Polish Gingerbread Cookies
Recipe for easy and quick gingerbread cookies (Pierniki in Polish). Soft gingerbread cookies without waiting or maturing. Ready to be eaten immediately. Gingerbreads will be just as tasty on the day of preparation as during Christmas. Feel free to make the gingerbread much earlier to have time to prepare the remaining Christmas dishes!
What is the best honey for pierniczki?
Add your favorite honey to the gingerbread dough. It is important that it is liquid. I use multifloral honey, but you can also use a more delicate honey, e.g. acacia, or a distinctive honey, e.g. buckwheat.
What to add to gingerbread dough?
- Jam – it will add a fruity flavor to the gingerbread and at the same time make the gingerbread more moist.
- Cocoa – will give the gingerbread a darker color.
How to decorate gingerbread cookies?
To decorate gingerbread, you can use ingredients such as:
- Chocolate,
- Icing made of powdered sugar and water – slightly transparent, much thinner than royal icing. Good for covering the entire gingerbread, it does not work if we care about details,
- Royal icing (made from egg whites) – thick, white, perfect for making more complicated decorations,
- Butter cream,
- Ready to buy in stores: icing pens for decorating, colorful sprinkles, mini candies, etc.,
- Almond flakes, candied orange peel, nuts.
How long to knead gingerbread dough?
Knead the dough only until the ingredients are combined and a uniform, smooth mass is formed.
How to cut gingerbread cookies?
Don’t have gingerbread cutters? Thedough is ready and all the shops are closed? Instead of cutters, use something you probably have at home!
- Glass – the circles will make beautiful gingerbread cookies in the shape of Christmas tree baubles,
- Knife and paper – print or draw and cut paper templates. Then place the template on the dough and cut out the shape with a knife. It will take longer than using cutters, but you can cut out the shapes you want. You can also cut out simple shapes, such as triangles and connect them to form Christmas trees, and use the circles to make a snowman.
- Check what you have at home – maybe there is a Christmas decoration somewhere or a box in an interesting shape that you can use as a template or mold.
How many minutes should gingerbreads be baked?
Place the gingerbreads in a preheated oven at 175-180°C (347-356°F) and bake for about 6-7 minutes. Larger and thicker gingerbreads can be baked longer, about 8-9 minutes. Bake the gingerbreads on baking paper to prevent them from sticking to the baking tray. We bake gingerbread without fan, using the conventional heating.
What should you spread on gingerbread before baking?
There is no need to glaze the gingerbreads before baking, especially if you plan to frost them later. However, if you want the gingerbread to be shiny when you take it out of the oven, you can brush them with an egg mixed with a little bit of milk.
Can the gingerbread dough be made the day before?
The dough from this recipe must be chilled before rolling. If you want, you can chill it overnight or keep it in the fridge for up to 3 days, wrapped tightly in foil to prevent it from drying out and any odors from the fridge penetrating the cake.
What flour for gingerbread?
I add plain wheat flour type 405-500 to the gingerbread dough. If you want to prepare healthier gingerbread or gluten-free gingerbread, you can experiment with different types of flour.
What gingerbread spices are best for gingerbread?
You can opt for a ready-made mix or create your own gingerbread spice blend – you can find the recipe for a homemade version on the blog: homemade gingerbread spice mix. A proper homemade gingerbread mix should include cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, coriander, cardamom, black pepper, allspice, anise, and fennel.
If you decide to buy a ready-made spice mix, carefully check the ingredients. Many store-bought options are primarily flour and sugar with only a small amount of actual spices. It’s better to choose a pure spice blend, usually available in smaller packages of about 15-20 g.
When to bake gingerbread cokies?
The gingerbreads in this recipe do not need to be aged or matured. They can stay for a long time even when frosted. Icing made from just water and powdered sugar does not spoil, so if you want, you can frost the gingerbreads much earlier. You can prepare these gingerbreads both the day before and a month before Christmas Eve and they will still taste just as good.
How to store gingerbread cookies after baking?
Place the baked gingerbreads into an airtight container, e.g. a can, jar or plastic box. You can also put them in a string bag. This will prevent the gingerbread from getting stale. You can store gingerbreads either dry or covered with chocolate or icing.
Gingerbreads are perfect for people on a vegetarian, flexitarian and pescatarian diet. Gingerbreads contain gluten.
The proportions given below make approximately 170 small gingerbread cookies.
Read the step-by-step recipe on how to prepare Polish gingerbread cookies and watch the video below the recipe.
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Gingerbread cookies
Polish Gingerbread Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
- 750 g flour
- 125 g honey
- 2 packs gingerbread spice mix (30-40 g)
- 200 g butter
- 3 eggs
- 200 g sugar
- 1 tsp baking soda
- salt
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a pot. Then turn off the heat under the pot. Add honey and gingerbread spice to the warm butter and mix thoroughly.125 g honey, 200 g butter, 2 packs gingerbread spice mix
- In a bowl, mix eggs, sugar, salt and melted butter with spices and honey. Then sift the flour and baking soda and mix the wet and dry ingredients together until you obtain a thick dough. Wrap the kneaded dough in foil and put it in the fridge for at least an hour. To make rolling easier, you can divide the dough into smaller parts. You can put the dough in the fridge overnight and continue making gingerbread on the next day.750 g flour, 3 eggs, 200 g sugar, 1 tsp baking soda, salt
- Place the cooled dough on a floured surface and roll it out. Roll out the dough according to your preferences.If you prefer thicker, soft gingerbreads, the dough should be about 5 mm thick. If you prefer thin, crispy gingerbreads, approx. 1 mm. Then cut out cookies from the dough using gingerbread cutters.
- Place the cut gingerbread cookies on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Place in the oven preheated to 180 °C (
356 °F) and bake for 6-7 minutes. You cancover the cooled gingerbreads with frosting. Enjoy your meal!
Video
Nutrition
Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet
