Tag Archives: Christmas cookies

Gingerbread Cookies

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I have to apologize ! I haven’t been able to post for a month ! I have been busy…very busy. I participated in two Christmas Fairs selling my baked goodies….for the very first time ! 

It was a lot of work, more than I anticipated, but it was well worth it ! It was a very rewarding experience. I’ve received many positive comments, from the set up of my table to how yummy my cookies were. More important, I feel so blessed to have so much support from family and friends, especially my daughter ! I couldn’t do it without her ! 

Gingerbread cookie was one of the items I sold at the fairs. I had posted a recipe before, but over the years, I have made a few changes to make it better. So here is an updated version !

For the cookies

  • 180 g all-purpose flour
  • 180 g cake and pastry flour
  • 3 g baking soda
  • 2 g salt
  • 6 g ground ginger
  • 3.5 g ground cinnamon
  • Pinch of ground cloves
  • Pinch of ground nutmeg
  • 120 g butter
  • 120 g brown sugar
  • 100 g molasses
  • 1 egg
  1. Preheat oven to 350ºF
  2. Sift together flours, baking soda, salt and spices, set aside
  3. Using an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and brown sugar until light
  4. Add egg and molasses
  5. Add flour mixture in 2-3 parts, mixing after each addition until just blended
  6. Refrigerate dough for about 60 minutes for easy handling, you can also freeze it for later use
  7. Roll on a lightly floured surface to about 0.5 cm in thickness
  8. Cut with cookie cutters
  9. Bake on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper for about 8 minutes.
  10. Cool completely before decorating

For the icing 

  • 45 g meringue powder
  • 500 g icing sugar, sifted 
  • 90 – 120 mL warm water
  • 5 mL pure vanilla extract
  • 10 mL corn syrup
  • Gel food colouring
  1. Mix meringue powder with about 45 mL of water, let sit for a few minutes
  2. Stir in vanilla and corn syrup 
  3. Whisk into icing sugar using an electric mixer or a hand whisk
  4. Slowly add in more warm water until shiny and desired consistency (thicker for outlining and thinner for filling)
  5. Add food colouring

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Eisenbahner (Railroad) Cookies 

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This is a cookie that I learned at my pastry course earlier this year. It was one of my favourites. It’s beautiful, festive, delicious and has a cool name! It looks like a railroad track, hence the name Eisenbahner, which means railroad man in German. When I did a google search, almost all the recipes for this cookie are in German. So, I think it’s a great idea to share this in our Canadian Food Creatives and the Canadian Christmas Cookie Exchange round-up. There are 3 parts to this cookie, the base, the marzipan paste and the jam. Yes, it may seem a little complicated, but it’s definitely worth all the work. Hope you enjoy the ride !

Makes about 12 cookies

For the cookie base

  • 120 g cold unsalted butter
  • 60 g granulated sugar
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 170 g cake and pastry flour

For the marzipan paste and jam 

  • 200 g marzipan
  • 20 g unsalted butter, softened
  • 30 g icing sugar
  • 30 g honey
  • 1 egg white
  • 100 g raspberry jam (You want the jam to be hot and runny, so you can put it in a bowl and sit in a hot water bath for a few minutes before using)
  1. To make the cookie base, mix together cold butter and sugar using a wooden spoon until no more lumps
  2. Add egg yolk, mix until blended
  3. Add flour all at once, mix then transfer onto a table or counter and gently knead dough together (do not overmix, just work until ingredients are mixed in)
  4. Wrap with plastic wrap, refrigerate for at least 2-3 hours or overnight
  5. To make the marzipan paste, mix together marzipan, softened butter, icing sugar and honey into a thick paste (I found it easier to mix them with hands)
  6. Add egg white, mix until it has a stiff piping consistency (it looks like mash potato and you may not need the whole egg white)
  7. Put in piping bag with a star tip
  8. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 325ºF
  9. Take dough out from fridge and knead gently on a floured surface until pliable
  10. Roll it flat, about 0.3 cm in thickness (it’s OK if it cracks a little, just patch it back together)
  11. Cut into two 6 cm x 25 cm rectanglesEisenbahner (Railroad) Cookies
  12. Bake on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper until edges just starting to brown, about 8 minutes
  13. Cool, then brush a thin layer of hot jam in between the 2 sheets 
  14. Pipe marzipan paste along edgesEisenbahner (Railroad) Cookies
  15. Turn oven up to 425-450ºF at broiler setting
  16. Bake 2-3 minutes just to caramelize the marzipan paste (watch closely, as it can burn very quickly)
  17. Cool, then fill centre with hot jamEisenbahner (Railroad) Cookies
  18. Cool completely, cut into pieces, dust with icing sugarEisenbahner (Railroad) Cookies

Original recipe by Chef Marco Ropke at the Vancouver Pastry Training Centre.

Be sure to check out the links below for more cookie recipes from other Canadian Bloggers.  You can also find them on social media using the hashtag #CDNFoodCreatives . Many thanks to Laura Irvin at The Blue Nose Baker , Kacey Joanette at The Cookie Writer and Evelyne Budkewitsch at The Cultureatz for organizing.

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Gingerbread Cookies

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Every Christmas gingerbread cookie is at the top of my baking list.  The kids love to make and eat them.  My daughter and I spent a whole Sunday morning decorating them.  We had so much fun!

Makes about 24, depending on size of cookies
Total time = 90 minutes

For the cookies

  • 2+1/4 cake and pastry flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons ground ginger
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
  • pinch of nutmeg
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup fancy molasses
  • 1 egg
  1. Preheat oven to 350°F
  2. Sift together flour, baking soda, salt and the 4 spices, set aside
  3. Using and electric mixer with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar until fluffy
  4. Add egg and molasses, mix until blended
  5. Add flour mixture in 2-3 portions, mix until dough starting to form
  6. Transfer dough to a floured surface, press together to form a ball
  7. Wrap with plastic wrap and put in fridge for about 1 hour for easy handling
  8. On a floured surface, roll dough into about 1/8″ thickness, cut with cookie cutters. 
  9. Gather dough scraps together, roll out and cut into shapes again
  10. Place cookies on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper
  11. Bake for about 8 minutes
  12. Cool on cookie sheets for about 10 minutes them completely on rack
  13. Decorate with icing and candies when completely cooled

For the icing

  • 2 cups icing sugar
  • 4 tablespoons milk
  • 4 teaspoons corn syrup
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 to 2 teaspoons water
  • food coloring for icing
  1. Sift icing sugar
  2. Add milk, corn syrup and vanilla
  3. Add water, a few drops at a time to get the desired consistency
  4. Add food coloring
  5. Mix until smooth

Use a thicker icing to outline the borders, let dry, then use a thinner icing for the middle.  The icing is almost transparent, so you will need to add white food coloring to make it white.

Cranberries and Chocolate Chips Butter Cookies

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I like to make these cookies around X’mas time. They are great to share with others during the winter holidays.

Makes about 30

  • 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1/2 cup icing sugar, plus 2 tablespoons for dusting
  • 1/4 cup self-rising flour
  • 1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 tablespoon milk
  • 1/2 cup chocolate chips
  • 1/4 cup dried cranberries
  1. Preheat oven to 350°F
  2. Sift together self-rising flour, all-purpose flour and salt, set aside
  3. Using an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, cream butter at medium speed until fluffy
  4. Sift in icing sugar, beat again until fluffy, scraping down sides of bowl
  5. Reduce speed to low, add in flour mixture in 2-3 portions
  6. Add vanilla and milk, mix until dough comes together
  7. Stir in chocolate chips and cranberries
  8. Place large tablespoonfuls of dough, on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper, leaving 2 inches apart
  9. Bake for about 18 minutes, rotating trays half way through, bottoms of cookies should be lightly brown
  10. Let cool on cookie sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to racks to cool completely
  11. Dust tops with icing sugar

You can gently roll each tablespoon of dough into balls with hands, then press down to shape cookies before baking