A variation of semi-sweet and less fatty than usual gingerbread. The rye gingerbread!:) I’ve been experimenting a lot with rye flour recently. And now can faithfully tell that all the simple baking goods made out of it turn out delicious. Rye can be highly competitive with wheat! There’s some difference in taste, but not crucial.
I keep on experimenting with lots of other flours, mixing and combining them in bakery. Buckwheat, oat, coconut, almond, chickpea, walnut, corn, rice and whole grain flour. Some of them are store-bought. Some of them I make by myself by grinding seeds/grains/coconut in a mill and sifting afterwards. This process of combining, trying and balancing is captivating and interesting!:) Life is about making something new perpetually, or doing something in a new manner, or just plunging into the unknown!:)(:
Happy baking!:)
Takes 1 hr 30 mins (20 mins preparation + 30 mins dough cooling + 40 mins baking)
Makes a few dozen of cookies
Ingredients
Cookie dough
1 cup oil (or butter)
1 large egg
1/2 cup brewed coffee/chicory (or milk)
2 tbsp honey
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp cardamom
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 cups rye flour + 1/2 cup extra for rolling the dough
1 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp lemon juice
Icing
1 cup icing (powdered) sugar
2 tbsp lemon juice
Directions
In a large bowl, lightly whisk the oil, egg and sugars. Add the warm chicory/coffee and honey. Whisk again until the sugar has been dissolved. Mix in the spice, rye flour and baking soda with lemon juice. Stir until smooth (do not overmix). The consistency should be thick, sticky and soft, resembling more cake batter than cookie dough. Cover with a plastic wrap and place to chill and firm in the fridge for 30 mins – 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Generously flour the working surface. Scoop 1/4 of the dough, place onto the floured surface. Dust some flour over the dough and roll it out (about 5 mm thick). Cut out the cookies by dipping the cookie shapes into the flour before cutting. Flour them lightly on both sides. Place onto the baking tray. Bake for about 11-15 mins until fragrant. Repeat with the remaining dough, rerolling the scraps. Let the cookies cool.
To make the icing, combine the icing sugar and enough lemon juice to make a smooth paste. Spread the icing onto the cooled cookies.
Enjoy!:)
MAYA'S BEE HIVE 
Even I have been reading a lot of rye flour being a great alternative in baked goods, but I am afraid to give it a try. I will with your recipe. I have this wonderful book called Scandinavian Baking and a lot of her recipes have rye flour, so I should just plunge in start using it I think 😊. I have three of your recipes to try out! Hope to do make them this upcoming rainy weekend!
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Rye is considered healthier too:) I always loved rye breads and somehow started using it in summer fruit&berry cakes. Such cakes look a bit darker, and so they do when spices are added. Rye flour has good binding qualities (it’s a gluten grain) and it’s a good option for simple homemade cakes:) I’d be delighted if you give it a try on a trial basis on a rainy weekend:)
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