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Spiced Treacle Gingerbread Biscuits

18/12/2011

15 Comments

 
Gingerbread men by Liz Posmyk, Good Things
I could not find the correct piping nozzle in my busy drawer, so had to use a star tipped one. I like to think of these rustic-looking.
With my Hungarian, Czech and German background, spicy treacle or honey cakes, such as gingerbread, are a favourite. Peter and I have been taste testing gingerbread biscuits from various market stalls and bakeries recently and we have found that they are either bland or brilliant in flavour, depending on the combination of spices and the recipe used. Quality and freshness of the spices is essential, and I believe it is much better if you freshly grind the spices immediately before use

My recipe is adapted from one in The Essential Christmas Cookbook (Murdoch Books). I have amended the spice combination to result in a more flavoursome gingerbread, and also rewritten the recipe, as I found the instructions were not detailed enough in areas. It reminds me very much of Hungarian kalacs/spiced bread.

Belle, this one is for you. May your kitchen be filled with warm and spicy, festive aromas, as mine is right at this moment. Enjoy my recipe for spiced treacle gingerbread biscuits.

SPICED TREACLE GINGERBREAD BISCUITS
140g European style unsalted butter, chopped and softened
1/2 cup soft dark brown sugar
1/4 cup treacle, preferably black
1 egg
2 cups plain flour
1/4 cup self raising flour
3 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

Icing
1 egg white, extra
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1 cup sifted icing sugar
food colouring, optional

Line two biscuit trays with baking paper. Grind your spices using a spice grinder or coffee grinder*. Beat the butter and sugar in a bowl until light and creamy, then beat in the treacle and egg. Fold in the combined sifted flours, spices and bicarbonate of soda.

Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for two to three minutes until smooth. Wrap in cling film and refrigerate for up to 30 minutes. The dough needs to be really well chilled so that it is easier to work with when rolling out and cutting. (The recipe recommends 15 minutes, however I found that this wasn't long enough and it was a warm afternoon, so the dough quickly softened, making it harder to work with).

Divide the dough into two and roll out each one between two sheets of baking paper to 4mm in thickness. Lay out on the trays and chill again for 30 minutes or until firm (NOTE: if you live in a hot climate or it's a really warm day, you may need to chill the dough overnight and work in a cool kitchen). 

Preheat your oven to moderate 180 degrees C. Cut out the dough into the shapes of your preference. Place the biscuits onto the trays and bake for ten minutes, check to ensure that the biscuits don't over brown.  Remove from the oven and leave on the trays for five minutes, before transferring to wire racks to cool. When the biscuits are cold, decorate with icing.

To make the icing, whisk the egg white until foamy. Add the lemon juice and sugar and stir until glossy. You could add a little vanilla extract for extra flavour. Add some food colouring if you wish to use coloured icing. Spoon the icing mixture into a piping bag and decorate the biscuits. Allow to set. Store biscuits in an airtight container.

*Clean your spice grinder or coffee grinder by grinding some rice. Wipe it out with a paper towel. And pop the cutters into a warm oven after washing them to dry them to avoid rust.
Hungarian heart shaped gingerbreads decorated with colourful icing
Hungarian gingerbreads or mézeskalács - so beautifully decorated. I have had these since my childhood. The text reads 'Heart sent'.
Ingredients to make gingerbread
Freshly ground spices make for more flavoursome gingerbreads
Creaming the butter and sugar to make gingerbread
Cream the brown sugar and butter
Add the treacle to the gingerbread batter
Add the treacle
Add the spices to the gingerbread mix and fold them in
Fold in all of the beautiful spices
Knead the gingerbread dough until it forms a ball
Knead the dough for two to three minutes until it is smooth
Roll out the gingerbread mixture between sheets of baking parchment
After cutting the mixture into two, you roll it out between two sheets of baking paper
Star shaped gingerbread cutter and dough
Festive stars
Gingerbread men are fun shapes
Gingerbread men are such fun shapes
This first batch of gingerbread is a little dark
With the first batch, you can see the shape wasn't quite perfect. Rustic. That's a good word. The dough wasn't chilled well enough and made it difficult to remove from the baking paper. I have adapted the recipe so that this mistake can be avoided.
Batch two of my gingerbread men looks much better
Batch two looks much better, not perfect, but better. We wanted to try thicker biscuits. They appear to be burnt, but they aren't.
Wrap your gingerbread men in pretty cellophane bags and tie with colourful ribbon
The finished pile of delicious edible gifts handmade by Bizzy Lizzy.. a double batch made twice this many!
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15 Comments
CK link
17/12/2011 08:46:17 pm

And you found time to photograph and blog too - you're Superwoman - well done. The ingredients you've used sounds much nicer than what I've done. I laughed at 'rustic looking'! It's a lot of work, I hope they are enjoyed by all who get to try them.

Reply
Jackie B link
17/12/2011 08:54:06 pm

Love your men holding on to baby in the pic. I should have put nutmeg in mine ;) Oh well. Your recipe sounds divine!

Reply
Belle Baker link
17/12/2011 09:18:31 pm

Wow - these sound amazing!

I can't wait to try them!

Can I get black treacle from my supermarket? I haven't ever looked for it before.

Many thanks for sharing!

Reply
Lizzy
17/12/2011 09:35:57 pm

CK... lol, you are too funny. They are a lot of work. I hadn't made them for a decade or two since my kids were little. Thanks for popping in and for your kind comments.

Reply
Lizzy
17/12/2011 09:36:54 pm

Jackie, I had nutmeg and also coriander... a Hungarian addition from Mezes kalacs. Very yummy. Thanks for popping in. Stay for a cuppa next time!

Reply
Lizzy
17/12/2011 09:37:50 pm

Belle, do try them and please let me know how you go. They are fiddly, but worth it. I bought the black treacle at Coles, it is the CSR brand so you should be able to. Let me know if you need help to source it. Enjoy xo

Reply
Claire @ Claire K Creations link
17/12/2011 09:49:01 pm

Delicious! I made gingerbread this week too. They smell so amazing.

Reply
Lizzy
18/12/2011 01:03:00 am

Hi Claire, I will pop in and see your gingerbread! I wish I could bottle that divine smell!

Reply
Lisa (bakebikeblog) link
18/12/2011 07:59:52 am

How adorable!!

But can I ask, where did you get those clear bags from? I have been looking for them everywhere!!

Reply
The Food Sage link
18/12/2011 03:06:27 pm

... and i wasn't going to do any Christmas cooking this year. Gingerbread is my downfall. Will be whipping up a batch of these on Thursday before heading overseas. Thanks Lizzie.

Reply
Lizzy
18/12/2011 06:38:00 pm

Rachel, hi... and I bet they will be delicious too! Where are you heading to?

Reply
Lizzy (Good Things)
18/12/2011 08:18:14 pm

Lisa, hi. There is a $2 shop downstairs in the Canberra Centre. Got them in the party aisle there. Only $2.50!!!!

Reply
Sara @ Bellly Rumbles link
18/12/2011 11:15:59 pm

I am yet to make my gingerbread for Christmas this year. I love my gingerbread to have that extra spice factor, probably my Latvian background :)

Reply
Lizzy
19/12/2011 02:20:46 am

Hi lovely Latvian Sara! I do too... they have to have flavour, otherwise they are just an ordinary biscuit! Season's Eatings.

Reply
Joanne T Ferguson link
29/11/2013 08:21:10 pm

G'day and wow Lizzy! I could not get my eyes off your gingerbread tree!
I LOVE gingerbread and mézeskalács are a very big favorite of me!
Cheers! Joanne

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