Norwegian Gingerbread Cookies

For me gingerbread cookies are a must for Christmas.

Here in the US gingerbread cookies are mostly thick and chewy. This is the thin and crispy kind that I grew up with in Norway. Norwegians are crazy about gingerbread cookies and houses. In fact, my hometown of Bergen is the host of the worlds largest gingerbread house display. Day cares, schools, companies and private citizens bake and decorate and contribute the most amazing works of art out of of gingerbread. Take a look here.
The recipe below makes a dough that is so easy to work with, which makes it fun for the kids too. It is made a day ahead and chilled overnight. This recipe makes a big batch (about 6 dozen), so feel free to reduce it to half . The cookies are delicious plain, but decorating them is at least half the fun. However, I usually store most of them un-iced and decorate as needed. That way they stay crisp and fresh. Decorated cookies tend to soften.

Ingredients:
250 unsalted butter, cut into chunks
250 grams sugar
3/4 cup light syrup (I like Lyle's Golden, or use light corn syrup)
1 tablespoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons  ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
1 tablespoon baking soda
2 eggs
650-750 grams all-purpose flour

Preparation:

Cut butter into chunks and put into a large mixing bowl, set aside. In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, bring sugar and syrup to a gentle boil. Add cinnamon, ginger, cloves and pepper. It will smell fantastic!

Stir in the baking soda. The mixture will lighten and swell significantly. Pour the warm sugar spice mixture immediately over the cold butter in the bowl. Stir until the butter has melted completely and has cooled significantly. Whisk eggs lightly  and add into the butter mixture. Add the flour, a little at a time, until you have a smooth and relatively firm dough. Refrigerate over night.

The next day: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Divide the dough into 1/2 or 1/4 and work in batches, keeping the unused dough cold. Roll dough out onto a lightly floured surface, to between 1/8 - 1/4- inch thickness. Use cookie cutters to punch out a variety of shapes.Transfer cut-outs onto parchment covered cookie sheets. Make sure to bake cookies that are somewhat the same size, so they bake evenly. Bake 6-8 minutes. Look for faint browning around the edges. Let the baked cookies rest on the baking sheet 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Let cookies cool completely before decorating with icing.

Royal icing:

I like this type of icing over more traditional creamy frosting because it lends itself well to piping neat edges and more detailed decorating. It will harden, which makes for easier storing and/or transporting cookies as well.

2 large egg whites

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

3-4 cups powdered sugar

Whisk egg whites and lemon juice together in a medium bowl. Add powdered sugar a little at a time, until you reach the consistency you prefer.  Pour into a piping bag and pipe around edges of cookies or make other designs. Have fun!

Makes about 6 dozen cookies.