Here at the Scotch Whisky Experience, we love to hear about the festive traditions that our team like to enjoy. Coming from such diverse countries and backgrounds means we’re lucky to have plenty of stories (and sometimes treats) to share among our close, friendly team. Michalina, a member of our Housekeeping team who originally comes from Poland, has been busy in the kitchen creating some beautiful (and delicious!) whisky-themed gingerbread biscuits. She shares her traditional recipe and the story behind her love of gingerbread below.
“I remember my first gingerbread. My grandma couldn’t come for Christmas and she sent them over for me and my sister in a package; I still remember their shapes and colours. The following year, we made gingerbread together with my grandma and since then, making gingerbread has become our family tradition. My sister and I bake them together every year, and I’ve even inspired friends to bake their own gingerbread. Often before Christmas we meet to bake together, or to exchange our Christmas gingerbread. This year I experimented with whisky themed shapes and decoration for the Scotch Whisky Experience team.
Merry Christmas!
Ingredients
- 300g plain flour
- 150g sugar (brown or white) you can use less if you prefer less sweet gingerbread
- 150g honey
- 1 full tbsp butter
- 1 medium egg
- About 5g bicarbonate of soda (little less than ½ tsp)
- About 20g of mixed gingerbread spices (ground cinnamon, ginger, gloves, cardamon, anise – the combination can depend on your preferred taste)
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180° C
- Place the honey and sugar in a saucepan and heat gently, stirring until melted.
- Sift together the flour, bicarbonate of soda and gingerbread spices.
- Pour in the warm ingredients and beaten egg, then add the butter and stir together until smooth dough forms.
- Roll out to an even thickness of about 5 mm, and use a cookie cutters to cut different shapes.
- Place cookies on baking sheets, evenly spaced, then bake the gingerbread in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes until lightly browned. (Take them out of the oven when they are still slightly soft).
- Leave to cool on the baking sheets for a few minutes.
For the icing – white like snow 😉
- About 120g icing sugar
- 1 egg white
- juice squeezed out of one slice of lemon
Pour the egg whites into the bowl, whipping gradually and adding the icing sugar and lemon juice until the frosting becomes dense and white.
Everything is now ready. You can decorate your gingerbread now! Have fun!”
Whisky matches
We couldn’t resist thinking of some Scotch whiskies that would perfectly match these aromatic, spicy biscuits. Try any of the following to compliment the flavours in your homemade gingerbread:
