CHRISTMAS TREE GINGERBREAD COOKIES WITH SESAME SPRINKLES
Ah, the smell of gingerbread — must be time to get festive! I made these this weekend in anticipation of decorating the Christmas tree (which, 4 days on, I still haven’t gotten around to). I wanted crunchy cookies that could sit on a tree for a few days being lusted after and when the time comes to tuck in, I wanted them to be, well, crunchy. These gluten-free cookies, using a supermarket gluten-free flour mix, were just the ticket: dark and spicy with plenty of ginger and molasses for a lightly sweet and slightly malty biscuit. I didn’t want the faff of icing them with all the other prep there is to do, so a sprinkling of white sesame seeds set off the dark cookies beautifully. I used a gingerbread man cookie cutter and a heart-shaped one, which reminds me of Christmas decorations in Germany where I spent a few years growing up when I was younger. I rolled the leftover dough into big buttons. Make these in advance and keep airtight (and out of sight!), then use them to decorate your home for an eco festive spin.
INGREDIENTS
Makes approx. 18 cookies
175g gluten-free flour (I used Dove’s Farm)
1 tbsp ground ginger
1 tsp mixed spice
¼ tsp baking soda
Pinch sea/rock salt
75g jaggery/coconut sugar*
2 tbsp ghee (or other oil of your choice)
2 tbsp blackstrap molasses (molasses syrup)
1-3 tsp water
A few tbsp of white sesame seeds, to decorate
METHOD
Add the flour, spices, bicarbonate of soda and salt to a large bowl and blend them together well.
Add the molasses sugar/jaggery, ghee and molasses and use a metal spoon to give these a rough mix. Using your fingertips, rub the ingredients together, breaking up any lumps of jaggery as you go, until the ingredients are well combined
Add a teaspoon of water at a time to bring together a dough — depending on how dry your molasses sugar/jaggery is, you will need 1-3 teaspoons to get a just sticky dough. You want it smooth but don’t get it too wet!
Place the ball of dough into the fridge for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven and line two baking trays with parchment.
Roll the dough out, between 2 pieces of parchment, to a few millimetres thick and then carefully pull back the top layer (save this piece to reroll the excess dough in order to make more cookies).
Press a cookie cutter into the dough and give it a wiggle to loosen.
Very carefully move the cut cookie to a tray — I find a palette knife or thin-edged spatula really good for this — and then proceed with the next cookies. Leave at least a centimetre between cookies on the tray to allow for expansion. Gather leftover dough into a ball, and roll it out again to cut more cookies.
Once both trays are filled, use a straw or skewer to make a hole towards the top of the cookie to use for the string, making it slightly larger** than you think as the cookie will puff up as it cooks. Sprinkle sesame seeds over the cookies and use your fingers or a palette knife to very lightly press them into the surface just so that they stick.
Bake in the oven at 160°C Fan (180°C) for 12 to 15 minutes, being careful not to let the edges burn. Leave to cool completely on the trays, then transfer to an airtight container until ready to hang.
To hang, string with thin ribbon or twine and use to decorate the Christmas tree or anywhere else ornaments go.
East by West tips:
*If you can’t find jaggery or coconut sugar, a good supermarket substitute is Billington's Molasses Sugar.
** I found a toothpick makes it easier to push the string thtough after making the holes on my first batch of cookies quite small!
For more Christmas cookie inspo, check out the chai spiced cranberry cookies and the all-things-spice carrot biccies.
