Gingerbread cookies

To make gingerbread cookies start by making the spicy shortcrust pastry: place the flour 1 and all the spices in a mixer with blades: the ground cloves, cinnamon powder, grated nutmeg and ginger powder 2 . Add 1/4 of a teaspoon of baking soda 3

and the granulated sugar too 4 . Now add a pinch of salt 5 and the honey 6 .

Lastly, add the cold butter straight from the refrigerator and finely diced 7 , blend the ingredients together, with short breaks to avoid overheating the mixture, until you obtain a sandy consistency 8 . Place the dough onto a work top and create a classic well in the middle of it 9 .

Pour one egg into the dip in the middle 10 and knead into the mixture, first with a fork 11 and then by hand. Knead fast 12

and once the dough takes on a firmer consistency 13 , flatten it and cover with plastic wrap 14 . Leave the dough to become firmer in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. Once the resting time is up, remove the dough from the refrigerator, roll it out with a rolling pin onto a pastry board; sprinkle with flour, to create a layer that is between 7 mm and 1 cm thick 15 .

Use whatever Christmas cookie molds you prefer, we have chosen classic gingerbread man ones 16 . If you want, at this point you can make a hole at the top of the head of your gingerbread men , so that you can feed a ribbon through it and hang them from your Christmas tree. With these quantities you'll make around 15 cookies, (numbers may vary depending on what molds you use and their size) Place the cookies onto an oven tray lined with parchment paper 17 and bake them in a coventional oven preheated to 340 °F (17 0 °C) for around 15 minutes: times are approximate because each oven is different, so it is best to bake just a couple first, to find the optimal cooking time for the oven you're using. Once baked, remove the cookies from the oven and leave them to fully cool 18 .

In the meantime, prepare the royal icing : place the egg whites in a bowl 19 , start beating using an electric whisk at medium speed, and gradually add the powdered sugar, using a spoon 20 ; continue adding it until you obtain a homogeneous mixture of desired consistency 21 .

Place the icing in a single-use pastry bag 22 and cut the tip off to create a small hole 23 ; decorate the biscuits by tracing the outline and enriching gingerbread men with whatever details you like. The gingerbread cookies are ready to be enjoyed 24 .