Caramel Gingerbread for the Holiday

Pour sugar into a saucepan with a capacity of 3–4 liters and place it over medium heat. Cook the caramel until it reaches a beautiful, uniform color.

Carefully pour boiling water in several portions, constantly stirring with a wooden spatula. You will get a liquid caramel mass — it should not boil.

Add diced butter. The temperature of the butter doesn't matter — it will melt on the stove. Stir constantly.

Add baking soda, salt, and spices. The mixture will start to foam — that's why you need a large pot. Keep stirring.

Pour the mixture into a mixer bowl or a large bowl.

Prepare a spice mixture. Recommended composition: cinnamon (1.5 teaspoons), nutmeg (1 teaspoon), ground ginger (1 teaspoon), cardamom (0.5 teaspoon), ground cloves (0.5 teaspoon), white pepper (0.5 teaspoon).

Mix the spices well. This will ensure consistent flavor every time. Use 5 grams of the mixture for the dough.

Add approximately one third of the flour to the caramel mixture. Mix until smooth.

Add the egg yolk and mix.

Add the remaining flour. The dough will become denser. As it cools, it will become like plasticine and will not stick to your hands.

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 3–4 hours.

Place the cooled dough on a work surface. It won't stick, so roll it out without parchment paper or flour.

The thickness of the dough affects the texture: thin dough will give crispy gingerbread cookies, thicker dough will give soft ones.

Cut out gingerbread cookies in the desired shapes: snowflakes, tree ornaments, rounds, or any others.

Preheat the oven to 170 degrees. Bake in "top-bottom" mode.

Don't over-bake the gingerbreads — take them out when they're still slightly soft to the touch. This will take approximately 9–10 minutes.

Gingerbread cookies expand well in volume, so arrange them with spacing between them.