Description
Celebrate Bonfire Night with these festive chocolate cookies spiced with cinnamon and ginger, topped with colorful, shiny royal icing and star sprinkles. Perfect for a fun, delicious treat with a beautiful firework-inspired decoration.
Ingredients
Scale
Cookies
- 75g unsalted butter, softened
- 100g caster sugar
- 1 large egg
- 250g plain flour
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder, sifted
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground ginger
Icing
- 1 large egg white
- 250g icing sugar, sifted
- ½ tsp lemon juice
- Gel food colourings (blue, yellow, red, and optionally white left plain)
- Star sprinkles (optional)
Instructions
- Make the cookie dough: Beat the softened butter and caster sugar together using an electric whisk for 4-5 minutes until the mixture becomes light and fluffy. Then, beat in the whole egg until fully combined. Add the plain flour, sifted cocoa powder, ground cinnamon, and ground ginger, continuing to beat until the mixture comes together into a smooth dough.
- Roll out the dough: Place the dough between two pieces of baking parchment and roll it out evenly to about 6mm thickness using a rolling pin.
- Prepare for baking: Preheat your oven to 200°C (180°C fan) or Gas mark 6. Remove the top layer of baking parchment carefully, then use a 6cm round or star-shaped cookie cutter to cut out shapes from the dough. Gather the offcuts, re-roll them, and continue cutting until all the dough is used (expect 20-22 cookies depending on the cutter size and shape).
- Bake the cookies: Arrange the cut-out cookies on a large baking sheet lined with baking parchment, ensuring they are spaced about 2cm apart. You may need two baking sheets to avoid crowding. Bake in the preheated oven for 7-10 minutes until the edges are slightly golden. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Make the icing: Beat the large egg white with an electric whisk for about 1 minute until it just starts to froth. Gradually add the sifted icing sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, whisking continuously at medium-high speed until the mixture is combined. Add the lemon juice and continue whisking for about 5 minutes until stiff, shiny peaks form. If needed, add more icing sugar to help it stiffen further.
- Colour and decorate: Divide the royal icing into separate bowls. Leave some plain white and colour the others with blue, yellow, and red gel food colourings. Transfer each coloured icing into individual piping bags fitted with small round nozzles or with the tip snipped off. Pipe fun firework designs, lines, or swirls onto the cooled cookies. Optionally, sprinkle star-shaped sprinkles onto the wet icing. Allow the icing to set slightly before serving.
- Storage: Store the decorated cookies in an airtight container for up to one week to keep them fresh.
Notes
- To make plain chocolate cookies without spice, simply omit the cinnamon and ginger from the dough.
- Ensure cookies are completely cooled before icing to prevent the icing from melting.
- Use gel food colourings as they do not affect the icing’s consistency significantly.
- These cookies keep well in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week.
- Adjust icing thickness by adding more icing sugar if needed to achieve stiff peaks.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: British
Keywords: Bonfire Night cookies, chocolate cookies, spiced cookies, cinnamon cookies, ginger cookies, royal icing cookies, festive cookies, easy cookie recipe
