How to Make Classic Gingerbread Cookies
A classic bake for the festive period, these gingerbread cookies are deliciously easy to make
- You’ll need
- KitchenAid Artisan 4.7L Stand Mixer
- KitchenAid Sifter and Scale Attachment
- 360g plain flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp grated nutmeg
- 1 tsp ground cloves
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 225g unsalted butter, softened
- 300g soft brown sugar
- 1 medium, free range egg
- ½ tsp salt
- For the royal icing
- 80g egg whites, room temperature
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 225g icing sugar
Connect the Sifter and Scale attachment to the stand mixer. Sift the flour, baking powder and spices into a bowl on speed four and set aside.
In a separate stand mixer bowl, place butter and soft brown sugar. Attach the Flat Beater and mix on speed four until lighter in colour. Turn the speed to two and add the egg and salt, scraping any unmixed ingredients from the side of the bowl with a rubber spatula if necessary. Mix until the ingredients are well combined. While the stand mixer is running, gradually add the sifted flour until a dough forms. Chill the dough for 30 minutes.
Put the dough between two sheets of clingfilm, roll out to a thickness of 0.5cm and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
On a surface lightly dusted with flour, roll out the dough to a 0.5cm thickness.
Stamp out the gingerbread men shapes with a cutter, then re-roll any off-cuts and repeat
Place your gingerbread shapes on lined trays, allowing space for them to spread and bake for 10–12 minutes in a 180C pre-heated oven. The cookies should look dry but be soft when touched.
Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.
For the royal icing, add the egg whites to the bowl of the stand mixer fitted with the Flat Beater. Mix on speed six until the egg whites get frothy. Add lemon juice and gradually add the icing sugar until desired consistency is acquired.
Transfer the royal icing into a piping bag and draw in the faces and outfits.
