How To Bake Perfect Old Fashioned Gingerbread Cookies

Published on December 11, 2016 | In German | By Norbert |

- Prep Time
- 30 Minutes
- Cook Time
- 8 Minutes
- Difficulty Level

Traditional gingerbread cookies, in German they are called Lebkuchen and in French Pain d’épices, what is basically a gingerbread loaf. Spices like cinnamon, ginger, all spice and molasses give gingerbread that spicy, sweet, gingery, pungent, intense flavor.
The baking of gingerbread cookies is simple, however baking takes adjusting and measuring and over time the lessons I learned with baking are very simple, OBEY and follow the recipe.
Cooking is a different animal, you can “wing” it and to be honest there are a lot of recipes that I cook where I don’t use measurement cups, measurement spoons or scales, everything is done by feel and taste.

Around Christmas my mind is always drawn to baking, maybe because baking is something that brings back memories, tastes and smells; all symbols of pleasure, comfort and traditions. What kind of a holiday would Christmas be without the warm aromas of weihnachtsgeback and konfekt? For me, baking is a great way to get into the Christmas spirit. It takes some time to garnish the cookies, however it’s time well spent.

For the decorating of the gingerbread cookies, I’m using Wafer Paper, creating edible masterpieces. All are reproductions of vintage postcards printed on translucent sheets of dehydrated potato starch. These images create a beautiful work of edible art and are memorable holiday gifts.

Baking gingerbread cookies or Lebkuchen is a time honored tradition for many families in Germany that goes back to the 14th century. During this time, gingerbread was something of extremely high value due to the fact that a lot of the spices used to make gingerbread were hard to come by and honey was expensive. At one stage, the value of Lebkuchen was so high that it was used as a currency. Christmas time in Germany is a magical time. The streets are brimming with lights and nativity scenes can be seen throughout the town. The prized image below is the town square from where I was born. The building on the right is City Hall and just around the corner was the school. The building straight ahead is the doctor’s office, this is where I got my broken arm fixed and put in a cast when I was a child.

An interesting historical fact about the town, the community was donated in 768 under the name Husun to the Lorsch Abbey.

Ingredients

INGREDIENT FOR GINGERBREAD DOUGH
1 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
1 cup light molasses
4 egg yolks
4 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
4 teaspoons ground ginger
4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoon ground all spice
1 tablespoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
INGREDIENTS FOR SIMPLE ICING
2 1/4 cups confection sugar, sifted
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
2 tablespoons, plus 1 teaspoon milk
INGREDIENTS FOR ROYAL ICING
1 egg white, pasteurized
11 oz. confection sugar
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

Instructions

Beat together at medium speed the butter, brown sugar and molasses until fluffy, for about 4 minutes. Beat in egg the egg yolks, combine the flour, cinnamon, all spice, baking soda, cloves and salt. Sift the flour mixture directly into the butter mixture. Reduce the mixer speed and mix at medium speed until combined. Gather dough into a ball, it will be soft. Form dough into 6 disks, warp in plastic and refrigerate overnight.
Working with one dough disk at the time, keeping the rest chilled, roll dough on a lightly floured surface into ¼ inch thickness. Use a knife cut dough into 2 x 4 inches rectangular cookies.
Pre heat oven to 350F. With a spatula transfer cookies the baking sheet and spacing about 1/4 inch apart. Bake cookies for 8 minutes until slightly firm in the center and lightly colored on top. Transfer baked cookies to a wire rack and let rest until cooled.
Make simple Icing: Mix all of the ingredients together. Stir until smooth; a fork works fine. The glaze should be thick, but soft enough to "settle" when you spread it. If the glaze is too thick, dribble in a little more milk.
Pipe a border around the edge of the cookie and fill with Icing. Allow the iced cookies to try overnight.
Glue wafer paper to cookie: Using a pair Scissors cut wafer cookie sheet into 2 x 4 inch sheets. Use a small brush, coat the entire back of the wafer paper image with light corn syrup. Make sure the edges are covered well. Be careful not to get the corn syrup on the image because splotches will show up. Gently paste the wafer paper image on the dry cookie, wiggle it into place so it aligns perfectly on the cookie. Press down the edges repeating the process a few times until the edges stay "glued" down
Place a paper towel over the surface of the cookie and gently smooth the wafer paper one more time Turn the cookie over on a piece of wax paper and let sit for about 10 minutes. Turn cookie back over and allow to dry completely. Once the cookie is dry you can pipe decorative borders
Make Royal Icing for decorative cookie boarder. Using a Hand mixer beat the egg white in a bowl. Beat until foamy. Gradually add the sugar and lemon juice on low speed until it looks shiny and it forms stiff peaks - takes approx. 5-7 minute. With a small tip decorate cookies edges with royal icing. Let dry for a few hours so Royal icing can set
Once Icing is dry store cookies in an air tight container. Cover the container holding your soft, chewy cookies tightly. This container should be completely airtight, as this will help the cookies maintain their intended texture,

Servings : 24
Ready in : 120 Minutes
Course : Dessert
Recipe Type : Baked Goods, Fresh made Dough, Mindful Gifts, Winter
Ingredient : All Spice, AP flour, Baking soda, Brown sugar light, Butter unsalted, Confection Sugar, Corn syrup light, Egg white, Ginger ground, Gloves ground, Lemon juice, Molasses light

4 Responses to How To Bake Perfect Old Fashioned Gingerbread Cookies

Avi December 24, 2017 at 12:21 pm #

How much salt and what baking temperature please?

Reply
- Norbert December 25, 2017 at 3:02 pm #
  
  Ouch,good point, thank you brining that to my attention. Only needs a pinch of salt, preheat oven to 350 F and bake about 8 minutes. The cookies should be still soft in the center and lightly browned. best Norbert
  
  Reply
Heidi Gooch October 13, 2017 at 3:56 am #

How long will the gingerbread cookies stay fresh for

Reply
- Norbert October 14, 2017 at 10:51 pm #
  
  I keep the cookies for a week. Keept in an airthight container Enjoy Best Norbert
  
  Reply

About Chef

Norbert

Welcome to my blog I live in Chicago with my wife Michelle and two Labradors, Moses and Rudi. I have spent most of my life cooking and have been blogging ...

Navigation

How To Bake Perfect Old Fashioned Gingerbread Cookies