Polish gingerbread cookies

These honey and spice cookies are a recipe for readers exploring Polish food recipes. The dough is chilled before rolling, then cut into shapes and baked until lightly golden.

Ingredients

500 g wheat flour
200 g honey
100 g butter
100 g sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons gingerbread spice mix
1 tablespoon cocoa powder

Step-by-step preparation

Warm the honey, butter and sugar just until dissolved. Set aside to cool.
Mix the flour, baking soda, cocoa and spice mix. Add the eggs and lukewarm honey mixture, then knead into a dough.
Cover and chill for 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Roll the dough to about 5 mm thick and cut out shapes. Place them apart on a baking tray.
Bake for 8-10 minutes, until the edges are lightly golden. Cool on a rack and decorate as desired.

Time and yield

About 1 hour 45 minutes; approximately 40 cookies.

Practical tips

Roll the cookies to a similar thickness so they bake evenly.
Avoid overbaking: small cookies dry out easily.
Wait until the cookies are completely cool before decorating.

Preparing the dough

Warm the honey, butter and sugar over low heat, stirring until dissolved. The mixture does not need to boil. Let it cool because excess heat could cook the eggs when they are added to the flour. Mix the dry ingredients in a separate bowl to distribute the baking soda and spices evenly. Break the eggs into a separate container first.

Knead only until the dough is uniform. It may be soft at first but will be easier to roll after chilling. Wrap it or cover it in a container to keep the surface from drying out. If it is very hard after refrigeration, leave it on the counter for a few minutes. Use flour sparingly when rolling, as too much can make the cookies dry.

Rolling and baking

Roll a portion of dough evenly to the thickness given above. Two sheets of baking paper can help prevent it from sticking to the rolling pin. Cut the shapes close together, gather the scraps, gently combine them and roll again. If the dough becomes sticky, chill it before continuing.

Line the tray with baking paper and leave space between the cookies. Bake similar shapes and sizes together because small details brown more quickly. Put the tray in the preheated oven and check near the end of the baking time. The edges should be lightly golden. The cookies may be soft when first removed, so transfer them carefully to a rack.

Decorating and storing

Decorate completely cooled cookies with icing made from icing sugar and a little water. Add the water gradually, stirring until the icing is thick enough for patterns. Spread it with a teaspoon or use a bag with a small opening. A thin layer of melted chocolate is another option, or leave the cookies plain.

Let the decoration dry before closing the cookies in a tin. Store them in an airtight container in a cool, dry place. Separate delicate decorated layers with baking paper to protect the patterns. If the cookies are hard once cool, give them time in the closed tin; their texture may change during storage.

More preparation tips

Divide the dough into smaller portions before rolling and keep the rest chilled. Dip cutters lightly in flour if the dough sticks. Cookies of similar size bake more evenly, while smaller pieces cook faster. They may feel soft straight from the oven but firm up as they cool. Let icing dry completely before closing the tin.

Use simple cutters or a small glass if you do not have cookie cutters. Thin points on stars and other shapes can brown faster than the centres. Once the cookies have firmed up slightly, lift them from the tray with a spatula. Remove any burnt crumbs from the paper before adding the next batch.