Crunchy Gingerbread Cookies

If you like your cookies crunchy, these little gingerbread cookies will hit the spot. 

Not to be confused with soft gingerbread, these are deliciously crunchy, but still have that spiced gingerbread flavour that goes hand in hand with baking at Christmas time.

Once baked, these cookies stay crisp and fresh for well over a week, but the fresh dough doesn't keep well in the fridge so it needs to be either baked on the day of making, or frozen for up to 2 months.

They make the perfect homemade gift for young and old and they hold their shape really well, so you can go ahead and stamp them, or use a cookie press and the pattern will stay put. 

I also used them to decorate my Gingerbread Cupcakes...so cute!

Crunchy Gingerbread Cookies

Makes approximately 45 small cookies

Ingredients

• 75g unsalted butter, softened
• 75g brown sugar (light or dark)
• 35g molasses
• 5ml (1 teaspoons) water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 225g plain flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda (bicarbonate soda)
• a pinch of salt
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground all spice
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

Royal Icing

• 1 egg white
• 250g icing sugar (pure or icing sugar mixture)

Method

1. Line two baking trays with baking paper and set aside. 
2. Place the butter, sugar, molasses and water in a saucepan and heat gently until the sugar has dissolved and the butter has melted, stir through the vanilla
3. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, bicarb soda and spices and then pour in the melted ingredients. 
4. Mix well until the dough is evenly coloured and becomes firm. It will appear crumbly but bring it together with your hands to form a smooth ball. 
5. Place the dough onto a square of glad wrap and press into a 2cm disc, wrap tightly and chill in the refrigerator for 20 minutes. (If you leave the dough in the fridge longer, it will take longer to be soft enough to roll out without cracking)
6. Preheat oven to 170°C / 150°C fan forced. 
7. Roll the dough out between two sheets of baking paper until it is approximately 5mm thick.
8. Cut out shapes (see notes below) and place onto baking trays leaving 1cm between each cookie. These cookies don't spread so you can put them closer together than regular cookies.
9. Bake for 10 - 12 minutes, depending on the size of your cookies.
10. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before icing if desired. 

Notes

• This dough can appear crumbly, however once you roll it out between the sheets of baking paper it becomes smooth again. 
• After cutting out the first batch, bring remaining dough back together to re-form a ball and re-roll. Once again, don't be alarmed that it looks crumbly, it will smooth out when you roll it. 
• This dough can be imprinted using cooking stamps or plunge cutters, the dough holds the patterns really well.
• There is no need to chill the dough again after cutting out the shapes.
• Dough should be baked on the day of making or can be frozen for up to 2 months. It is not suitable to refrigerate.

To make royal icing

1. Beat the egg white in a medium mixing bowl until foamy.
2. Gradually beat in the icing sugar until the icing is glossy and forms soft peaks.

To decorate the cookies with royal icing

(The best advice I can give you if you aren't very experienced at piping (like me) is to keep it simple! 😉)

1. Fit a piping bag with a 1 - 2mm round piping tip, fill the piping bag with the royal icing then pipe decorations on the cookies. 
2. Leave to dry full before storing in a sealed container at room temperature for up to 1 week. 

I hope you enjoy this recipe, and as always, if you have any questions at all just let me know.

Happy Baking!

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