• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • twigg studios

    a british baking blog

    • Home
    • BLOG
    • WORKSHOPS
    • SHOP
    • PORTFOLIO
    • Contact
    • hire me
    • ABOUT ME
    • NEWSLETTER
    December 9, 2021

    Brown butter gingerbread and edible cookie box

    baking, recipe, sweet

    Brown butter gingerbread cookie box

    I made some brown butter gingerbread cookies for a cookie box and thought why not make the whole thing edible and bake a gingerbread box to gift them in.

    Jump to Recipe

    I wanted to make some soft and chewy gingerbread tiles with the patterns like the springerle ones. I searched everywhere for a beautiful stamp, but the postage times on all the ones i found wouldn’t have arrived in time for Christmas.

    So i decided to make the stamped look cookies by hand and cut deer’s and decorations, it worked quite well. The round cookies i painted using edible lustre dust paints mixed with water.

    The box parts are made with a normal gingerbread dough.

    gingerbread cookie box

    I love the flavour the nutty brown butter gives them, so i added a little less spices than i might normally so it wouldn’t get lost.

    Money is a bit tight this Christmas so i am giving homemade edible gifts to my friends and family, No one really needs anything and i think homemade gifts are fun.

    Last year i gave my grandma the edible Christmas card scene and she loved it. (i shared the template for it)

    I love to give or receive homemade gifts, its really wonderful. I wanted this to seem a bit special rather than some normal gingerbread (Which would also be wonderful if you just want to make the brown butter cookies) so i tried to decorate them nicely.

    I am not very skilled at piping cookies with icing, so i had to try something different and painted them. I iced them first then used sugar flair lustre dust to paint them.

    I was inspired by a Christmas card i had received, it had a deer surrounded by silver birch trees on it. I added the robin as my grandma loves them, can you spot it on the branch?.

    Gingerbread is so fun to make for the holiday, every year i try to share a template as it is always so wonderful to see you share what you have made from it. I have loved seeing all the shadow boxes that have been made. you can find that and the template here.

    This years template is a bit more basic and gives you freedom to have fun and design it how ever you wish, though scroll to the bottom to see how i made the decoration for this one.

    I have a new tradition of making gingerbread houses too, here is last years, and this years.

    • gingerbread cookie box lid
    • Brown butter gingerbread cookie box

    If you have a cookie stamp then these will be really easy. I have a Dutch speculaas one i could have used, but i wanted a deer one, Next year i will make sure i order one well in advance.

    cookie box
    gingerbread

    Some of the tile cookies are glazed and some of them just have icing sugar.

    gingerbread cookie box
    Gingerbread cookie box

    The recipes

    These cookies can be used on their own if you just want some cookies. The first recipe is great for a crunchy cookie (Or biscuit as we call them here) if you roll them thinly or a soft chewy gingerbread if you roll them thicker, or roll them into balls.

    The box parts were made with a different dough , below this one.

    I use a weighing scale to measure the ingredients rather than using cups.

    Gingerbread cookie box

    Brown butter gingerbread tiles

    Brown butter gingerbread cookies with a spiced rum glaze, soft and chewy, or crisp depending how you roll them. Thin ones are lovely and crisp and thicker rolled tile cookies are softer.
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Course Snack
    Cuisine european

    Ingredients
      

    • 100 g unsalted butter once browned you will need 75g
    • 60 g soft dark brown sugar
    • 40 g soft light brown sugar
    • 50 g golden syrup
    • 25 g black treacle
    • 1 medium egg
    • 2 tsp ground ginger
    • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
    • 1/4 tsp all spice
    • 250 g plain flour
    • 1/2 tsp baking powder
    • 1/4 tsp salt

    Rum glaze

    • dark rum (or orange juice or water) it was also nice with coffee liqueur
    • 200 g icing sugar
    • pinch of cinnamon

    Instructions
     

    Make brown butter

    • Make brown butter by heating the butter in a pan, stir until the butter melts. It will bubble up and simmer, then the simmering and the bubbling will stop, it will be nice and brown. This is when its ready. remove from the heat.
      Take the bowl you will be using and place it on the scales and weigh 75g of the brown butter, then put the bowl in the fridge for 20 minutes.
      Using a whisk. mix the butter together for a minute and it should go pale and creamy like very soft whipped butter. If not chill for a bit longer. Once the butter has firmed up enough like the consistency of softened butter its ready to use.

    Make the dough

    • Cream the butter together with the sugars using an electric whisk until pale and creamy. (About 2 minutes. Scrape around the bowl with a spatula and mix briefly again.
      Then add the golden syrup and treacle and whisk until combined.
      Then scrape the bowl and add the egg and whisk again until well combined
    • Mix the flour, baking soda, spices and salt together and mix in.
      The dough will be very soft, take some plastic wrap and lightly flour it then add the dough and wrap up and chill for at least an hour, or over night.
    • On a floured surface roll out the dough and make cookies. Thin cookies will have a nice snap and be crisp and thick tile like cookies will be soft and chewy, roll out and make as you wish
      Bake at 180c-350f for about 8 minutes depending on size. The large cookie on the cookie box is made with this dough and took a little longer.
      (i wanted them to look like stamp cookies so i cut deer's with excess dough and placed it on top before baking)

    Glaze

    • Sift icing sugar in a bowl and add a pinch of cinnamon then add your chosen liquid a tsp at a time until you have a runny glaze, drizzle or brush on the glaze. Leave for an hour or so to dry.
    Keyword cookies, gingerbread

    The gingerbread box

    The box has the dough above for the decoration, and a gingerbread dough that is good for construction for the rest.

    Any left over dough i used for cookies.

    For the box i used this dough recipe. I added the zest from half an orange to it. Find the template below for the basic box. If you dont have a printer it is an easy shape to make yourself with a ruler.

    Make it 8.5 by 6,5 inches

    Decorate it as you wish, i used the deer template from my shadow box. I used the small deer from layer 1 and drew around it on the dough, then moulded it to give it some shape. Next i used a knife to draw on some trees, and cut some to add on. I used a knife to give them texture for the icing to stick to.

    I did not include the template for the compartments inside, but i made those by baking extra side parts and trimming them to size once baked. I cut them a little shorter in height to ensure the lid would lay flat.

    To cut parts once baked gently cut with a serrated knife in a sawing motion rather than cutting straight down. This way makes it less likely to break.

    The lid and base took about 10 to 12 minutes to bake and the sides took about 8 minutes.

    Template

    The templateDownload

    Notes on gingerbread

    I adapted this dough recipe i use for building and used 575g plain flour instead and left out the cocoa powder but you can keep it in if you wish. I also added the zest half a large orange. Chill the dough for about 2 hours before rolling out on a floured piece of baking paper.

    Place the template on then cut around it and removed excess. This way the dough is already on the paper so you dont need to move it.

    The box shape is very easy to adapt to a smaller or larger size. You can add gingerbread compartments inside by baking extra side parts, i make those slightly shorter in height.

    Gingerbread cottage

    Dark gingerbread dough

    Made with added cocoa powder and black treacle. recipe for one batch, make two batches or one and then make another using half stated ingredients if you want a small sized garden like mine and one chimney
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Course Dessert, Snack
    Cuisine european

    Equipment

    • saucepan

    Ingredients
      

    • 250 g unsalted butter
    • 210 g soft light brown sugar
    • 45 g black treacle
    • 45 g golden syrup i use lyles
    • 5 tbsp water
    • 2 1/2 tbsp cinnamon
    • 2 1/2 tbsp ground ginger
    • 1 tsp ground all spice or clove
    • 1 / 2 tsp grated nutmeg
    • 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
    • 15 g cocoa powder optional use 575g plain flour if not using
    • 560 g plain flour see above note
    • 1/2 tsp salt

    Instructions
     

    • Add the butter, sugar, and syrups and the spices in a pan and heat until the butter has melted and the sugar dissolved, turn off the heat, let cool for 5 minutes, then whisk in the bicarbonate of soda. add the flour, cocoa powder and salt and mix into a soft dough. make two balls and flatten, flour slightly and cover with plastic wrap and chill for 2 hours.
      when rolling out to cut flour well so it does not stick to the baking paper or the template
    Keyword gingerbread

    The royal icing to glue it together.

    I used the recipe for the royal icing i always make. The recipe makes a large batch so if you want to pipe decorations then it will be plenty, If not make half the recipe.

    fox ginger bread

    royal icing

    recipe from the butter book
    royal icing for building gingerbread and piping cookies
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Course Dessert, Snack
    Cuisine european

    Equipment

    • stand mixer with paddle attachment

    Ingredients
      

    • 455 g icing sugar
    • 80 g egg whites about 2 eggs
    • 3 g cream of tartar
    • 9 g water

    Instructions
     

    • Sift the icing sugar to remove lumps, add in the bowl of the stand mixer and add the water, egg whites and cream of tartar, mix for a minute or two with the paddle attachment at a low/medium speed until combined, scrape bowl with a spatula and then turn up speed to high and mix for 5 minutes or until peaks form.
      Place in a bowl or lidded box and cover with a layer of plastic wrap touching the surface so a crust doesn't form then add a wet paper towel on top and add another layer of plastic wrap, then if using tub/box place on lid and keep in the fridge.
      lasts for two weeks.
      if using right away cover bowl with a damp towel until ready.
    Keyword icing

    Decorating

    I left the decoration part for you to do as i thought it would be wonderful for you to get creative and create anything you like. If you want to see how i made the dough decorations here are are some snaps i took on my phone (sorry for the poor quality i made it at night) if you want a deer template find it here

    step 1, Cut the shape for the decoration.

    step 2, Using a knife draw on some trees. then add the deer (See below)

    step 3, Cut a tree and place it on, then add a few more.

    step 4, Use a knife to add texture to the trees. I made the moon shape by pressing a piping nozzle into the dough.

    The deer for the cookies

    Looking for other edible gifts of holiday recipes?

    Here are some of my favourites

    meringue tower

    Christmas tree meringue tower

    gingerbread

    Gingerbread shadow box

    poached pear pies

    Poached pear pies

    gingerbread template 1
    gingerbread template
    gingerbread box
    gingerbread box template

    You might also like

    • lemon oatmeal almond cookies

    • gingerbread rose cottage

      Gingerbread cottage template

    • Pumpkin ricotta gnocchi

    christmas, cookies, gingerbread, template

    SIGN UP TO GET MY NEWSLETTER

    Reader Interactions

    OLDER
    NEWER

    4 Comments

    1. Carly says

      December 10, 2021 at 4:40 pm

      Wow, this is breathtakingly beautiful! Absolutely stunning work. Truly fantastic, well done!!

      • twiggstiudios says

        December 10, 2021 at 5:44 pm

        thank you so much xx

    2. Lauren says

      December 22, 2021 at 12:22 am

      5 stars
      I love this recipe! I had enough dough and icing left after making it once (and also wanted to try to improve my design bit) so I made it a second time. The second time I incorporated the window cookie idea from the shadow box recipe and made it even more beautiful. I gifted it full of cookies to my daughter’s small school and it was a major hit. Thank you for the beautiful idea – this will become a holiday tradition in our house!

      • twiggstiudios says

        December 22, 2021 at 6:12 pm

        hi Lauren, that’s so wonderful to hear thank you. its made my day xx

    Primary Sidebar

    Hi there, I'm Aimee

    A food and photography lover. Welcome to Twigg studios. If you would like to find out more about me then head to my bio.

    LOOKING FOR SOMETHING?

    Sign up for my free visual storytelling guide

    Categories

    • baking (69)
    • cake (25)
    • dinner (12)
    • pasta (10)
    • photography (1)
    • recipe (172)
    • sweet (44)
    • tips (6)
    • Travel (6)
    • Uncategorized (827)

    On the cover of Where woman cook

    Visit Twiggstudios's profile on Pinterest.

    Recent Posts

    • A weekend at The lost music hall with Unique homestays
    • Beetroot rose tart
    • Chimney cakes Kürtöskalács
    • Gingerbread choux bun wreath
    • Brown butter gingerbread and edible cookie box

    Instagram Slider

    • An old favourite from last year at @her_dark_materials house. I can’t wait to go and visit again. Ros has the most beautiful garden full of borage. It’s always a joy to cook with it. I love it’s pretty shape and colour. I haven’t baked or photographed much recently so I have nothing new to share. I had planned to make a carrot cake but the time seemed to disappear. I feel a bit lost at the moment and don’t know what to share on here. I have enjoyed experimenting with video, but I feel confused what part of a recipe
    • Have you been busy in the kitchen making any Easter themed bakes? I wish I had chance to make some more delicious breads like this Ukrainian paska bread and some more flowery hot cross buns (swipe to see them), but I have been dog sitting this weekend. I did get to enjoy a shop bought hot cross bun for good Friday yesterday though. It’s been so lovely to see all your flowery hot cross buns. I had wanted to attempt baking some other European Easter breads on the lead up to Easter, there are so many. l wanted to try
    • Hope you had an ‘egg’cellent weekend. sorry I couldn’t help myself. It’s a bank holiday here in the U.K. so I spent the afternoon at the beach with my brothers and our dogs. I’m exhausted now, it must be the sea air. I hope your week has started well. I thought I would dig this old photo out from a few years ago when I was in Australia with @georgie_dolling and @joefilshie #easter #still_life_nature #still_life_gallery #seasonalsimplicity #chasinglight #eggs #lifeandthyme #verilymoment #springtime #naturephotography
    • Leek and potato Galette experiment for dinner the other day. I wasn’t really sure how this would pan out, but it was a yummy one. It was prettier in my imagination than in real life though. It was a nutty walnut pastry (I need to work on that as my recipe is better baked in a tin as it’s really short and crumbly) with a layer of cheesy béchamel sauce. then I cooked the leeks in some sage butter, and sautéed the thinly sliced potato with some leek and garlic and arranged them on top like a flowers. then baked
    • I hope you are having a relaxing weekend. This photo from a few weeks ago sums up my Sunday mood. Lounging around eating yummy things. I spent yesterday making a new recipe video, I will share it tomorrow. It involves roasted strawberries and creme fraiche. I’m quite excited about it, it feels a bit different to my other videos. I must admit that I am enjoying learning something new. I steered clear of video for so long. I still have so much to learn but it’s nice to try new things, even if posting it here is like posting into
    • Elderflower season. I love their heady musky scent. I always look forward to this time of year. I went out and picked a basket of them yesterday and I have been baking with them today. I was inspired to take some quick photos of them in the basket. There are so many things that you can do make them. I will share the recipe of what I made soon. I did a video for it, but it takes me forever to edit as my computer is so slow I hope that you will have a lovely weekend. #elderflowers #basketbythedoor #edibleflowers
    • I scrolled back and realised I hadn’t shared my frankendessert from the other week. A science experiment really, A cheesecake baked inside a pavlova. I wanted to see if it was possible Turns out it is, but I need to work out a few creases. Apparently it’s world baking day, I had no idea until a moment ago. There are so many different days for things it’s hard to keep up . Though to be honest, I wasn’t actually sure what day of the week it was until a moment ago either. I thought it was Wednesday . I didn’t
    • I have been eating as much wild garlic as I can while the season lasts. It’s such a yummy addition to most of the meals I have been making. I just chop a handful up and add it in. I need to go back and visit this spot with my camera and get another photo as it’s in flower now and looks really beautiful. I usually love to make a pie with it, so that’s my next plan. The flavour gets less intense once it has flowered so you might find you need to add more. I collected a big
    • British Strawberries, Toile de Jouy and a funky plate I found for £2.50 in a charity shop. The beginnings of a vin santo and strawberry parfait/tiramisu number. I hope your week is going well. #strawberries #seasonalsimplicity #flatlatfood #toiledejouy #hauecuisines #foodfluffer
    • I have not baked a cake since Christmas, it seems very unlike me. I used to make lots of cakes. I thought you might miss seeing them so here’s one of my favourites I made with @her_dark_materials a while ago. I loved how pretty it was with the wild strawberries from her garden. Ros shared her photo of it again the other day and I thought I would do the same. I really fancy baking one, especially now British strawberries are coming into season. It will probably be something smaller though as it’s just the two of us. I have
    • An old shot from this time a few years ago. I’m so excited that the warm spring sunshine is back, as in the evening the light is so beautiful. It makes the most mundane of things like this amaretto biscotti dough look magical. I find that I am exhausted by the time it’s shining perfectly on the table recently though. Hopefully I will have the opportunity to create with it soon as I love harsh light. Pablo has got into the habit of waking me up at a silly time in the morning. By the evening I feel like I
    • An old photo from a trip to puglia a few years ago. I’m sharing it again today as I had a dream about it last night. In it I was there eating Taralli. Those little crackers are so addictive, have you tried them? Most of my dreams involve food I have eaten or want to eat. My jaw hit the floor when walked into this place. I especially loved this corner. that beautiful sink and the curved ceilings!. I have a bit of a soft spot for kitchens and I thought you might enjoy seeing it as well. This kitchen
    • I baked this lemon meringue topped mascarpone cheesecake at the weekend, and I have to say it was so delicious, I ate quite a few slices. It was so light and airy and the tartness of the lemon curd on the top went so well with the creamy mascarpone cheesecake layer. I can’t wait to share the recipe, but I will make it again just to check that I have the quantities and timings right. It’s a baked cheesecake, but a really easy one, baked at a low temperature. I thought I would try a different shot than usual, it
    • Elderflowers infusing in milk from my last recipe. I had originally planned to make a panna cotta with it, but then changed my mind and did the clafoutis. A few of you asked questions about what you can do with elderflowers so here are some suggestions. You can make a cordial or syrup, this is the most popular thing to make. It’s really easy, you will find lots of recipes for it online. The cordial can be used in so many things. It would be hard to list them all but here are a few. To flavour cakes, frostings, bakes.
    • Making some pasta and had to take a moment to appreciate these beautiful eggs. I love all the different colour shells. The sun is out today and it’s wonderful, it really feels like spring. I hope you are having a wonderful week. #eggs #seasonalsimplicity #flatlaystyle #still_life_gallery #hautecuisines #foodfluffer #foodphotography #onvtable #f52grams #bonappetit
    • The last slice. Lemon meringue cheesecake recipe. Base 200g digestive biscuits (or any you like) 75g butter, plus a little for the tin Cheesecake layer 250g mascarpone 200g cream cheese 90g double cream 2 eggs 2 yolks (save egg whites for meringue in a clean bowl) 80g caster sugar Zest of 1 lemon 1 tsp Vanilla bean paste Curd Topping Juice of 2 lemons Zest of one 1 whole egg 1 yolk 65g caster sugar 45g butter Pinch of salt Meringue (approx) 60 egg white 120 g caster sugar Line a 20cm springform cake tin Preheat the oven to 180c
    • Sharing an old photo from a few years ago in Provence, because I like it. Such fond memories of that week. That floor was crying out to be photographed. I love anything lemon flavoured, it’s such a delicious fruit. It’s one of my favourite things to bake with. Citrus season is so colourful, I’m sad it’s almost coming to an end. What is your favourite citrus fruit? I have a few beautiful Sicilian lemons at the moment, I’m going to use them to remake the cheesecake to check my recipe. The last one got demolished so quickly. I hope you
    • Pablo waiting for his cheese dog biscuits. My brothers dog Ralph came to stay over Easter, so on Sunday we made dog biscuits together. I couldn’t get a photo of them both together as they were moving around too much I thought it might end up in disaster but it was really fun. The recipe I used was from @theartoftreat beautiful treat book. it is full of really fun recipes for dogs. I have been wanting to bake from it since Natalia kindly sent me a copy. I highly recommend it, These biscuits were a big hit with them and
    • I haven’t made Ukrainian paska bread before, but I have seen it shared at Easter time each year and thought how delicious it looked. Often it is made in tall deep tins, but I don’t have any tins like that. I saw some smaller braided ones online, so I decided to give that a go. My attempt reminds me of a basket. The dough is similar to a broiche and is made with milk, eggs, butter and sugar. This loaf is flavoured with orange and sultanas that I soaked in the orange juice. It smelt so wonderful baking in the
    • Back in March we had a little weekend escape with @uniquehomestays We stayed at “the lost music hall” hidden in the south hams valley in Devon. Forgotten for years it had been reclaimed by nature, before being lovingly restored. The music room, complete with its very own Piano takes up the whole of the bottom floor. The house was enormous, I felt quite tiny wondering around it. The place was absolutely beautiful. Oak parquet floors and panelled walls gleam from the sun coming through the large windrows. You know I love a kitchen, what do you think of this one?
    • E-mail
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter

    LOOKING FOR SOMETHING?

    Visit Twiggstudios's profile on Pinterest.

    Recent Posts

    • A weekend at The lost music hall with Unique homestays
    • Beetroot rose tart
    • Chimney cakes Kürtöskalács
    • Gingerbread choux bun wreath
    • Brown butter gingerbread and edible cookie box

    HELP

    • HOME
    • ABOUT ME
    • CONTACT ME
    Get in the know.
    Sign up with your email address to receive news and updates.
    As a welcome you will receive my presentation on visual storytelling
    Thank you for subscribing!

    INFO

    • E-mail Me

    twigg studios © 2023 - DESIGNED BY HERPARK STUDIO