gingerbread cookies

• 500g flour
• 250g caster sugar
• 100g butter
• 3 heaped tbsp runny honey
• 2 whole eggs
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1.5 tsp of spices, ground in a mortar (star anise, cinnamon, aniseed, allspice, dried ginger, cloves)
• 1-2 tbsp cocoa

 
white icing:

• 1 egg white
• 150 - 200g icing sugar, sifted twice, amount depends on egg size
• 1 tsp corn flour
• 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
• mix the sugar gradually into the egg white and combine well with an electric whisk until the mixture becomes white and glossy (10-15 min). the icing has the right texture if it drops from the spoon in a thin stream which keeps its shape for a while after landing on a surface). spoon a little bit into a sandwich bag with a tiny bit cut off a corner.
• (add food colourants for colours and cocoa for brown. you will have to adjust the thickness with more sugar or egg white)

 
melt the butter in a bain-marie, add the sugar, honey, spices and cocoa and gently heat for 5 minutes until everything dissolves into a thick smooth paste. leave to cool slightly then mix in the flour, bicarbonate of soda and eggs. knead to make a smooth dough. wrap in clingfilm and leave in the fridge overnight.

next day: leave at room temperature until it becomes pliable again and knead again well to ensure the cookies are smooth.
roll out on a floured surface (about 5mm thickness) and cut out shapes with cookie cutters or knife. make sure the floured side is baked as the bottom, otherwise the colour won't be very nice. bake for 10- 15 minutes at 160˚C.
leave to cool and place in a half opened box. store in a cool place overnight and decorate the next day.
if the cookies are quite hard don't worry - they will soften in a couple of days.