Its January and the light fantastic has passed us by. Cold weather is here though I am off to Poland this weekend to see the outlaws, where it is reputed to be -28 degrees! So if I didn't make it back with all me fingers I thought I would leave you my famous Ginger bread cookie recipe. 

See you all on the other side!!

Gingerbread cookies

225g Butter

170g muscovado sugar/light brown

1 Tablespoon molasses

1 egg, beaten

340g plain flour

1 tspn soda

1 tspn baking powder

2 tspn cinnamon

1 tspn ginger

1/2 tspn salt

1/2 tspn ground cloves

METHOD:

Beat the butter, sugar and molasses till light and fluffly.

Gradually add eggs, beating well between each addition

Sift all remaining ingredients and stir into mixture

Press the dough into a flat layer between two sheets of greaseproof paper.  Chill 1 hour until firm.

Heat the oven to 190degrees/375F/Gas mark 5

Roll out dough on lightly floured surface, 5mm thickness for softer cookies or thinner for crispy.

Cut out shapes and place on greased baking tray, chill.

Bake in the middle of the oven for 8-10 minutes or until the edges of the cookies are light brown.
  

Cool for 1 minute, transfer to wire rack.

Dust with icing sugar or decorate as you wish.

Eat them all before anyone else gets to them!!!!

Us Brits have enjoyed years of passionate love with the 'Chocolate Eclaire'  so much so that it has become a thing of English cake counter tradition along with the cream slice, iced bun & other similar guilty pleasures... We've adopted it & made it our own, the likes of  Spag Bol & Chicken Tikka Masala also experiencing similar identity issues

Having recently returned from a holiday State Side, I realised that our American cousins have elevated the not so humble eclaire to princely status...  preparing it perhaps to become King of the 'Palais Patisserie' as happened with the now well celebrated globally dominating reign supreme of the Cup Cake in all it's many disguises. 

 

 

I don't know about you, but I'm all up for a change of monarchy.. 

 

The Cup Cake is dead.. Long live the Eclaire....