Christmas is my all time favorite festive season mainly because there are limitless baked goods to make! This year I decided on decorative chocolate gingerbread man because its just so meditating!
This gingerbread man sandwich cookie is going to wow your friends and family and if you can make funny faces it can cause some serious giggles at home! :)
Gingerbread Man Cookie Dough
Makes 14 x medium individual gingerbread man (7 x sandwiched gingerbread man),
or 24 x small gingerbread man (12 x sandwiched gingerbread man)
125 g Softened unsalted butter
110 g Light Brown Sugar
125 g Golden Syrup
50 g Egg (or 1 egg)
410g) Plain flour 25 g Cocoa powder 1/2 tsp/ 3 g Bi-carbonate of soda 3 tsp Ground ginger
1 tsp Mixed spice
Royal Icing
Qs. Royal Icing Mixture
Qs Water
Chocolate Ganache
160 g Full Cream 35% Fat
30 g Unsalted Butter - Cold and cubed
20 g Honey
230 g Dark Chocolate 54% Cacao
40 g Milk Chocolate 33.6% Cacao Solids
METHOD
For the Gingerbread Cookie 1. Line two trays with parchment paper.
2. Place the room temperature (not melting) butter, sugar and golden syrup into a stand mixer bowl fitted with a paddle attachment and mix over medium speed until the mixture is pale and creamy.
3. Add in the eggs and mix until well combine followed by the sifted flour, cocoa powder, bi carbonate soda, powdered ginger and mixed spice. Mix the mixture until they just come together into a dough. Transfer the dough onto your work bench and lightly knead the dough until they are smooth and no longer any bits of dry ingredients present.
4. Flatten the dough in to a square and wrap with cling film. Store in the fridge for at least 2 hours or overnight.
5. Remove the rested dough from the fridge and place at room temperature until it is soft enough to roll it out with a rolling pin. Lightly dust the workbench with some flour and roll the gingerbread dough to approximately 5 mm / 0.5 cm in thickness.
6. Dip the gingerbread man cutter into the flour and cut out individual gingerbread man.
Meanwhile, preheat oven to 175°C.
7. Place the gingerbread man in the pre heated oven and bake for approximately 10 to 12 minutes. For smaller gingerbread man, bake for approximately 8- 10 minutes.
Depending on your oven, baking time may vary.
8. Once baked, transfer the cookies on to a wire rack to fully cool for decorating.
Note: If you are making a sandwich cookie, only decorate one side for each cookie sandwich. Alternatively you can decorate both side.
For the Icing
Traditional way of making royal icing was with raw egg whites and icing sugar. I am just not in to the whole "raw" idea in a cookie. These days you can buy pre made royal icing mixture that comes in a packets. Follow the instructions to decorate
For the Ganache
Place the cream and honey into a saucepan over medium heat and bring to a mere boil (around 85°C).
Pour the hot cream over the chocolate. Add in the cold butter and emulsify with the help of a stick blender until shiny and smooth.
Place a cling wrap over the top of the ganache touching the surface and leave to cool at room temperature overnight.
If your kitchen is warmer than 24°C with higher than 50% humidity, leave the chocolate ganache in the fridge to set for approximately 3 hours or until the ganache comes to a pipeable consistency.
Transfer the ganache in to a piping bag fitted with a plain tip and pipe between the gingerbread man to make a sandwich.
Storage
Sandwiched Cookie can last up to 5 days. For longer shelve life, only make the ganache and sandwich the gingerbread man closer to gifting or consuming. Gingerbread cookie can be pre baked and stored in the freezer for up to 3 months.
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