Pierniki with spices
Our version of Polish pierniki: a honey and spice biscuit, with Madagascar cinnamon, ginger, cloves and black pepper.
- Prep 25 min
- Cooking 12 min
- Total 37 min
- Difficulty Medium
Piernik is the honey and spice biscuit prepared in Poland, particularly around Christmas. Our version combines Madagascar cinnamon, ginger, clove and black pepper with honey and brown sugar.
Our family grows and prepares the cinnamon, ginger, clove and black pepper in Vangaindrano, in south-eastern Madagascar. Resting the dough in the cold is what makes it possible to roll it out without it sticking.
Preparation
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In a saucepan, gently heat the honey, brown sugar and butter until the butter has melted. Leave to cool for 10 minutes.
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In a large bowl, mix the flour, baking soda and all the spices: cinnamon, ginger, ground cloves, ground black pepper, nutmeg and allspice.
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Add the egg to the lukewarm honey mixture, then pour over the dry ingredients. Mix until you get a soft dough. Wrap in cling film and leave to rest in the fridge for 1 hour.
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Preheat the oven to 170°C. On a floured surface, roll out the dough to about 1 cm thick and cut out rounds with a cutter or a glass.
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Place the biscuits on a baking tray lined with baking paper and bake for 12 minutes, until golden at the edges.
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Leave to cool completely on a wire rack.
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For the icing, melt the dark chocolate in a bain-marie and dip half of each piernik into it. Leave to set before storing in an airtight tin.
The little extra that changes everything
Grind the cloves and black pepper to a fine powder: pieces that are too large end up concentrated in a single biscuit instead of flavouring the whole batch. Our homemade pain d'épices follows a different tradition, closer to France, with a different mix of spices. Our products for this recipe: Madagascar cinnamon, Madagascar ground ginger, Madagascar cloves, Madagascar black pepper
