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spiderweb gingerbread cookies

Spiderweb Gingerbread Cookies

Aimee Field
Spooky season wouldn't be complete without some classic spiderweb cookies! The soft and spicy gingerbread, is just delicious with the sweet royal icing spiderweb decoration!
Prep Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 45 minutes
Course Biscuits
Cuisine British
Servings 30 Cookies

Ingredients
  

Gingerbread

  • 350 g plain flour
  • 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 2 tsp ground ginger
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 125 g unsalted butter chilled and cubed
  • 175 g soft light brown sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 4 tbsp golden syrup

Icing

  • 350 g royal icing
  • 50 ml water
  • black food colouring

Instructions
 

  • For the gingerbread: Place the flour, bicarbonate of soda, ground ginger and ground cinnamon into a large bowl. Then rub in the cold cubed butter, until it resembles breadcrumbs. Then using a wooden spoon or silicone spatula, stir in the sugar.
  • In a separate bowl, lightly beat the egg and golden syrup together until combined. Then pour into the dry mixture, and stir until combined and a rough dough forms. Tip out the dough onto a lightly floured work surface, and knead for a few minutes. Then wrap in clingfilm and chill in the fridge for 15 minutes.
  • Preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas Mark 4 and line two large baking trays with baking paper. On a floured work surface, roll the dough out to roughly a 0.5cm thickness, and stamp out circles with a 7cm cookie cutter. Then place on the baking trays, leaving a little gap between each.
  • Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Leave them on the baking trays for 10 minutes, and then remove and place them onto cooling racks to cool completely.
  • For the icing: Place the royal icing and water into a large bowl, and whisk together until combined and a smooth icing. Remove 50g, place in a smaller bowl and stir in a blob of black food colouring, stirring until combined. Then place both in piping bags, and cut off the ends to create a small hole in each.
  • Using the white icing, draw a circle around the edge of the cookie (to create a flood barrier). Then fill in, by piping white icing into the middle, and using either a toothpick or a scribe, gently coax the icing to the flood barrier and ensure its smooth and even. Then straight away, pipe three concentric circles with the black icing, and using a cocktail stick or scribe, drag through the icing from the middle of the circles out, to create the spiderweb. Set aside to set, and repeat on the remaining cookies.

Notes

Cookies will keep well in an air-tight container for up to two weeks. 
Once baked, cookies can be frozen for up to one month, wrapped tightly in clingfilm. 
Keyword gingerbread, halloween, royal icing