Gingerbread Cookies

Gingerbread cookies are a holiday classic, but good all year round. Here is the recipe with an Italian touch:

Ingredients

• 350 g 00 flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
• 125 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 175 g brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
• 4 tablespoons honey or molasses

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 180 °C and line baking trays with parchment paper.
2. In a bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, spices (ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg) and salt.
3. In another bowl, cream the butter with the brown sugar until light and fluffy.
4. Add the egg and continue beating until fully incorporated. Add the vanilla extract, if using, and the honey or molasses.
5. Gradually incorporate the dry ingredients into the butter mixture until the dough is homogeneous.
6. Roll out the dough on a floured surface to the desired thickness, usually 4–5 mm.
7. Cut out the cookies with festive cutters or any shape you prefer and place them on the prepared trays.
8. Bake for about 10–12 minutes or until lightly golden.
9. Let the cookies cool on a wire rack before serving.

If you like, you can decorate the cookies with royal icing (made with egg white and icing sugar) once they have cooled.

Trivia

Gingerbread cookies date back to the Middle Ages, when spices were highly prized and used to make special sweets for festive occasions. In Italy, the closest equivalent to Gingerbread cookies is probably “Zimtsterne”, a star-shaped cinnamon biscuit of German origin that is also popular in northern regions.