Description
Source: Gingerbread Men from Recipes Wiki—original source of recipe, licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp butter
- ½ cup (scant) sugar
- 1 cup plus 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp gingerbread spices (ground cardamon, anise, cloves, cinnamon, ginger -- mixed together according to taste)
- 1 small pinch of salt
- grated peel of 1 fresh lemon
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 egg yolk
- 2½ tsp baking soda
- 2 tbsp rosewater
- 2¼ cup flour
- vanilla or chocolate icing (optional)
Directions
- Melt together the butter, sugar, and honey over low heat, then allow to cool.
- Add the gingerbread spices, salt, grated lemon peel, sugar, and the egg yolk; stir until lightened.
- Stir the baking soda into the rosewater and add to the egg yolk mixture.
- Combine this mixture with the flour and knead into a dough.
- Let stand overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Generously butter a baking sheet.
- Roll out the dough on the sheet about ¼ inch thick, and cut the dough into long rectangles or stamp out little gingerbread men with a cookie cutter (the original "kathrinchen" are shaped like the pastries called "langues du chat", or "cats' tongues" - or ladyfingers with broadened ends).
- Whatever design you decide on, bake for 15 to 20 minutes.
- If you choose, frost with chocolate or vanilla icing when cookies are lukewarm.