Orange gingerbread cookies

• Preparation time: 20 minutes Dough cooling time: 4 hours
• Baking time for one baking tray: 12 minutes
• Number of servings: 50 thicker gingerbread cookies In 100 g of gingerbread cookies:
• Energy value 400 kcal
• Carbohydrates 71 g
• Including sugars 30 g
• Protein 6 g
• Fat 11 g
• Diet: low-fat, vegetarian.
• all-purpose wheat flour 320 g - 2 cups
• candied orange peel 100 g
• butter 100 g
• liquid honey 100 g
• sour cream 18% 50 g
• powdered sugar 50 g
• gingerbread spice 25 g
• baking soda 1 teaspoon

Orange gingerbread cookies

In a food processor, place 100 grams of candied orange peel, 20 grams of flour (reduced from the 320 grams weighed for the recipe), and 25 grams of good-quality gingerbread spice (without flour or sugar). Blend briefly to completely crush the orange peel. The goal is to simply pulverize the peel into a fine powder. Without the flour and spices, the peel would crumble and turn into a sticky mass. It would be difficult to combine it with the rest of the ingredients.

Tip: The candied peel can be replaced with the same amount of another mixture of candied fruit peels.

Pour 300 grams of all-purpose flour into a bowl. Add the spices you just mixed with the flour and zest, along with 50 grams of powdered sugar. Add a teaspoon of baking soda. Mix thoroughly, for example, with a whisk.

Tip: You can also add seeds from a vanilla pod and a bit of cocoa.

Next, pour in 100 grams of your favorite liquid honey, 50 grams of 12-18% sour cream and 100 grams of melted and cooled butter.

Tip: You can replace the cream with egg yolks weighing up to 50 grams in total.

Knead the ingredients by hand or using a mixer with a dough hook. I prefer to combine the dough by hand in a large bowl, but you can also do it on a large board, a clean countertop, or a pastry board. Form the dough into a ball. Wrap it in clear plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least four hours.

Tip: You can even refrigerate the dough overnight. However, it will become much firmer once you take it out. Place it on the counter to soften slightly again.

Start preheating your oven now. Set it to 175 degrees Celsius with top/bottom heat or 160 degrees Celsius with convection.

Place the chilled dough on a pastry board or clean countertop. Sprinkle the countertop with a little flour. Cut off a piece of dough at a time. Roll each piece out to a thickness of about 5 mm. Using a cookie cutter (I used a 5 cm one), cut out the gingerbread cookies.

Line a thin baking sheet with baking parchment. Leave a small space between the cookies, as they will continue to expand in the oven. After cutting out the first cookies, knead the remaining dough, add a piece of fresh dough, and roll it out again. Cut out the next batch. It's a good idea to refrigerate any leftover dough after cutting. I bake the orange cookies in several batches, so I use two baking sheets and two sheets of baking parchment. While one batch is baking, I prepare the second one to alternate between them in the preheated oven.

Tip: You can also use other Christmas molds.

Place the baking sheet with the gingerbread cookies in an oven preheated to 175 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit). Select the middle rack. If you're using smaller baking sheets instead of the thin baking sheet provided (like I do), place them on the preheated rack provided. Bake the cookies for about 12-15 minutes (depending on whether you prefer softer or crispier cookies). You can remove them from the oven immediately and add another batch.

If the orange gingerbread cookies aren't eaten on the day they're baked, after cooling and possibly decorating them (I used them plain, as they're sweet enough), wrap them loosely in greaseproof paper, then place them in a regular bag or sandwich bag, and store them in a breadbox or kitchen cupboard. It's better, however, to store them in a special baking box or tin. They'll stay fresh for at least a week, and maybe longer.

Enjoy your meal.