Raise your hands if you love gorging on gingerbread cookies. With the winter season and Christmas vibes all around us, this is the perfect time of the year to munch on these sweet delights. A bit similar and a bit different than basic gingerbread cookies, there is Pierniczki. It is a Polish version of these treats and it has a long history dating back to centuries.
History Of Polish Gingerbread Cookies
Torun is believed to be the beginning of these world-famous cookies. This medieval city of Poland is rich in history and is also home to the 700-year-old tradition of baking Polish gingerbread cookies. Torun’s Gingerbread Museum shared that the history of these cookies dates long back to 1380. Though Germans were the ones who brought these cookies to Torun, they gained worldwide popularity in the Polish city. Bakers in Torun usually begin the preparation of these cookies on 25 November.
Before this, people used to bake something similar to Pierniczki in some cities of Europe such as the Czech Republic The Netherlands, and Germany back in the Medieval times. Spices for these Christmas cookies were brought from India and other countries. North German trade companies transported these spices to Torun.
Also known as Pierniki Toruńskie, this gingerbread has a major significance as well. It is said that the city gifted these treats to those Polish people who did something unique and emerged to be successful.
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Ready To Bake Pierniczki?
Food writer Ren Behan has a great recipe for baking Polish Gingerbread cookies. According to a report by BBC, here’s the perfect recipe to follow while preparing these sweet treats.
Ingredients:
- 100 grams Flour of White Rye
- 300 grams Flour
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- 100 grams Butter
- 2 Egg Yolks
- 400 grams Dark Chocolate
- 100 grams Dark Brown Sugar
- 200 grams Honey
- 1 tsp Allspice Powder
- 1 tsp Cloves Powder
- 2 tsp Cinnamon Powder
- 2 tsp Cocoa Powder
Method:
- Start the process of making Polish gingerbread cookies by mixing some ingredients in a pan. Add some butter, honey, and sugar to it and mix everything till all the ingredients melt and mix. Once you are done cooking the mix, let it sit for some time.
- Next, start mixing the dry ingredients. Take a bowl and add types of flour, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa powder, and ground spices as well. Once mixed well, add both the egg yolks and knead everything perfectly. In between, add the honey, butter, and sugar preparation and knead well.
- Once you get the desired thickness and a dough-like texture, prepare it for refrigeration. Put a clingfilm on the bowl and keep it inside the fridge for at least an hour.
- While you are preparing the dough, make sure you preheat the oven as well. You can preheat it at 180°C.
- Before you start cutting the Polish gingerbread cookies into desired shapes, roll them evenly on a flat surface. A tip here is to add some flour on the surface and then flatten the dough.
- Cut the cookies into different shapes and add them to a baking sheet. For this, take an oven-proof baking sheet and cover it using baking or parchment paper.
- It’s baking time! Bake them for at least 20 minutes and check if the cookies are baked perfectly with a golden colour.
- Then, let all the baked treats cool down. To store them for 12-14 days, keep inside a tin container.
- After all these days, take out the cookies and layer them with dark melted chocolate.
- If you want to make a big batch and savour cookies later, make sure you store them in a tin box so that they remain good for a long time.
Are you excited to bake Polish gingerbread cookies this festive season?
Cover Image Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons
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