Decorating gingerbread cookies around Christmas time is my oldest memory of helping mom in the kitchen. It´s also an activity I wanted to share with my daughter, and has been really fun to do. Sometimes the icing was too runny, or the hole cut in the plastic bag was too big (letting too much icing out at once!) but recently, I’ve learnt how to make the icing with perfect consistency and also learnt that we can paint on previously glazed cookies – giving us whole new possibilities for more celebrations!

Delicious Origins has launched workshops in the South of France to allow local exploration of different cultures. Our first experience led us into the world of Czech culture thanks to Andrea Schmidt, a Czech artist living in Marseille. Participants learnt about the history of gingerbread, tried different decorating techniques and tasted delicious Czech food. We hope that with our special recipe, they will practice what they have learnt – and maybe the recipe will inspire you too!

Ingredients:

For cookies:

• 600 g (1.3 lb.) all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda
• 2 eggs
• 200 g (0.4 lb.) melted butter
• 200 g (0.4 lb.) powder sugar
• 3 spoons of honey
• Spices: 1 to 1^1/2  tablespoon of pre-made gingerbread spice mix or you can make your own fresh mix: 5 whole cloves or 1⁄8 teaspoon ground, 1⁄2 stick of cinnamon or 1⁄2 teaspoon ground, 1⁄4 teaspoon whole fennel seeds, 1⁄4 teaspoon whole anise seeds, 1 anise star, 1⁄8 teaspoon allspice
• 1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder if you want to have your cookies darker (better contrast to the white frosting)

For frosting:

• 1 white egg
• Powder sugar
• Fresh lemon drops or water as needed

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, mix all ingredients. Leave the dough to rest overnight in the refrigerator (good to know: you can easily freeze this dough to make cookies another time). On the next day, you need to wait a few minutes your dough to soften.
2. Sprinkle some flour on your wooden board, so cookies will come out easier from the form and will not stick on the surface. Roll on the dough to 5-6 mm (0.2 in) thickness, and with cutters of different forms, cut out your cookies. Put them on the baking paper with a little space between them.
3. Bake on 175°C (250°F) during 8 to 10 minutes (it’s better to check it, because it will depend of the thickness of dough).
4. If you want your gingerbread to be shiny, you can brush them right after taking them from the oven with a beaten egg (not included in the list of ingredients as it is not necessary).
5. To prepare you icing, you need only the white egg, that you will start to whip adding a powder sugar little by little. Add also a few drops of lemon. Add as much sugar as needed to have a consistency that is easy to work with (not to liquid or to tough, the best by making a test with your decoration bag). If it’s to liquid continue adding sugar and if it is too dry, add lemon drops or water drops (good to know: you can keep this frosting in your fridge for 3-5 days and decorate another time, but it must be in the hermetically closed recipient).

When you share your creations on social media, you can tag us using  #deliciousorigins and  #kitndo so we can repost you. Happy baking!

---

Shared by Martina Hornakova, founder of KITNDO