Kraftmas Day 10 - Pierniczki

Kraftmas does not only include arts and crafts, as the name suggests. Kraftmas also includes holiday baking. Why? Because baking in December has always been a big part of the holidays for my mother, sisters and myself (and for my Dad and brother who got to sample our creations).

Today I am going to show you how to make Pierniczki. Pierniczki are Polish gingerbread cookies made famous by the city of Torun, which I've actually visited! These cookies are rolled and cut into shapes, then they are either decorated with icing or dipped in chocolate glaze. My mom said that my grandmother used to make them when she was growing up. I don't remember having homemade pierniczki at my grandparent's house, but I remember having the cookies that my grandfather would bring home from Poland every summer.

I'm really excited to share this cookie because this is the first time that my mom has made these with me. They taste EXACTLY like the one's that I ate growing up at my grandparent's house. Ah, nostalgia :)

What you need:
For dough:
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup honey
3 cup flour
1 Tbl baking soda in 3 Tbl water
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp ground clove

For chocolate glaze:
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

To make your dough, begin by beating the eggs and sugar. Next, add the honey, spices, and the mixture of baking soda and water. After you've mixed these ingredients well, begin adding the flour. Eventually you will have a stiff dough that you can form into a ball. My mom put the dough in the fridge for 24 hours, but you can let it sit for 30 minutes to an hour before rolling it out.

When you're ready to roll the dough, you can roll onto a clean, hard surface with or without parchment paper. We rolled ours out on a plastic table cover that was greased with shortening. Roll the dough to 1/4" thickness. Use cookie cutters to cut the dough into various shapes - candy canes, gingerbread men, Santas, snowflakes, etc.













































Bake your cookies in a pre-heated oven at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes. Let them cool completely.















While they are cooling, you can make your chocolate glaze. Warm the heavy cream in the microwave, and then stir in the chocolate. The cream should be heated enough so that the chocolate melts as your stir it in.

Next, dip your cookies! You can either dip them completely in the chocolate (which is the traditional way), or you can just dip a portion of the cookie. We made one of each, and both were equally delicious.

The best part about making cookies around the holidays is when you get to make them with people you love. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful family to share the season with. Special thanks to my amazing mother, with whom I have made more treats that I can remember and shared even more cherished moments. 

Love you, mommy! 

Smacznego!