It’s that time of year again when a few amazing things start to happen. The days get longer here in Australia, more parties are on, and everyone starts getting that excited feeling of another year winding up. As terrified as I am that it is getting so close to Christmas, I am also really excited, because with Christmas comes my favourite activity: Christmas baking!

There are so many delicious foods to bake at Christmas time, and even though it is far too hot in Australia to divulge in most of them, there are still some that I really enjoy. I love any opportunity to bake Christmas related treats, and I’ve already started planning what I will be giving to my family, friends and work colleagues this year. I figure it is the perfect opportunity to put my baking skills to good use to give to those I love, and it can make it a lot more personal giving someone something that you’ve actually put time and effort into. As you probably already know, I don’t really enjoy cooking for myself, so I love the opportunity to bake for others, and Christmas presents the perfect time.

My absolute favourite baking around Christmas would have to be gingerbread. I love the flavour of gingerbread so much, and every year I get excited to make some. But I’ve come to realise that Gingerbread does not necessarily need to be a Christmas only thing. Here I was thinking I could only crack it out in December, but there was a whole world of Gingerbread related cooking just waiting for me to discover! I guess I should have known better, because those flavours of cinnamon, ginger and cloves are just too good to be constricted to one occasion!

So when I was thinking about what to cook this week, and I stumbled across a recipe that combined some of my favourite type of cookies and gingerbread, I was sold. I absolutely love snicker doodle cookies, they are so soft and sugary, and you can really add any flavour to them to kick them up a notch from the traditional type. I’ve tried ones with chai spice before, and so when I had a look at the recipe for these cookies, I thought they sounded like something I definitely had to try. Especially because it meant whipping up some gingerbread related baking earlier than December.

The cookies themselves were really simple to make, and didn’t take long at all! I ended up making them on a weeknight to bring into work, because everyone has been having a bit of a tough week and I know baking always makes everyone feel better! As soon as the cookies started baking, my house got the most amazing aroma throughout it, and it reminded me so much of Christmas. Honestly, what more could you want from cookies? It doesn’t feel like the end of the year until I start smelling gingerbread baking, and if it felt even better to have it come early!

Gingerbread Snickerdoodles

Adapted from	Gimme Some Oven
Preparation Time	15 minutes
Cooking Time	8-10 minutes
Serves	24 cookies
Ingredients ·         2 cups of plain flour ·         3 teaspoons of baking powder ·         1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon ·         ½ teaspoon of ground cloves ·         ½ teaspoon of ground ginger ·         ½ teaspoon of salt ·         ¾ cup of butter at room temperature ·         ½ cup of caster sugar ·         ½ cup of brown sugar, firmly packed ·         1 egg ·         ¼ cup of golden syrup (or molasses) ·         Additional sugar for dusting Method 1.      Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius (375 Fahrenheit) 2.      In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves, ginger and salt. Set this aside 3.      In a large bowl using an electric mixer, beat together the two sugars and butter until light and fluffy. This should take about one minute on a medium speed 4.      Add in the egg and golden syrup, and mix on a low speed until completely combined. Use a spatula to push down the sides of the mixture if needed, 5.      Slowly mix in the flour mixture in batches, ensuring each time that the flour is fully incorporated before adding more. Beat until all flour is completely combined on a low speed 6.      Line two baking trays with baking paper. Put enough sugar into a small bowl to dust the cookies with. 7.      Roll the dough using your hands into small balls. I wet my hands and slightly dried them to make it a little easier to roll. Once you have a ball, roll this in the sugar mixture to coat, and place on the baking tray. Continue to do this until all your mixture has run out. 8.      Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes, or until they start to slightly crack on the top, and they are slightly golden in colour. Remove from oven and cool for a minute or two. Then transfer to a wire wrack to cool completely. They will flatten a bit and crinkle further while they cool.

These cookies really didn’t last long. They were absolutely delicious, even though I might be a bit biased with my love of gingerbread. Everyone at work who tried them really enjoyed them and there were definitely multiple eaten! Because they were spiced I think it cut through the sweetness and made the cookies a lot easier to eat. They are dangerously good, and I’m only glad that most of them got demolished quickly so that I didn’t end up eating the entire batch! I would have if I had left them at home, because they were so delicious!

I think all in all, these were a great cookie to make and perfect all year round. They would go great with a nice cup of tea, or coffee, or just on their own. Plus they were quite quick and simple to make, and didn’t take long to cook at all! Much simpler than some other cookies that I have attempted to make, which is what you need when you decide you feel like doing late night baking as I did this week.

So go on, get into the Christmas spirit early and start enjoying that gingerbread! It’s never too early to enjoy the delicious flavours of gingerbread, and I’m so glad I’ve found recipes that allow me to enjoy it all year around!

Until next time, happy baking.

Ella xx