Protein gingerbread cookies: soft with honey and shiny without icing

Tip: tap a step to mark it as done.

1. Melt the honey and butter

   5 min

   Heat the honey and butter in a small saucepan just until the butter melts. Let cool until lukewarm.

2. Mix the dry ingredients

   3 min

   Mix the spelt flour, protein powder, gingerbread spice, cocoa powder, and baking soda in a bowl.

3. Make the dough

   35 min

   Add the lukewarm honey and butter mixture, egg, and quark, and work into a smooth, soft dough. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes to firm up.

4. Cut out the cookies

   15 min

   Preheat the oven to 170 °C (340 °F). Roll out the dough on lightly floured parchment paper to a thickness of 5 mm. Cut out shapes and place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Reroll the scraps and cut out more cookies.

5. Bake

   16 min

   Brush the cookies with beaten egg white, gently press one almond into the center of each, and bake for 7–8 minutes. Bake the second sheet the same way.

6. Let cool

   10 min

   Leave the baked cookies on the baking sheet for 2 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and let cool.

Tip: Bake the cookies for only 7–8 minutes, until firm to the touch; baking them longer will make them hard. Store them in a tin, where they will stay soft for about 5 days.

This recipe was translated from the Slovak original: Voňavé fit perníčky s proteínom: medové a mäkké, lesknú sa aj bez cukrovej polevy