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.
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.