Go Back
Caramel pryaniki recipe
Print

Caramel pryaniki with spices

These delicious pryaniki with winter spices will make the Advent time even sweeter. Thanks to cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg they are not only delicious, but also incredibly aromatic and an ideal pastry for Christmas. You can make the caramel pryaniki with spices according to the recipe easily and quickly with a few ingredients.
Course Dessert
Cuisine Russian
Prep Time 50 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Servings 18 cookies

Equipment

  • kitchen thermometer

Ingredients

  • 50 g butter (melted and cooled)
  • 1 egg
  • 20 + 220 g sugar
  • 100 ml hot water
  • 200 + approx. 280 g flour
  • 3 g baking soda (sodium bicarbonate)
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp ginger powder
  • 1 pinch of grated nutmeg

for the sugar glaze

  • 100 g sugar
  • 50 ml water

Instructions

  • Spread 20 g of sugar evenly on the bottom of a small saucepan, let it turn into dark caramel over low heat (It took me about 15 minutes.) and boil until bubbles form all over the surface. During this process, the sugar melts very slowly at first, gets a transparent color, then turns light caramel and then dark caramel.
  • As soon as the caramel boils, take it off the heat and immediately add hot water in batches, stirring very carefully (keep your hand to the side of the saucepan while stirring, as very hot steam rises and the mixture could splash) and then stir until the caramel has completely dissolved in water.
  • Add 220 g sugar, cinnamon, ginger powder and nutmeg and heat (do not boil), stirring constantly, until the sugar has dissolved.
  • Take the mixture off the heat, immediately add 200 g of flour, stir it to a homogeneous mass and let it cool to warm.
  • Add melted and cooled butter and egg and mix until homogeneous.
  • Add baking soda and the remaining flour in portions and knead briskly for a short time to form a very soft, somewhat sticky dough.
  • Form about 18 balls from the dough (for me, each ball weighed 48 g), spread them on a baking tray lined with baking paper, leaving plenty of space between them, and press the balls slightly flat.
  • Bake the pryaniki in a preheated oven at 200 °C top and bottom heat for about 10 minutes and let them cool down.

Making the sugar glaze

  • Put sugar and water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly so that the sugar dissolves before it boils.
  • Let the sugar glaze boil over medium heat, without stirring it, until it reaches 110 °C.

Glazing the pryaniki

  • Put the pryaniki in a sealable glass jar, pour the hot sugar glaze over them, seal the jar and shake it so that the sugar glaze spreads over the pryaniki. You can also take a small glass jar and put the pryaniki and the glaze in portions.
  • Spread the pryaniki in the glaze on an oven rack and let the glaze dry.

Notes

  • You can also add other spices to the pryaniki dough according to your taste. Likewise, you can adjust the amount of spices to your liking.
  • The amount of sugar can be adjusted to taste. With the amount of sugar given in the recipe, the gingerbread cookies will not taste too sweet.
  • Add hot water to the hot caramel very carefully and in small portions at first. The mixture may splatter and hot steam will rise, so keep your hands to the side of the saucepan when stirring.
  • Do not knead the pryaniki dough for a long time, just until it becomes a homogeneous consistency.
  • Do not make the caramel pryaniki too thin. They should not be thinner than about 1.5 cm before baking.
  • In any case, do not bake the Russian gingerbread cookies with spices longer than necessary, otherwise they may taste dry. After baking, they should have a light color. Carefully check with a toothpick if they are baked. While the caramel pryaniki are still hot, they are very soft. When they cool down, they become firmer.
  • Depending on the size of the pryaniki, the baking time given in the recipe may differ.
  • The temperature of the sugar glaze, to which it must be cooked, is very important. It is best to use a kitchen thermometer to measure it.
  • Coat the pryaniki with the sugar glaze only when they have cooled down.
  • The time to cool and dry the pastry is not included in the preparation time.
  • Note the detailed tips and tricks for making the caramel pryaniki with spices at the top of the post.