One of the best things about living abroad is meeting people from all over the world and the one thing you always have in common is navigating this country called Switzerland. I am incredibly grateful to have become great friends with one of my colleagues, who also happens to be the first Finnish person I ever met. Last year, I happen to taste her mother’s gingerbread cookies and I have to say, they were the best I had ever tasted. Thank you to Jenni’s mom for this lovely recipe and to everyone a Merry Christmas!

INGREDIENTS (makes lots of cookies)

1 cup golden syrup (400 g) or light molasses syrup

2 cups white sugar (400 g)

4 sticks unsalted butter (500 g)

2 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tsp ground cloves

2 tsp ground ginger

2 tsp pomeranssi (or ground orange peel)

3 eggs

9 cups all-purpose flour (1.2 kg)

1 generous tbsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Melt butter in a large saucepan and add in the molasses, sugar and spices. Let this mixture cool to room temperature.
2. Add in the eggs to the batter mix and whisk simultaneously.
3. Add in the flour mixed together with the baking soda and salt.
4. Mix until all of the ingredients are well incorporated.
5. Place batter into plastic wrap and cool in the refrigerator overnight or for at least 2 hours (I divided my batter into 4 logs).
6. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F (200 C).
7. Roll out cookie batter very thinly onto a floured surface and cut out cookies.
8. Bake large cookies for 6-7 minutes and small cookies for 4-5 minutes until golden brown and crispy. Baking times may vary depending on ovens so keep an eye on the cookies the first round.

NOTES

• I have found that the key is to roll them out thin so they are super crispy when baked. My small cookie cutters are my preferred ones for this cookie.
• Try pairing these delicious cookies with a sharp blue cheese such as Stilton. It sounds a bit odd, but it’s a fantastic pair!
• Store dough in plastic wrap up to 1 week in the refrigerator and up to 1 month in a sealed plastic bag/containter in the freezer.
• The original recipe calls for a Finnish syrup so I replaced it with a light molasses syrup.