Édito

"What a pleasure to perfume your house with the scent of hot gingerbread fresh from the oven. Extremely simple to make, gingerbread allows for all desires. Validated by all the children in my tribe, you will love this recipe that I have been using for years and which has become one of my classics!”

Céline LI founder of PLUME PARIS

Little tips to read before starting any gingerbread creation

★ Do not hesitate to make your gingerbread dough in advance because it will take on all the flavor of the spices and above all will allow you to organize yourself in your kitchen (especially if you are making the house with your children). Place your dough in the refrigerator surrounded by cling film. When you take it out, plan to let it cool for between 15 and 20 minutes before working it by hand to give it flexibility.

★ When preparing your gingerbread dough, do not overwork the dough after incorporating the egg if you want to keep it soft. On the other hand, it would become too slimy to remove from your container. If this is the case, don't panic! Use a spatula to scrape the dough onto cling film and place it in the refrigerator. In any case, I strongly advise you to rest your gingerbread dough in a cool place to obtain a perfect consistency for modeling it. .

★ Spread your dough directly on the baking paper, to avoid deformation of your cutouts when transposed onto the baking tray.

★ Always place your cuts on the baking trays in the refrigerator or better still in the freezer between 10 and 20 minutes before cooking them.

★ Use a scalpel (cutter) if you don't have a cookie cutter.

★ COOKING: the longer it is, the firmer your biscuits will be. Do a test with your oven on a small baking tray to find the right temperature and ideal time. Finally, try if possible to only cook one plate at a time. If time does not permit, rotate two plates from top to bottom to distribute the cooking.

★ When you take them out of the oven, let your cookie sheets rest for at least 5 to 10 minutes before transferring them to a rack to cool completely.

★ It is also when you come out of the oven (within 2 minutes) that you will be able to rectify a cut using your scalpel (cutter). Be careful with this handling because the plates are very fragile at this stage. It hardens when cooling.

Ingredients for 20 biscuits measuring 15 to 20 cm on average:

-160 gr of Molasses

-400 gr of brown vergeoise

-400 gr of butter

-The zest of an untreated orange

-7 tsp gingerbread spice mix

(or 8 tsp ginger powder + 4 tsp cinnamon powder + 1/2 tsp clove powder)

-2 tsp baking soda

-1 kg of flour

-2 tsp salt

-2 beaten eggs

Making the dough (10 minutes)

-Place the molasses with the sugar, butter, zest and spices in a saucepan and heat gently, stirring constantly.

-When the sugar is dissolved, increase the heat and bring to a boil, then remove the heat and add the baking soda. At this point there is a reaction and the mixture starts to foam, stir and leave to cool for 15 minutes.

-In a food processor fitted with a hook (or by hand in a container), gradually add the flour and salt.

– Add the lightly beaten eggs, but do not work for too long, this will prevent your biscuits from becoming too deformed during baking.

-If your gingerbread dough is too sticky, do not add flour and do as indicated in “the tips to read above”.

-Divide in two and refrigerate in cling film for 30 minutes.

Making the icing

for 300 gr

-250 gr of icing sugar

-1 lightly beaten egg white

-1/2 tsp lemon juice

-3 tbsp of water

- Drops of coloring (optional)

Gently whisk together the sugar, lemon and egg white until your mixture is smooth, but not wet. Then add your water little by little.

Making cookies:

Necessary material :

• 15 to 20 cm cookie cutters
• A scrapbooking scalpel (cutter)
• Parchment paper
• A pencil
• String and scissors
• A rolling pin (if possible with circles)
• Piping bag and very fine tip (optional)

- Preheat your oven to 160°c

- Cut out a piece of dough and spread it on a sheet of baking paper using a rolling pin fitted with a 0.5 to 0.6 cm circle

- Use a cookie cutter of approximately 15 to 20 cm and cut the biscuits straight. Then remove the excess dough all around.

- Using the back of a pencil, make the hole that will be used to pass the string through.

- Place the sheet on the plate and refrigerate for 5 to 6 minutes. Then bake for 8 to 10 minutes. It is important that the biscuits are slightly firmer than usual, to prevent them from breaking over time.

- Leave them on the baking sheet for a few minutes, before letting them cool on a rack.

- Once they are cold, it is now possible to decorate them.

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