Piparkakut (Ginger Cookies)

Christmas is coming. 3days and counting down!

Today happens to be the Winter Solstice '冬至', a rather significant day for the Chinese. On one hand, we have traditional Chinese Winter Solstice celebration food like Jiao Zhi　'饺子', and Tang Yuan　'汤圆'; on the other we're preparing Christmas food.

This recipe is adapted from the Finnish Christmas table recipe site. I've halved the portion as the original makes about 200 cookies!

Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 10 minutes per batch
Oven Temperature: 200 degrees celsius

Ingredients:

1. 150 g Unsalted Butter or Margarine
2. 150 g Brown Sugar
3. 1.5 Eggs
4. 175 g (1/2 cup) of Dark Syrup (I've improvised by using Golden Syrup)
5. 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
6. 1 tsp Ground Ginger
7. 1 tsp Ground Cloves
8. 1/2 tbsp Grated Orange Rind
9. 3.5 cups White Flour
10. 1.5 tsp Baking Soda (Alternatively you can use Baking Powder - 1 tsp for 1 cup of flour)

Method:

1. Boil the syrup and spices in a pan, add the margarine and beat until the mixture is cool.
2. Beat the eggs and sugar until thoroughly mixed.
3. Mix the baking soda in with part of the flour, then combine with the spiced margarine syrup. Add whipped eggs and the rest of the flour and fold in until well mixed. Do not knead the final mixture.
4. Cover the dough with cling wrap and leave overnight in a cool place (in the chiller/ fridge).
5. Next day, roll out the dough, cut up into shapes and bake the cookies in the oven until golden brown.