East Prussian gingerbread

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• 500 g flour
• 125 g honey
• 65 g beet syrup
• 250 g sugar
• 250 g margarine
• 1 g clove powder
• 2 g cinnamon
• 1 ½ g cardamom
• 5 g potash
• 1 tsp cognac
• 1 handful of almonds, halved lengthwise
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 6 tbsp powdered sugar

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Total time approx. 30 minutes

from my great-grandmother, a recipe from the 19th century

Heat the honey and syrup (just melt!), add the spices, except for the potash. Beat the fat and sugar until fluffy, add the cooled spice mixture, and stir in the flour, using as little flour as possible. The less you use, the better the cookies taste. The 500 grams is therefore an approximate amount. Dissolve the potash in cognac and stir it into the cold dough. Roll out the dough; the thinner, the better. Cut diamond shapes with a pastry wheel so you only have to roll out the dough once, thus requiring less flour. There are two ways to prepare these gingerbread cookies. You can either press half an almond into the center and bake them that way (this is the classic version), or you can simply bake the diamond shapes “naked” and then glaze them with the lemon icing. The “almond-coated” gingerbread cookies are crispy, while those with the icing will be crumbly. Bake for 10-11 minutes at approximately 140°C. At the end of the baking time, the cookies will still be soft; they’ll harden as they cool. So don’t think they’re not ready and keep baking until they’re firm. Throw them out, they’re still soft; that’s how it’s supposed to be! When they’re cold and dry, brush on the lemon glaze.