Gingerbread
Warm, spiced, and irresistibly fragrant, these gingerbread cookies are made with rich Mauritian muscovado and demerara sugars.
Ingredients
For the cookies
- 250 g flour
- 125 g butter softened at room temperature
- 100 g dark muscovado
- 130 g fine Demerara
- 1 large egg
- ¼ tsp baking powder
- ½ tbsp ground ginger
- 1½ tsp mixed spice
- ¼ tsp ground cardamom
- ½ tsp vanilla paste or extract
- pinch salt
For mixed spice (if making your own)
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground all spice
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- ¼ tsp ground coriander
- 1 pinch freshly grated nutmeg
Instructions
- In a bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, salt, mixed spice, ground ginger and cardamom. Set aside.
- In another large bowl, add the softened butter with the muscovado and demerara sugars. Beat for 3-4 minutes with an electric mixer until lighter in colour and fluffy.
- Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
- Next, stir in the vanilla extract.
- Gradually add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, stirring until a soft dough forms.
- Divide the dough into two flattened discs, wrap in cling film, and chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F).
- Roll out the dough between two sheets of parchment paper to roughly 8mm thickness. Use cookie cutters to cut out your gingerbread—snowflakes, circles, stars, trees or cut them with a knife.
- Arrange the cookies on lined baking sheets, leaving space between them. Bake for 12-13 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden.
- Allow the cookies to cool on the baking tray for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Once cooled, decorate the cookies with royal icing (make according to package instructions), or edible glitter or as desired.