It’s November in Berlin and that means the Christmas season is about to begin! It means glittering Christmas markets and mulled wine in Mitte, Kreuzberg or Prenzlauer Berg,walks along the Spree (even if it’s more gray than glittery) and, of course, the smell of home-baked goods wafting through old apartments. The festive season brings with it a number of special treats, one of which is definitely gingerbread. But forget the ready-made products from the supermarket! Real, homemade gingerbread is the centerpiece of every Advent season. We’ll tell you the best recipe for gingerbread so that you can enjoy it in a few simple steps.
Preparation: You need these ingredients for approx. 30 gingerbread cookies
- 200 g honey (liquid)
- 100 g sugar (brown)
- 50 g butter
- 2 eggs
- 500 g rye or wheat flour
- 2 tbsp gingerbread spice
- 1 tbsp cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking powder
- Optional for the icing: powdered sugar, lemon juice, peeled almonds or chocolate coating
The preparation: step by step to gingerbread happiness
1. the dough (preferably the day before!)
Heat the honey, brown sugar and butter in a pan until the sugar has completely dissolved. But be careful: do not boil! Then pour this mixture into a large mixing bowl and leave everything to cool. Add the eggs (and possibly 2 tablespoons of water) to the honey mixture and mix well.
Then add the dry ingredients: Mix together the flour, gingerbread spice, cocoa and baking powder before kneading it all together with the honey and egg mixture to form a smooth, medium-stiff dough. The dough is still quite soft at the beginning. Wrap the dough in cling film and leave it to rest in the fridge for at least 12 hours (preferably overnight).
2. rolling out and baking
Now it’s time for the real fun: cutting out the biscuits. Preheat the oven to 180 °C (top/bottom heat) and line a baking tray with baking paper. Roll out the dough on a floured work surface until it is not too thin (approx. 5 mm).
Then it’s time to get started: use classic cookie cutters (stars, hearts, reindeer…) to cut out your gingerbread and place them on the baking tray. Bake them for approx. 10-12 minutes, depending on their size. They should be light brown and still slightly soft when you take them out. They will harden as they cool.
3. icing and decorating
Optionally, you can also decorate your gingerbread. To make the icing, mix powdered sugar with lemon juice and a little hot water to make a thick, smooth icing. When you decorate the cooled gingerbread with it, you can also use almonds, sugar pearls or small cherries – there are no limits to your imagination.
Let the Christmas season begin with this gingerbread recipe! An extra tip for real baking pros: To prevent the gingerbread from becoming rock hard after baking, place a piece of apple wedge or a slice of bread in the storage tin. These will release moisture into the baked goods.