ZÁZVORKY (ANOTHER WAY)

Winter Rink, August Piepenhagen ca. 1840-1850

 

I understand that zázvorky is merely the word for gingerbread in Czech and that I shouldn't worry if today's featured recipe is not half as exciting as this version by a friend who learned how to make them from her late grandmother and has kindly suggested more than once that Magdalena Dobromila Rettigová included stuff in her cookbook which nobody makes or likes today. And yet, despite the hardships on the way, these biscuits from Domácý Kuchařka (1826) are no less flavorsome than any ginger nut.

The recipe in Czech:

Dej na vál 12 lotů tlučeného prosátého cukru, 12 lotů pěkné prosáté mouky, 2 loty tlučeného prosátého zázvoru, vraz do toho 9 žloutků a zadělej těsto, pak ho rozválej na dvě stébla tlustě, vypíchej z něho zázvorkovou formičkou pěkně zázvorky, dej je na papír na plech, pomaž je bílkem, posyp prosátým cukrem a nech je do žemlová upect, potom je sejmi s papíru a uschovej je.

Roughly translated into English, it says to combine 200g of flour with 200g of sugar, 30g of powdered ginger and the yolks of 9 eggs into a dough that must be rolled out thin, shaped with a ginger root-like cutter, and baked until golden. (The outdated measuring unit is explained in this post.)

The obvious problem with Rettigová's version is that it uses twice as many eggs as the average cookie recipe, ginger or no ginger. The dough comes out out really soft, not manageable at all, unless it's handled with a spoon - resulting in drop cookies.

 

 

 

ZÁZVORKY (CZECH GINGER NUTS)

In this version, I slightly increased the flour and reduced the ginger by half.

 

I n g r e d i e n t s 

225g flour

200g sugar

9 yolks

1tbsp ginger

 

M e t h o d

Preheat the oven to 170oC. Sift the flour with the ginger in a bowl. Beat the yolks with the sugar until light in another. Combine the mixtures, using a spoon. Drop spoonfuls of the mixture on a baking sheet, lined with parchment paper. Bake in the middle of the oven until the surface is cracked and the zázvorky golden brown. Cool on a wire rack. Store in a biscuit tin.