Chai Gingerbread Cookies

Makes 50 Cookies

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Oh hey guys, it's been a minute! If you follow my insta stories, you'll know I had some minor surgery done, which meant I was down for the count for a little while. I'm still recovering but it's pretty minimal disruption to my daily life at the moment, which is good. I'm now ready to whack out some recipes for you over this festive (or not-so-festive, your choice) season. First up, we have a super easy baking recipe that you can make with friends, family, nieces, nephews, random kids you picked up at the park 'by accident'... The last one seems a little like you should have the police called on you, but you get the gist. My niece LOVES these, even though they've got a little more spice than a regular gingerbread cookie. They're simple, tasty, and fun to ice (and eat). Go forth and be merry guys!

PRO TIPS

• When rolling out the dough, just be patient and don't get to worked up if it splits apart under the rolling pin. Just push it back together and keep going.

• Some recipes online might tell you that the flour you use on the rolling pin/surface will bake off...it won't...so make sure to use your hands to spread the flour across the rolling pin and surface to avoid large clumps stuck on your cookies.

• If you want to make regular gingerbread cookies, just skip the cardamom and they'll taste exactly how you remember them as a kid.

Recipe

Ingredients

Gingerbread Cookies

• 115 grams of softened butter

• 1/4 cup of dark cane sugar (or demerara)

• 1/3 cup of light brown sugar

• 1 large egg

• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

• 1/2 cup of blackstrap molasses

• 3 cups of plain flour

• 1 tablespoon of ginger powder

• 1 tablespoon of cinnamon

• 1 tablespoon of cardamom

• 1/2 teaspoon of cracked black pepper

• 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg

• 1/2 teaspoon of allspice or ground cloves

• 1/2 teaspoon of salt

• 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder

Icing

• 2 egg whites

• 2 cups of icing sugar

• 1 teaspoon of vanilla

Method

Gingerbread cookies

1. Beat the butter and sugars together in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy (about 2 minutes).

2. Add in the egg and beat until fully incorporated (about 2 minutes).

3. Then add in the vanilla and molasses and beat again until fully incorporated (the mixture may separate from the butter but that's fine).

4. In a separate bowl, whisk together your flour, spices, and baking powder.

5. Slowly add your dry ingredients to your wet ingredients until a soft dough has formed.

6. Separate the mixture into two thick disc shapes. Wrap them up in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least 3 hours (but ideally 24 hours).

7. When you're ready to take the dough out of the fridge, preheat your oven to 180℃.

8. Take one disc out of the fridge at a time, and roll it out on a lightly floured surface until 1-2cm thick. (I prefer mine on the thicker side, but it depends how you would like them). Make sure to dust the rolling pin with flour - and be prepared for the dough to be a little difficult to work with.

9. Use cookie cutters to cut out your desired shapes, then place them on a lined baking tray. Make sure to roll out the scraps so nothing goes to waste!

10. Bake for 10 minutes then leave to cool.

Icing

1. Beat the egg whites until soft peaks form.

2. Slowly sift in the icing sugar and beat until stiff peaks form.

3. Pour the mixture into a piping bag or sandwich bag (if using a sandwich bag, just snip a tiny bit off of one corner of the bag).

4. Ice the cookies however you want when they're cooled!

5. ENJOY!! Happy holidays everybody!

Stay Salty,

Romy xx