Gingerbread #2

I've been thinking about making a (my first) gingerbread house this Christmas so have been wanting to try another recipe to see whether it is any better than this one. I was after something more spicy.

When I was younger there was a lovely little shop (that sadly closed) down the road that sold the most perfect, spicy, firm gingerbread cookies and I've been wanting to recreate them ever since. This recipe includes ground black pepper and a greater percentage of all the other spices so it is definitely promising!

Gingerbread Man Cookies from 101 Cookbooks

My version - halved

2 C plain flour

1.5/4 (3/8) tsp bicarb soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tbsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

75g unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/3 C brown sugar, firmly packed

1 1/2 large eggs (2 small eggs would be fine)

1/3 C molasses

 Method

1. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, salt and spices. Set aside.

2. In a large bowl by hand (or with an electric mixer) cream the butter until it is light and fluffy. 

3. Add the sugar and mix again until light and creamy. 

4. Blend in the eggs one at a time and then the molasses. 

5. Add the flour mixture in two additions either by hand or on low speed. 

6. Divide the dough into two pieces, wrap each in plastic and chill for an hour or so (as this is half the original recipe I didn't bother dividing it into two).

7. Heat oven to 160C fan-forced, place the racks in the middle, and line a couple baking sheets with baking paper. Set aside.

8. Roll the dough out onto a lightly floured countertop to roughly 1cm thick (I prefer mine closer to 0.5cm as they rise a bit and was after a firmer cookie this time, although soft gingerbread is lovely too) and cut into gingerbread men (or other desired shapes). 

What a mess!

 9. Transfer to baking sheets. Sprinkle with granulated sugar (optional) and bake for 7 -10 minutes (for 3-4-inch cookies), less for smaller cookies, more for larger.

10. Cool on tray for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in airtight container.

- It's important not to over-bake these as they will dry out.

- The original recipe used whole wheat flour, unsulphured blackstrap molasses and dark natural cane sugar.
- This halved recipe made30-40 biscuits!

Verdict
Spicy! Finally. The first tray I made were a bit too soft (for my liking) so left the second and third trays in for 8-9mins rather than 7.

Will be making caramel slices again later this week to give to a friend as part of her birthday pressie. Might try a few things differently so will post about it if I get the chance.