El-Mouled Gingerbread Cookies

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cup flour - دقيق
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda - بيكربونات الصودا
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder - قرفة
• 1/2 teaspoon salt - ملح
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper - فلفل أسود
• 1 teaspoon ginger powder - بودرة جنزبيل
• 1 teaspoon cloves - قرنفل
• 1 medium lemon peel - قشر ليمونة
• 1 medium orange peel - قشر برتقال
• 1/2 cup butter (at room temperature) - زبدة
• 1 cup brown sugar - سكر بني
• 1/2 cup sugar - سكر
• 1 large egg - بيضة
• 1/2 cup molasses - عسل أسود
• Icing:
• 2 cup icing sugar - سكر بودرة
• 5- 6 tablespoon water - ماء
• food colouring (optional) - ألوان للطعام

Step by step

1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Line your baking tray with parchment paper.
2. In a bowl, mix all the dry ingredients together with the zest of one orange and one lemon. Set aside.
3. In another bowl mix the wet ingredients: beat the butter with the sugar, molasses, and one egg until well combined.
4. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix with your hands until the dough comes together into a ball. For best results, place it wrapped in cling film in the fridge for 15-30 minutes.
5. Dust your working surface, your rolling pin and cookie cutters with a little flour. Roll out the dough until it's 4- 5 mm thick. Use the cookie cutters to cut out the cookie shapes and arrange them on the baking tray (about 3 cm apart).
6. Use your hands to work the remaining dough into another ball and repeat the process.
7. Bake the cookies for 10- 12 minutes or until golden. Remove from the oven and allow them to cool on the tray before you transfer them to a cooling rack.
8. For the icing, mix the icing sugar with the water until you reach a smooth yet relatively thick consistency. (Add one tablespoon at a time because you might not need the full quantity of water).
9. If you are using food colouring, divide the icing into different bowls, and add one drop of each colour to the different bowls and mix.
10. Use piping bags to decorate the cookies. Allow the icing to dry before serving.