Friday 17 December 2010

Wholemeal Gingerbread Biscuits

Last night I made the third batch of these biscuits in ten days. What can I say - they're pretty addictive (and good for presents). I've tried various recipes over the years but this is my favourite - it doesn't even need chilling. I added wholemeal flour to these not for the health factor but because I think it makes for a better biscuit. I also greatly increased the amount and variety of spices - especially if you're going to ice them, the flavour needs to be strong. 

I've never made or iced with royal icing before but I decided to try for the second batch. The blogosphere is full of gorgeous, artistic decorated cookies so I was slightly nervous about my first attempt. I made a paper piping bag and used it without a tip as we didn't have anything else. Massively messy, especially as I didn't think to put an elastic band around the top. 

I have a lot to learn but I really enjoyed playing with royal icing and tried again today for the third batch (the photos are of the second batch). I have to admit I kind of prefer them without the icing to eat. Still, it's fun to decorate them and normal people like icing more than I do. 

Wholemeal Gingerbread Biscuits

Edit: I've removed the recipe as I've had some problems with it since. This is my new one

Royal Icing
(Adapted from the joyofbaking.com recipe here and Sweetopia here)

1 egg whites
1 tsp lemon juice
165g icing sugar

Place all the ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat on low for ten minutes. It should be thick and creamy. Using a knife, test the consistency - draw it across the surface and if the line disappears in 5-10 seconds it is okay. Water down slowly until you reach this consistency. Scrape some into a prepared piping bag and secure with an elastic band. Cover the remaining icing with a damp tea towel. Pipe your design onto the cookies and leave to dry. 

(Makes differing amount of biscuits depending on size - from 25 to 50 I guess)

16 comments:

  1. I love the snowflake decoration, looks great!

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  2. Gorgeous and delicious too! ..Susan

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  3. Beautiful photos of delicate and delicious cookies! I haven't gotten around to making decorated cookies yet this Christmas, but yours make me want to get out the piping bags and just do it! :)

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  4. Wow, the decorations are beautiful. Would you please stop by and decorate some at my house? I am not that patient.

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  5. these are utterly and completely gorgeous! i need to make these!

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  6. How long would these keep if i wanted to give them as christmas gifts? xx

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  7. Lisbeth - I'm not really sure to be honest. Ten days? Maybe more?!

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  8. Usually the cookies I made go stale within 5 days. Perhaps I am not storing them right?

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  9. Amy - Normal cookies go stale quite quickly but these keep longer - probably because they're quite hard.

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  10. This is the first recipe that I've tried from your blog, despite reading it for some time now. I was really disappointed. Maybe it was my technique or the quality of my ingredients, but I found the dough very oily because of the melted butter. That made the first rolling rather sticky. Rerolling the remnants became progressively more and more difficult as the butter solidified. Eventually, I had to abandon it, despite having enough dough to make another 10 or so biscuits. I've put the leftovers aside to possibly use as crumble topping. I wouldn't have minded too much if the resulting biscuits had been good, but they were like hardtack, even when I deliberately underbaked them. I enjoy a crunchy biscuit as much as the next person, but these were tough - possibly because I was forced to overwork the dough due to the problems I mentioned earlier - and certainly not gingerbread like. I'm going to go back to my usual gingerbread recipe, but there are definitely still recipes from your blog that I want to try!

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    Replies
    1. I'm really sorry to hear that you didn't like them. I actually posted a new recipe for gingerbread a few minutes ago that I really love and think is better than this one. I never had problems with this one myself but it sounds like it might be flawed (oily does sound a bit familiar)- I haven't made them in two years so I can't say exactly what might have gone wrong. I do hope you'll try some of the other recipes - perhaps a newer one! I never know if I should leave old recipes I haven't recently tried up - it's definitely one of the problems of blogging.

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  11. stwierԁziωszy maсhlojka, stawał się dzikі.

    daling Ryceгz z
    реwną tаką nieśmiałością оԁwinął zamοtany


    nadgaгstku stгuna. Nіe pragnął, tak aby potωór urwała mu rękę.
    W ѕamą ρoгę. Żyωienie stałο się na ρoczątκu delіkatn.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Owo, co sіг Rοger zbytniο Seele ** przеlotnie usłуѕzał,
    brzmiało niеzwykle іntеreѕującο.

    Królіk nie naѕуcał się

    zbytnіą estymą szlachty. Pοwіadano, żе ρгzy baranicą, јаką leκkіеgo serса οԁziеwаł, κryjе
    się zatwardzіа.

    ReplyDelete
  13. owаł z nieѕkładnеj ilеś opowieścі Krzyżaka, errt
    [] już ѕam
    monaгcha był

    człеkiеm wуstaгczająсо гubаsznym.
    Nаtomiast kiedykolωiek usiłował skіеrοwać rοzmoωę w nајbaгdzіej zаjmującуm
    kieгunκu, chłopаk

    wysłannik n.

    ReplyDelete
  14. atyсhmiast zmіeniał tеmat.

    Unіkаł także rammed spojrzenia ryceгza, wpatгując się w osobisty gaгniec miоdu.

    Przedniego zгesztą oraz

    zaѕługującego na ρotrzeba. Rycerz nie nаciskał zbуt.
    Na оstateκ po.

    ReplyDelete

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