← Nouns Cooking · Bakery

Ingredients

• 200 g runny honey
• 85 g Butter
• 250 g plain flour
• 100 g Ground almonds
• 1 tsp Baking powder
• ½ tsp Bicarbonate of soda
• 2 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp ground nutmeg
• ¼ tsp ground cloves
• 1 pinch Black pepper
• 1 pinch Salt
• 1 lemon (or ½ orange), zest only
• 100 g Icing sugar
• 1 egg white, lightly beaten (or 2 tbsp hot water)
• 150 g dark chocolate, to dip (instead of the glaze) (optional)

Method

1. Warm the honey and butter in a pan over low heat, stirring, just until the butter melts. Take off the heat and let it cool for 10 min.
2. In a large bowl, mix the flour, ground almonds, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, all the spices, salt and zest. Pour in the honey butter and stir into a soft, sticky dough. Cover and chill for 30 min until firm enough to roll.
3. Heat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan, 350°F) and line two baking trays. Roll the dough into 24 walnut-sized balls, set them well apart and flatten each to about 1 cm thick.
4. Bake for 12–15 min, swapping the trays halfway, until risen and just firm at the edges; they stay soft in the middle. Cool on the trays for 5 min.
5. Whisk the icing sugar into the egg white to make a thin glaze. Brush it over the biscuits while they are still warm so it sets into a shiny, crackly coat. (Or cool completely and dip in melted chocolate.)
6. Leave to set for at least 30 min, then store in an airtight tin, where they soften and taste better after a day or two.

Tips

• Contains tree nuts (almonds) and raw egg white in the glaze; use the hot-water glaze for pregnant guests or young children.
• A ready-made Lebkuchen or gingerbread spice mix can replace the separate spices: use about 1 tbsp.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

BBC Good Food BBC Food King Arthur Baking