Despite the huge selection of various cakes and sweets in stores, homemade cakes are still in great demand. And all this is because even among a huge assortment on the shelves it is almost impossible to find quality goodies made from natural products.
Here, for example, gingerbread cookies - it is simply impossible to find this classic, originally Russian dessert in stores today. Cooking them at home is much easier. And if you arm yourself with a simple recipe for honey gingerbread, then you will be able to do it really quickly and at ease.
A few words about the treat
This easy-to-make sweetness has long found its admirers all over the world, but in reality it belongs to the original Russian national cuisine. Over the years of honey gingerbread existence, their recipe has been constantly changing: culinary experts have repeatedly experimented with their filling, spices in dough, shapes and decoration methods. But the minimum set of simple products, on which, in fact, the first products were based, remained unchanged.
The traditional honey gingerbread recipe at home is absolutely simple both in technology and in components. But cooked products can lie for a very long time. By the way, gingerbread cookies cover sugar fudge in order to extend their shelf life. Glaze forms a kind of protective layer that prevents moisture from evaporating. It is due to this product that they remain soft for a long time.
Features
The name of the gingerbread itself suggests that they contain a wide variety of spices. For their preparation, you can use any one spice or a whole mixture of aromatic seasonings.
For example, a combination of nutmeg, star anise, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, ginger, allspice can be made especially for baking gingerbread at home. You can combine these components at your discretion. And as a result, you will get truly fragrant, fragrant gingerbread cookies.
On the basis of the classic test, you can bake products of different sizes and shapes, mantle and even a whole house. Using a recipe, honey gingerbread is not difficult to make. Moreover, for cooking you will need extremely simple, affordable products. So such baking is within the power of even a completely inexperienced chef.
Give yourself and your family a real pleasure by using a simple culinary recipe for honey gingerbread to choose from: custard or raw dough, with or without icing, with nuts or other toppings. Whichever option you choose, as a result you will get unusually fragrant, tasty and nutritious pastries.
Cooking secrets
And so that the result of the upcoming gingerbread celebration will not disappoint you, take note of a few simple recommendations.
- Put all the products necessary for the preparation of goodies out of the refrigerator at least an hour before the planned process.
- Sieve the used flour without fail: this simple manipulation will save it from all kinds of impurities and enrich it with oxygen. And as a result, thanks to this, you will get airy, porous baking.
- Do not overdo it with spices added to the dough - everything should be in moderation.
- If you want to saturate your pastries with a divine aroma and rich taste, use buckwheat honey.
- It is desirable to cover the unleavened products with glaze.
- In any honey gingerbread recipe, there should be more bee product than sugar, but not vice versa.
- If you want to tint a little dough, you can add caramel to it.
- During the manufacturing process, in no case do not overheat honey: because of this, it can lose its natural aroma and acquire an unusual taste for it.
- If you plan to sculpt figures from gingerbread dough, do not forget to use flour.
- To prevent the items from sticking and burning, cover the baking sheet with baking paper.
- If you are not sure about your oven, do not rely entirely on the timer - check the readiness of the gingerbread with a toothpick or a match by piercing them. If the stick remains dry, then the product can be removed.
- Store finished baked goods in special boxes, plastic containers or plastic bags.
It is best to start your acquaintance with the original Russian delicacy with the classic recipe. How to make honey gingerbread cookies? Very simple - stock up on all the necessary ingredients and follow the technology exactly.
By the way, it is about the traditional method of making a hostess that speaks best. According to most, this recipe is based on the simplest foods. In addition, the process is very easy and fast.
Ingredient preparation
So, for the preparation of delicious honey gingerbread, you will need a minimum set of products:
- 200 g of bee product;
- half as much sugar;
- 250 g of flour;
- egg;
- 100 g butter;
- a teaspoon of soda.
If desired, you can complement the classic recipe with any spices to your taste. For example, cinnamon, ginger or nutmeg will be a great solution.
As for the main component, here you can choose any honey, but it is best to take one that has an expressive aroma and taste.
Prepare honey gingerbread at home for any hostess. Especially if you have a reliable recipe. So do not doubt your abilities, feel free to get down to business!
How to make honey cakes
Pour sugar into a stewpan and add honey to it. Put the mixture on the stove, bring to a boil and remove from heat.
Immediately after this, put butter in a stewpan, mix thoroughly and leave to cool.
After the mass has cooled, add flour, sifted and mixed with soda in advance. Pour it slowly, stirring the dough intensively.
At the end, send the egg to the mixture and carefully knead the mass manually. Then roll the cooked dough into a layer about 2 centimeters thick. Now it remains only to cut out the mugs from it, using a special mold or an ordinary glass, and shift them onto the prepared baking sheet. Bake such gingerbread cookies should be only 15 minutes at 180 degrees.
As you can see, everything is extremely simple, the process will take you a maximum of half an hour of free time. Such a treat you can pamper your family at least every day.
Honey gingerbread with icing
If you have already figured out the traditional recipe, you can tackle a more complex version of baking. For example, delicious and surprisingly delicate honey gingerbread with glaze will certainly appeal not only to adult sweet tooth, but also to small fidgets. To prepare such baking, you will need:
- 250 g of flour;
- 130 g of honey of a dark grade;
- 50 g butter;
- a third of a glass of dark molasses;
- 3 tablespoons of water;
- egg;
- 0.5 teaspoon of baking powder;
- 250 g of sugar;
- a teaspoon of spices.
These gingerbread cookies are prepared by brewing.
Cooking process
First, mix the honey, molasses, water and prepared spices in a saucepan. Put this mixture on the stove and bring to a boil. Then add a third of the flour to the mass and stir. Try to do this as quickly as possible so that no lumps appear in the test. As a result, you get a sticky mass of unusual caramel color.
Remove the prepared mixture from the heat and cool to room temperature. Then add soft butter and an egg to it. Now it is best to use a mixer with a special nozzle for the test, manually stirring the mass will be quite difficult.
Add baking powder to the remaining flour and mix thoroughly to distribute the powder evenly. Send this mixture to the rest of the ingredients. By the way, for kneading you may need a little less flour than indicated in the recipe. Focus on consistency - it should not be too steep and dense.
Roll the prepared dough into a layer with a thickness of 1.5-2 cm. Then, using a round mold, cut the workpieces. You can go the other way: cut the dough into pieces, and then flatten each of them slightly.
Prepare a baking sheet by covering it with parchment. Transfer the formed products here. If desired, in order to make the products brown better, you can grease them with a beaten egg.
Bake such gingerbread cookies at 220 degrees for about 10 minutes. Cool finished products on a wire rack.
Design and Submission
In the meantime, the baked gingerbread cookies are cooling, start cooking glaze. To do this, take a small pan and mix sugar with 80 ml of water in it. Put the dishes on the stove, turn on a medium heat and cook the syrup to a thick caramel state. The finished paste must be so viscous that a ball can be rolled out of it.
While the caramel is boiling, build a water bath with cold liquid. Pour the finished syrup into another dish and put on the structure. Beat the syrup with a mixer - it should turn white. Cover the cooled gingerbread with this mass using a brush. Or you can simply pour the products with glaze or dip them one at a time. In this form, the gingerbread must be left on the wire rack for 2 hours to dry the crust.
Kefir honey treat
Baking from sour-milk products has long been deservedly popular due to its tenderness and softness. To prepare honey gingerbreads that are ideal for painting, you will need:
- 0.3 l of kefir;
- egg;
- 100 g of oil;
- a glass of sugar;
- 3 tablespoons of honey;
- 2.5 cups flour;
- 1 teaspoon of soda.
Course of action
Beat the egg with sugar using a mixer. Your task is to achieve complete dissolution of the crystals. Then send warm kefir, liquid honey to these products and again thoroughly stir at maximum speed.
Now it's the turn of soft butter and soda. And then, portioning the flour into the mass, knead the dough that is not very steep.
Roll the prepared mass into a layer no thicker than a centimeter. Then, using molds or a simple glass, cut the workpieces. Place the items on a baking sheet and place in the oven for 20 minutes at 190 degrees.
Such gingerbread cookies can be decorated with beautiful painting or sugar fondant.