Apple gingerbread cookies

Ingredients for 25 servings:

• 300 g honey
• 50 g sugar
• 1 tsp ammonium bicarbonate
• 200 g flour (wheat flour)
• 120 g flour (rye flour)
• 1 tsp potash
• 1 egg(s), including the yolk
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp cardamom
• 1 tsp all-spice
• 3 tbsp schnapps (apple brandy)
• 20 g apples
• Milk, for brushing
• 1 tbsp apples, dried, chopped
• 2 tbsp schnapps (apple brandy)
• 80 g marzipan – raw mass
• ½ tbsp jelly (apple jelly)
• 400 g dark chocolate coating
• 50 g pistachios, coarsely chopped

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour; Rest time approx. 1 hour; Total time approx. 2 hours

For the filling, soak the dried, chopped apples in the apple brandy. Dissolve the honey and sugar in a saucepan over low heat, stirring slowly. Do not boil, and then let stand at room temperature for 2 hours. Dissolve the baking powder in a little water and knead it into the sugar and honey mixture along with the wheat flour. Knead in the rye flour, the potash (also dissolved in a little water), and the remaining ingredients. Chill the gingerbread dough for 1 hour. For the filling, mix the crumbled marzipan with the apple jelly and the soaked dried apples until smooth. Roll out the gingerbread dough in small portions on a floured surface to a thickness of 3 to 4 mm. Use a cookie cutter to cut out 65 x 35 mm bells; this should yield about 50. Place the filling in a piping bag and pipe onto half of the dough bells, leaving the edges free. Carefully place the other half of the dough bells on top and press down the edges. Lightly brush the bells with milk. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and carefully place the bells on top. Bake in an oven preheated to 180 degrees Celsius for about 10 minutes. Let cool, prepare the glaze, cover the bells with it, and decorate with the pistachios. Note: Layer the gingerbread in a cookie tin, covering each layer with parchment paper. Keep tightly closed: the longer the gingerbread is stored, the more flavorful it will become.