Method

Put the maple syrup, ginger, cinnamon, cloves and cardamom in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring to dissolve all the spices. Remove from the heat and allow to cool a bit, then stir in the cream with a wooden spoon. Mix well, making sure that nothing is left stuck on the bottom.

Beat the sugar and butter together for a minute or two, until the sugar dissolves. Add the egg. Mix in the flour and baking powder alternately with the maple syrup cream. Mix well with a wooden spoon until the mixture is thick and smooth. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and leave in the fridge for at least 3 hours or even overnight.

Preheat the oven to 375°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Take lumps of the dough and roll out on a floured surface with a floured rolling pin to about 1/4 inch thick. Add extra flour as you roll if you find the dough too soft to handle. (You can also make the cookies very thin if you prefer, and they will then need less time in the oven.) Cut out shapes with your cookie cutters. Put about half the shapes on the baking sheets, leaving just a little space between them for spreading. Bake one sheet at a time for 12–15 minutes, or until the biscuits are golden with a deeper gold around the edges.

Lift them onto wire racks to cool and use the same sheets to bake the rest of the biscuits. (If you are making holes to hang them from your Christmas tree, do that now, and then hang them when they harden.) These will keep in a cookie jar or plastic bag for up to 2 weeks.

Makes about 35 cookies, depending on the shapes

 

Reprinted with permission from © Tessa Kiros, Apples for Jam, published by Andrews McMeel Publishing click for book review

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