Preparing for Christmas

I have a confession to make; I'm not a very good at baking things. I like the food I make, and bread is fine, but there is definitely something about the sweets I can't grasp. Even making a sponge cake is like gambling for me, I never know how it will turn out. Maybe it is because I prefer savory things to sweets or because the baking recipes and measurements should be followed accurately, and I like to make it along as I cook? I don't know, but this is my excuse for these Christmas recipes being from and made by my mother. I still wanted to post about few essential Finnish flavors and scents of the coming holiday season, and the first will be these gingerbread cookies. They come out quite crispy and therefore this dough is perfect also for building gingerbread houses.


250 g butter
2 dl sugar
1,5 dl syrup
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground clove
1 egg (on the large side)
1 tsp salt
9 dl wheat flour
2 tsp baking soda

Place butter, sugar, syrup and spices in a sauce pan, heat until it boils and whisk until the mixture has cooled.

Add egg and salt to mixture. Combine flour with the baking soda in a separate bowl and add to the mixture. Leave to set overnight in the fridge.

Roll a part of the dough at a time to a thin layer and cut the cookies out of it with a cookie mold. Place the cookies on a baking tray lined with a baking sheet and bake in an oven (200 Celsius) until brown, about 8-10 minutes.