The legend of Krampus has been around since before the birth of Christ. Folklorists consider the character to be a sort of boogey man cautionary tale to naughty children. Then in the 17th century, Krampus was added many European holiday traditions as the yin to Santa’s yang as part of the Festival of St. Nicolas which occurs every December 6th.
Krampus’ time almost came to an end in the middle of the 20th century. Far right regimes sort to eliminate the evil influence on the holidays. And their plan almost worked until Krampus began a sort of renaissance around the turn of the 21st century.
A series of comic books, horror movies and pop culture kitsch has brought Krampus back into the forefront. Now a European holiday season isn’t complete without the soot hued monster.
There’s a number of countries I could glean a cookie recipe from. But when I think of Krampus, my mind goes straight to the Black Forest of Bavaria. So for my Advent gift for you today, enjoy this delicious Gingerbread cookie recipe that can double as an ornament or decoration!
Enjoy!
Gingerbread Hearts (Markt Lebkuchenherzen)
Ingredients
- 7 tablespoons butter
- 3/4 cup honey
- 5/8 cup sugar
- 2 1/2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon gingerbread spice mix
- 5 cups flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder (single- or double-acting )
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg
Steps to Make It
Make the Dough
Gather the ingredients.
Bring the butter, honey, sugar, cocoa powder and gingerbread spice mix to a boil in a medium-size saucepan.
Boil for several minutes until the sugar dissolves, then remove from heat and cool slightly.
Sift the flour with the baking powder and salt into a bowl.
Make a depression in the bowl and add the egg, then pour the honey mixture over the flour and mix on low speed until a ball of dough can be formed.
The ball of dough might still be shaggy but will form a smooth dough as it cools down, so do not add extra flour.
Wrap the ball of dough in plastic wrap and put in a safe place at room temperature for 4 to 48 hours.(This dough should rest overnight before baking for best results.)
Roll the Dough & Bake the Cookies
Heat the oven to 350 F.
Roll out half the dough to 1/2-inch thickness on a lightly floured board.
Use a large, heart-shaped cookie cutter or your own template to cut out large, heart shaped cookies.
If you want to hang these hearts from a ribbon, create one or two holes about 3/4-inch below the rim of the cookie before you bake it.
Repeat with the rest of cookie dough. This dough does not re-roll well, so take care to roll it into the right size the first time.
Place the cookies on a parchment-lined cookie sheet and bake 20 to 25 minutes, or until the cookies are set in the middle and lightly browned on the bottom. Bake the trimmed scraps to use for practice decorating.
Let the cookies cool completely on the baking sheet. They will harden as they cool. Although they are edible, this dough is most often used to make decorative cookies that are hung on the wall or around the recipient's neck and are seldom eaten.
Decorate the Cookies
Use tinted royal icing to decorate the cookies. You only need about half of the recipe, but you will want to practice decorating with your baked scraps, and you might want to use several colors, so make the whole batch.
Tint some of the icing in a separate bowl using normal food coloring. if the icing is not completely tinted you can create swirls of lighter and darker colors as you pipe it.
Place the icing in a decorator bag with a leaf tip attached to make the border. Use a writing tip for the words. Find out more about filling and using pastry bags here.
Decorate as you like. It is traditional to write cute sayings in the center and give the cookies to people you like.
Tips
- These cookies will last for months in a tin or well-wrapped and stored at room temperature.
- While they can be eaten, they are usually made for decorative purposes.
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