El origen de las galletas de jengibre se remonta al siglo XVI, cuando la Reina Isabel I de Inglaterra pidió que sus galletas tuviesen formas de algunos miembros de la corte o sus pretendientes.
Estas se decoraron con atuendos comestibles, y se las ofrecía a sus invitados. De ahí, que se relacionen las galletas de jengibre con formas de muñecos en las épocas de navidad.
Aimar Arias Crespo, 1º E.S.O.
The Gingerbread Man Cookies
Ingredients
For the cookies
- 3 ¼ cups all-purpose flour plus more for rolling out the dough
- 1 ½ tablespoons ground ginger
- 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, softened 1 ½ sticks
- ¾ cup light brown sugar packed
- ½ cup molasses
- 1 large egg room temperature
For the royal icing
- 2 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 4 tablespoons warm water
- 2 tablespoons meringue powder
- ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
For the decorations
- Sprinkles of your choice
Instructions
For the cookies
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, spices, baking soda and salt until well combined. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat butter, brown sugar and molasses with an electric mixer
- until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add egg and beat until combined. With the mixer on low, gradually add dry ingredients to wet ingredients until dough just comes together. Do not overmix! Divide dough in half. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator until firm, about 1 hour or overnight if you want to make it ahead to save time.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Take dough out of the fridge and let rest about 10 minutes. Roll dough out to ¼» thickness on lightly floured surface. I used about ¼ cup of flour per disc of dough. If dough is too soft, you can work in some of the flour. Cut out gingerbread men with a 4-inch cutter. Remove excess dough, then transfer cookies to parchment lined baking sheets. (I prefer half sheet pans as they have a raised edge.) Roll out scraps and remaining dough in the same way, adding flour to surface when needed to keep dough from sticking.
- Bake cookies for 9-10 minutes. Let cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough. Decorate cooled cookies with royal icing (recipe follows) and sprinkles as desired.
For the royal icing
- Combine all royal icing ingredients. Beat at low speed until moistened. Beat at medium speed 1-3 minutes or until slightly thickened and glossy. Keep covered until ready to use.
The Story of The Gingerbread Man
A long, long time ago, an old woman and an old man lived in a small house.
One day, the old woman made a gingerbread man. First, she made his head. Then, his eyes and his mouth. Finally, she made his arms and legs. She put the gingerbread man in the oven to bake.
After some minutes, the old woman opened the oven and… out jumped the Gingerbread Man! He ran out of the house.
“Stop! Stop!” the old woman shouted. “Let me take a bite!” “Stop! Stop!” the old man shouted. “Let me take a bite!”
But the Gingerbread Man ran on and on.
“Run, run as fast as you can! You can’t catch me.I’m the Gingerbread Man.”
Soon, the Gingerbread Man met a cow.
“Stop! Stop!” the cow shouted. “Let me take a bite!”
But the Gingerbread Man ran on and on.
“Run, run as fast as you can! You can’t catch me. I’m the Gingerbread Man.”
Soon, the Gingerbread Man met a horse.
“Stop! Stop!” the horse shouted. “Let me take a bite!”
But the Gingerbread Man ran on and on.
“Run, run as fast as you can! You can’t catch me. I’m the Gingerbread Man.”
The Gingerbread Man reached a river. Suddenly, a fox appeared.
“Hello, little Gingerbread Man. Can you swim across the river?” the fox asked.
“No, I can’t,” the Gingerbread Man said.
“I can help you,” the fox said. “Climb onto my tail and we can swim across the river together.”
So the Gingerbread Man climbed onto the fox’s tail.
“Oh, no,” the fox said. “The water is deep. Climb onto my back.”
So the Gingerbread Man climbed onto the fox’s back.
“Oh,no,” the fox said. “The water is very deep. Climb onto my head.”
So the Gingerbread Man climbed onto the fox’s head.
The fox reached the other side of the river. At that moment, he tossed his head; the Gingerbread Man flew up in the air!
“I will eat you now,” said the fox.
But the little man jumped away and escaped. He ran on and on and on.
“Run, runas fast as you can! You can’t catch me, I’m The Gingerbread Man.”
The End