Festive gingerbread cookies from Dubai

by Olivia Bell

149 Kcal

Protein 1g
Carbohydrates 21g
Fat 7g

Easy cooking

45 min

In the UAE the New Year is celebrated twice. First goes Islamic, according to the lunar calendar, and the second one, on the 1st of January, is celebrated together with the whole world. The largest celebrations are held in Dubai, as the amount of tourists who come there for winter holidays is enormous. All the streets are decorated with twinkling garlands and sparkling artificial Christmas trees, Santa Clauses are taking photos with children in the overcrowded shopping malls, festivals and fairs are held throughout the city. The tourists, missing the traditional winter activities, can visit the Winter Wonderland at Ski Dubai, sliding down the snowy slopes and watching resident penguins. Or take a Dubai marina cruise to watch the magnificent pyrotechnic spectacle in the open waters of the Persian Gulf. The Alpine-inspired cafes offer free hot chocolate with gingerbread cookies and other traditional Christmas dishes. Here’s the recipe of this classic holiday snack, which you can cook at home with your kids and family!

Where to try

Jones the Grocer - Sheikh Zayed Road

#3652 of 16662 restaurants in Dubai , United Arab Emirates

Address: Indigo Central 8 - Sheikh Zayed Rd - opp. Times Square Building, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Get your kids involved in making this classic festive treat!

Festive gingerbread cookies

This classic holiday snack looks so amazing and is so easy to cook! Get your kids involved in making this festive treat and you’ll feel the real atmosphere of Christmas Eve. This simple recipe is divided into three steps: making the gingerbread biscuit, preparing the multicolor icing and fondant, and finally decorating the cookies. You can use natural food colors, such as matcha or spinach powder for green, or beet powder for red — or buy them ready in the shop. The recipe suggests making cookies with a man shaped cutter, but you can use any form you like — snowflakes, reindeer, stars, or Christmas trees. Enjoy these tender and bright cookies, which will fire up the festive spirit!

Cooking directions

Ingredients

For the biscuit:
400 g butter & 500 g flour
5 g salt & 170 g icing sugar
30 ml egg white
10 g vanilla essence & 5 g baking powder
For icing:
160 g egg white & 200 g icing sugar
5 ml fresh lemon juice
½ tsp natural green food color (matcha or spinach powder)
For decorative fondant:
50 g white fondant & 1.5 g red color powder

Step 1. First, let’s cook the biscuit. Mix on all the ingredients in the mixer until it resembles breadcrumbs, add egg whites in the end. Lay the dough flat and roll until slightly thick. Cut out the dough with a gingerbread man shaped cutter and bake at 180 degrees celsius for 20 mins.

Step 2. For making royal icing, combine icing sugar, eggs, lemon juice in a mixer and beat until mixture is fluffy and white. Add green food color and distribute it evenly. For further decoration, transfer icing into a piping bag. For red royal icing, use this same recipe and the same quantity of beet powder, for example.

Step 3. Prepare decorative fondant. Combine deco fondant with red color powder and mix well. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until required.

Step 4. For decoration, apply green icing as buttons. Then apply red icing as Santa’s hat. Plain white icing to be applied to decorate the cookie's face. Red fondant to be used as bowtie. Your cookies are ready, enjoy them and celebrate!

Is it not magic to celebrate Christmas not in snowy cold but in warm climate on the seashore, without missing the traditional winter holidays activities? If your answer is “yes”, come to Dubai and you’ll definitely not be bored on a festive night!