Gingerbread baking in many countries is an annual tradition. There are many different recipes for this delicacy, and each of them includes the decoration of finished products with glaze. Regardless of whether complex figures are made with artistic painting or just round crystals with a sweet crispy coating, the process of preparing the components is identical. This article presents a gingerbread recipe workshop with step-by-step tips.
Classic figured version
Spiced pastries combined with sweet icing is a great combination. These gingerbread cookies are very soft and tender, and at the same time they are well stored in an airtight container for a week. Thus, you can prepare a large batch to make sweet gifts to relatives and friends. A simple workshop on gingerbread cookies is presented below.
The recipe below allows you to bake about twenty large gingerbread or thirty medium. Since flour is not added during rolling, dough trimmers can be rolled and cut as many times as needed. Store finished products in a wide, shallow, airtight container or on a baking sheet with a sheet of parchment. If you want to arrange the gingerbread cookies in several layers, shift them with wax paper. But still it is better to use them within one week.
The gingerbread master class begins with the preparation of the dough. It needs to be made of the following components:
- 3 cups all-purpose flour;
- 3/4 cup tightly packed dark brown sugar;
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon;
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger;
- half a teaspoon ground cloves;
- half a spoon of tea salt;
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda;
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, slightly softened;
- 3/4 cup crude molasses;
- 2 tablespoons of milk.
Once all of these components are available, measured and set aside, you can proceed to further preparation.
Cooking dough for ginger painted gingerbread cookies
When using a food processor, you should do the following: Combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, salt, and baking soda in the unit bowl until they combine, for about 10 seconds. Scatter the butter slices over the flour mixture and beat until the mass is almost uniform, for about 15 seconds. During mixing, gradually add molasses and milk. This must be done until the dough is evenly moist and forms a soft ball.
This gingerbread master class also allows the use of a parking mixer instead of a food processor. In this case, the dough is prepared like this. In a deep bowl, use a spatula to combine the dry ingredients at low speed for thirty seconds. Then stop the mixer and add slices of oil. Continue mixing at low speed for another 1.5 minutes.
Reduce the rpm to a minimum and gradually add molasses and milk. Keep kneading the dough until it is smooth. Increase the speed of whipping to medium and mix everything until fully combined (about 10 seconds).
How to roll out the dough?
Put the resulting mass on a work surface and divide in half. When working with one portion of dough at a time, roll it up from 5 to 8 mm thick, placing it between two large sheets of parchment paper. Put it directly on paper on a flat baking sheet and place in the freezer until hard for 20-25 minutes.
How is baking done?
Adjust the oven racks in the middle one over one and warm it to 190 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Remove one sheet of dough from the freezer and place on a work surface. Remove the top sheet of paper and turn the dough over, then remove the second sheet.
The gingerbread master class continues like this. Take curly cookie cutters and cut the pieces you need from the dough sheet. Spread the finished pieces on the prepared baking sheet, leaving a distance of at least three centimeters between them.
Repeat the same steps with the remaining dough until the trays are completely filled. Bake items until they begin to hold firmly in shape, but remain soft in the middle. This usually takes 8 to 11 minutes. Then remove them from the oven and turn them over. Leave the gingerbread cookies on baking sheets for two minutes, then remove them from it with a large metal spatula on a wire rack. Cool workpieces to room temperature.
Collect all remaining scraps of dough. Repeat rolling, cutting and baking until you use the entire volume.
How to decorate cooked items?
The glaze gingerbread masterclass includes the following steps. It is required to cool all finished products, and then start decorating them. Lay them out on parchment paper. While they cool and dry, you should prepare the icing. To do this, you will need the following ingredients.
To decorate:
- 1 cup icing sugar;
- half a spoonful of tea vanilla extract or other flavoring;
- 2-2.5 tablespoons of milk or water;
- food coloring (optional).
To cover:
- 1 cup icing sugar;
- half a spoonful of tea vanilla or other extract;
- 2.5-3 tablespoons tablespoons of milk or water;
- food coloring (optional).
How is such a coating prepared?
Gingerbread recipe for children involves the use of multi-colored glaze. Therefore, the use of dyes is not necessary, but desirable.
Prepare the icing for decoration. Mix powdered sugar, vanilla and 2 tablespoons of tablespoon milk or water with a spoon or fork. The mixture should be quite thick, but viscous enough to overfill it. Add dye if you wish to use it.
Transfer the resulting mass into a cooking syringe or into a bottle with a small hole in the lid. Most likely, you will need a plastic funnel for this. Since the prepared mass will be thick, you will have to squeeze the bottle or syringe to facilitate filling. If the glaze does not leak at all, add more milk or water one teaspoon at a time, reaching the desired consistency.
Then prepare the cover. Mix powdered sugar, vanilla and two and a half tablespoons of milk or water using a fork. This glaze should be quite thick, but more fluid than the first. Remember that you must apply it to the gingerbread cookies without any problems. Add dye to the prepared mass if desired. Also place the finished glaze in a cooking syringe, bottle or bag with a hole in the corner.
Prepare as many batches of glaze as needed to decorate your gingerbread cookies.
How to apply glaze?
The next step of the gingerbread decorating workshop is as follows. Apply a layer of thicker glaze along the edges of each product, exactly repeating its contours.
Hold the bottle or syringe upright, and the tip is just above the gingerbread. Gently squeeze and act with constant pressure so that the border is the same width. Imagine drawing a contour line with a pencil or marker. If you wish, you can draw inside the gingerbread. For example, if your items are cooked in the shape of men, you can portray facial features and clothing.
Allow the resulting drawing to dry slightly. The icing along the contour should not be completely dry, but to perform the next step (coating), it should be tight to the touch. Pour a coating of glaze inside the drawn borders. Using a bottle or syringe, start filling the inside of the carrot with the prepared mass. Use the tip of the syringe or the sharp corner of the bag to push the icing towards the corners and edges. The gingerbread maker painting workshop also includes the following recommendation. It is advisable to use thin pastry brushes, which will allow you to get a more even layer.
What to do next?
Leave the gingerbread cookies to dry. Just lay them out on paper and do not touch them for 24 hours so that the glaze can completely harden. Depending on its thickness, this may take longer. When the glaze is completely ready, the surface of homemade gingerbread cookies will be completely smooth, dry and resistant to touch.
After drying, you can fold the finished products between sheets of parchment paper in an airtight container and store at room temperature.
What else is useful to remember?
Cooked glaze can be stored for several days in a bottle or culinary syringe (or bag). It is better to store unused mass in the refrigerator and then let it warm to room temperature before use.
Since the glaze that has dried more strongly holds better, you can stretch the culinary decor for a day or several days. For example, first make contour patterns and leave the gingerbread cookies until the next day, then proceed to their rest painting.
In addition, you can prepare a glaze with a marble effect. To do this, pour the prepared mass on the gingerbread cookies, then apply a coating with a contrasting color in the form of dots or lines. Spread and lightly blend the two types of glaze with a toothpick. When this mixture hardens, it will look like marble.