Make Polish gingerbread cookies

This time last year we had just sent our trial subscribers the beautifully written and illustrated The Fish in the Bathtub by Eoin Colfer. It's a story set in Poland at Christmas and we included a recipe for delicious Polish gingerbread, or pierniczki (pronounced pier-nitch-key), in the activity pack that accompanied the book. Why not have a go at making some yourself this year?
Polish gingerbread cookies
Makes 15-20 cookies
You will need:
- 1 egg
- 175g light soft brown sugar
- 350g plain flour, plus extra for rolling out
- 125g unsalted butter, softened
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- ½ tsp ground cloves
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 4 tablespoons golden syrup
- White icing (in a tube is easiest)
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In a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until light in colour.
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Sift the flour, spices and bicarbonate of soda into the bowl, add the egg and golden syrup, then mix everything together until the mixture forms a clump.
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Shape the dough into a ball, wrap it in cling film and leave to chill in the fridge for 15 minutes.
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Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4 and then line two baking trays with greaseproof paper.
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Roll out the dough to a 0.5cm/¼in thickness on a lightly floured surface. Use cookie cutters to cut the dough into shapes of your choice. Place on the baking trays, leaving space between each one.
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Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until lightly golden-brown. Leave on the tray for 10 minutes and then move to a wire rack to finish cooling.
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When cooled decorate with white icing.
Each month our book club subscribers receive an exciting parcel through the post containing a fantastic chapter book to keep and an activity pack crammed full of ideas and actvities just like this one, that encourage them to engage a bit more deeply with what they've read. Find out more about our subscriptions here.