).
Cooking method:
1. Sift the flour into a deep bowl, add ground ginger and baking powder.
2. Add the slightly-frozen, chopped butter.
3. Pour in molasses, put in an egg, pour in granulated sugar.
4. Knead the dough with your hands, or using a food processor.
5. You should have shortbread dough. Put it in the freezer for an hour.
6. Now the most interesting thing is, roll out the dough no more than one centimeter thick, sprinkle with sugar on top, cut out the figures.
7. Bake Christmas gingerbread in a preheated 200 degree oven, putting them on a greased baking sheet.
8. Baking time is fifteen minutes.
9. Cool the finished gingerbread, decorate with icing.
Christmas gingerbread "Honey with dried fruits"
Ingredients:
• 330 grams of premium flour;
• 280 grams of fresh liquid honey;
• 180 grams of powdered sugar;
• half a pack of butter;
• four eggs;
• half a teaspoon of soda;
• cinnamon - to taste;
• 200 grams of a mixture of dried apricots, peanuts, raisins and candied fruit;
• Art. spoon liquor.
Cooking method:
1. Wash dried fruits and dried, then cut as small as possible.
2. Add honey and sugar to them.
3. Melt the butter in the microwave or in a water bath, pour it into the sweet mixture.
4. There, beat the eggs, add cinnamon, liquor. Mix everything thoroughly.
5. Slowly pour into the mass of flour sifted and connected with soda. Knead the dough so that no lumps form.
6. Roll out the dough, cut out beautiful various figures, bake Christmas gingerbread at 200 degrees on a greased baking sheet for 10 minutes.
7. Decorate finished products with glaze.
Christmas gingerbread "German"
Ingredients:
• 400 grams of honey;
• two glasses of granulated sugar;
• 2.5 kg of flour;
• 2 tbsp. spoons of soda;
• 300 ml of light molasses;
• 30 grams of butter;
• 400 grams of sour cream 30% fat;
• nuts, cinnamon, candied fruit - to taste;
• cloves - optional.
Cooking method:
1. Mix in a large saucepan all the sweet ingredients: granulated sugar, molasses, honey.
2. Place the pot in a water bath, keep it there until all the components are connected, becoming a uniform consistency. Cool the finished sweet mass.
3. Add to it a little salted sour cream, soda, dried fruits, spices and nuts. Stir.
4. Pour the flour, knead the dough, put it in the refrigerator for 12 hours.
5. Roll out the settled mass, cut out, bake for about ten minutes, decorate with drawings from the glaze.
Christmas gingerbread "Mint"
Ingredients:
• two glasses of flour;
• a spoon of baking powder;
• cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, salt - on a pinch;
• a glass of cane sugar;
• one egg;
• a quarter cup of vegetable oil;
• five drops of mint essence;
• 2 tbsp. spoons of honey.
Cooking method:
1. Pour vegetable oil, honey, peppermint essence into a deep bowl, beat in an egg, add sugar. Beat until smooth.
2. In another container, mix all the spices, flour, and baking powder.
3. Pour gently dry the mixture into the liquid mass, knead the dough. It should make you elastic, sticky, if it sticks, add a little flour.
4. Cool the dough for 30 minutes in the refrigerator or any other cold place, then roll out the layer, sprinkle with flour, cut out the Christmas figures.
5. Bake for 10-15 minutes. Paint with glaze.
Christmas Gingerbread "Fragrant"
Ingredients:
• 220 grams of sugar;
• 250 grams of flour;
• 20 grams of ghee;
• two eggs;
• 10 grams of ground cardamom;
• under art. a spoonful of honey and vanilla sugar.
Cooking method:
1. Pound sugar with eggs in a small container, add cardamom and vanilla sugar to the mass. Stir.
2. Pour flour into your sweet mass, knead thick dough.
3. Grease the baking sheet with melted butter, warm the oven.
4. Roll out the dough, form gingerbread cookies.
5. Bake for 15 minutes.
6. Ready Christmas gingerbreads, coat with honey, decorate with glaze.
Christmas gingerbread cookies on kefir
Ingredients:
• 30 grams of sour cream 30% fat;
• 500 ml of high fat kefir;
• two eggs;
• 400 grams of granulated sugar;
• a teaspoon of soda;
• 600 grams of flour;
• three Art. tablespoons of honey;
• 250 ml of water;
• vegetable oil.
Cooking method:
1. Pour kefir into deep container, add soda and sour cream. Beat the ingredients until bubbles appear.
2. In a separate bowl, mix the eggs with honey and sugar.
3. Mix both mixtures as thoroughly as possible, and then start pouring flour.
4. The dough obtained from you should be elastic, soft, the mass should not stick to your hands.
5. Soak the dough for about half an hour at room temperature.
6. The next steps are the same as in the previous recipes. Roll out the dough, cut out Christmas figures, bake them, draw festive glazed patterns.
Big Christmas Gingerbread with Lemon Zest
Ingredients:
• one and a half glasses of flour;
• a third cup of sugar;
• one lemon;
• glass of water;
• glasses of powdered sugar;
• vegetable oil;
• a spoon of apple cider vinegar;
You can add cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg if desired.
Cooking method:
1. Remove the zest from the washed lemon, pass it through a meat grinder or chop it with a grater.
2. In a large bowl, mix all the dry ingredients: sugar, flour, soda and your favorite spices.
3. Add lemon zest, two spoons of vegetable oil, a bite, and water. Whip the appetizing mass.
4. Lubricate the baking dish with oil, pour lemon dough into it.
5. Bake for about half an hour. You can check the readiness of the gingerbread by sticking a knife in the center of baking, if it does not stick and remains dry, the big Christmas gingerbread is ready.
6. Cool the product, paint it with festive multi-colored glaze.
7. If you wish, you can cut your gingerbread lengthwise into two parts and lay out the filling. You make a great Christmas gingerbread cake.
Christmas Gingerbread Cookies
Ingredients:
• a pound of flour;
• 300 grams of sugar;
• 50 grams of cocoa;
• 100 grams of butter;
• four eggs;
• A spoon of soda.
Cooking method:
1. Pound the butter with sugar and cocoa, add the yolks and mix well.
2. Separately whisk the whites to a firm fluffy foam.
3. Sift flour and mix with soda.
4. To a mixture of yolks, sugar and cocoa, add flour and soda, introduce whipped whites. Knead the dough.
5. Roll out the layer in 1-1.5 cm, cut out the figures.
6. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes.
7. Finished products cover with glaze.
Christmas oatmeal gingerbread cookies
Ingredients:
• 250 grams of flour;
• a glass of sugar;
• 230 grams of oatmeal;
• half a teaspoon of soda;
• two eggs;
• 50 grams of butter;
• 100 grams of chopped nuts;
• two tablespoons of liquid honey.
Cooking method:
1. Beat eggs with sugar, pour oatmeal, mix. Set aside the mass for ten minutes to soften the flakes.
2. Add soda and sifted flour, softened butter and chopped nuts. Knead the dough.
3. Form Christmas gingerbread cookies. Bake them.
4. After the product has cooled, apply patterns to the glaze.
Christmas gingerbread cookies - useful tips and tricks
• When laying out Christmas gingerbread cookies on a baking sheet, try not to put them close to each other. Than to unstick sticky figures, it is better to make two or three parties, the more baking gingerbread cookies very quickly.
• Since the Christmas gingerbread dough is very sweet, baking can easily stick to the pan. Baking paper or silicone mat will help to cope with this problem.
• In order not to overdry Christmas cakes, it is not recommended to bake them for more than 15 minutes. The oven must be preheated to 200 degrees.
• Christmas gingerbread cookies packed in beautiful bags will be a great gift for family and friends for Christmas.
• Ready-made gingerbread cookies can be stored up to 5 days.
