Though using the shop bought gingerbread pastry is perfectly acceptable (there are about a million other things to fret over in the run up to Christmas!) let's face it: the best ones are made from scratch. And even though every aspiring Mary Berry has their own recipe for The Best Gingerbread in the World, I doubt any of them would have anything on this recipe that has been spoiling my palate for decades.
These are so good there was never enough. I remember how my Mum had to make several batches before Christmas, as her attempts to hide them away always proved futile - our inbuilt GPS never failed to locate the latest stash. Since then (to the great grief of my orienteering-enthusiastic Dad and anyone ever travelling with me) my sense of direction seems to have lost the evolutionary battle and died away.
There are two schools of thought when it comes to these Nordich Christmas treats: one prefers them thin and crisp and the other one thick and soft. My view is applicable to several other core questions in life: the bigger and thicker, the better!
3 dl syrup
4 dl sugar
500 g butter or margarine
4 tsp cinnamon
4 tsp ginger (dried, ground variety)
2 tsp bitter orange (dried, ground variety)
4 eggs
2 tsp salt
4 tsp bicarb
18 dl all purpose flour
Bring syrup, sugar, butter and spices to boil and let cool. Using an electric whisk, whisk until it starts turning paler in colour and then start adding the eggs followed by the dry ingredients. Let rest in the fridge overnight (though don't forget to keep sampling it - just to make sure the taste is right of course!) and the following day bake (what ever is still left of the dough) to ginger breads. Bake at 200°.
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ANYONE FOR SECONDS?
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