Medenjaci (Croatian Gingerbread Honey Cookies)

A recipe for Medenjaci (Croatian Gingerbread Honey Cookies)! This holiday favorite is sweetened with honey and spiced with cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg.

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The icing for the cookies uses raw eggs. Consuming raw eggs may increase your risk of foodborne illness, especially if you have certain medical conditions. Be safe about the source of your eggs, use pasteurized, or substitute with meringue powder.

I didn’t like gingerbread much as a child, but I have definitely developed a taste for these spiced cookies lately.

While I enjoy the flavor of the German Lebkuchen, Medenjaci may have just won as my new favorite. Medenjaci are Croatian gingerbread cookies spiced with cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg.

They are a bit lighter in color and flavor thanks to the use of honey instead of the molasses and brown sugar that is more common here in the United States.

This recipe from Tamara Novacoviç features a cut-out style of cookie, but I have also seen them formed into small rounds of dough that may or may not be topped with a glaze. 

The cookies are a great choice for edible presents during the holidays since they keep their soft and chewy texture for at least a couple of weeks (while stored in an airtight container at room temperature).

The cookies are decorated simply with an egg white-based royal icing. If you are unable to use raw egg whites, they can be substituted with pasteurized egg whites or meringue powder.

We recently made these cookies again (on December 17th, 2017) and the kids opted to top the cookies with an array of colorful sprinkles. Lots and lots of sprinkles.

They enjoyed picking out different shapes for the cookies- including fish, stars, tractors, trees, gingerbread people, and even dinosaurs.

We recently came across these Dinosaur Fossil Cutters and the dough held up really well to the shape/stamp. It made filling in the icing quite easy.

The royal icing does use a raw egg white. If you are nervous about or unable to eat raw eggs, pasteurized egg whites are available in many grocery stores.

Looking for more gingerbread recipes?

Try my:

• Gingerbread Waffles
• Piparkakut (Finnish Gingerbread Cookies)
• Maple Gingerbread Scones

Medenjaci (Croatian Gingerbread Honey Cookies) Recipe

Adapted from Honest Cooking

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Medenjaci (Croatian Gingerbread Honey Cookies)

A recipe for Medenjaci (Croatian Gingerbread Honey Cookies)! This holiday favorite is sweetened with honey and spiced with cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg.

Course Dessert

Cuisine Croatian

Keyword Christmas, cookie, Croatia, Croatian, dessert, gingerbread, holiday, Medenjaci, winter

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Resting Time 2 hours hours

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 2 -3 Dozen

Ingredients

Cookies:

• 3 cups (375 grams) all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• pinch baking soda
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter softened at room temperature
• 1/2 cup (100 grams) gramulated sugar
• 2/3 cup (160 milliliters) honey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 large egg

Royal Icing:

• 1 egg white
• pinch salt
• 2/3 cup (865 grams) powdered sugar

Instructions

To make the cookies:

• In a medium bowl, combine flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg.
• In a large bowl, beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in honey, vanilla, and egg. Slowly add flour mixture until just combined.
• Separate the dough into 2 halves and form each half into a disc. Wrap each disc in plastic and refrigerate at least 2 hours.
• Place rack in center of oven and preheat to 350˚F (180˚C). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment or lightly grease.
• Lightly flour work surface and roll 1 disc of chilled dough until 1/4 inch (6 millimeters) thick.
• Cut out desired shapes with cookie cutters and, if needed, use an offset spatula to transfer to prepared baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven until edges begin to turn golden, 10 minutes. Cool on wire rack. Repeat with other disc of dough.

To make the icing:

• In a medium bowl, beat egg white and pinch of salt until stiff peaks form. Continue beating and slowly add powdered sugar. Add more powdered sugar for a stiffer icing.
• Place in piping bag and use desired tips to decorate cookies. Add food coloring to the icing if desired or top the cookies with additional decorations.
• Once icing has hardened, store in airtight container at room temperature.