I think I have finally found my cookie.

I’m spending the day in the kitchen (apart from a small trip out to pick up bread from Small Food Bakery and the last of the groceries for tonight and tomorrow). We are having a small Christmas this year, feasting tonight with friends and planning a relaxed day tomorrow. I am cooking as everyone else is still working (the joy of working in the hospitality industry), but we are gathering this evening to eat and drink which is my family’s tradition and a Spanish one – a happy coincidence.

I had some of these cookies for breakfast, slightly warm, the icing not quite set yet. I love a spice cookie at this time of year. This is a soft cookie that is slightly crispy at the edges and smells of winter and warmth and spices. It is milder than regular gingerbread cookies and sweetened with honey rather than sugar which adds to its fragrance.

Hope you all have a happy festive time over the next few days with much celebrating, feasting and love.

Pfefferkuchen

(Adapted from a recipe torn from a magazine, sadly I’m not sure which one).

Makes about 24

Cookies:

200g runny honey

100g unsalted butter

grated zest of one lemon

300g plain flour

3 tsp baking powder

100g ground almonds

2 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp mixed spice

pinch of salt

generous grind of black pepper (approximately 1 tsp)

Glaze:

1 egg white

100g icing sugar

Heat the honey, butter and lemon zest in a saucepan until the butter is melted.

Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl. Stir the honey/butter mixture to emulsify and then pour into the dry ingredients. Stir with a wooden spoon until the dough comes together. Cover the bowl with clingfilm and refrigerate until cold and stiff.

Preheat the oven to 170C and line a baking tray with parchment or a silpat mat.

Using a teaspoon to break up the dough, roll the dough into small balls (about the size of a walnut). Press these onto the baking tray, flattening the balls so that the edges crack a little.

Bake for 12 minutes. Check the cookies. If they have puffed up, flatten them down again and bake for a further 2 minutes, turning the tray around to get an even bake.

Remove from the oven and cool on a rack completely before icing.

To make the glaze, whisk the egg white and icing sugar together until smooth. Paint this onto the cookie tops using a pastry brush. Leave the icing to set. Store in an airtight container. They will keep for 5 days, although I doubt they’ll last that long.

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