Gingerbread cookies for the Christmas tree

Place butter, sugar and honey in a deep saucepan.

Add all the spices used in the recipe.

Grate the orange zest on a fine grater.

Squeeze the juice from half an orange and add it to the pan.

Place the saucepan over medium heat. Heat, stirring constantly, until smooth.

When the mixture boils, add soda.

The soda should be quenched with honey.

Whisk vigorously for 3-4 minutes. The mixture will rise considerably. To prevent the mixture from boiling over, remove it from the heat periodically.

Beat the yolks well with a whisk in a separate container.

Pour the yolks in a thin stream into the main mixture, which has cooled to 70 degrees Celsius. Mix vigorously with a whisk.

Add flour to the still hot mixture. Mix well.

You should get a homogeneous, soft, elastic dough that may stick to your hands a little.

Wrap the dough in cling film or a plastic bag and refrigerate for at least 5 hours, preferably overnight.

Divide the dough into three parts. Roll out one part directly on baking paper to a thickness of 5 mm.

Using cookie cutters, form the cookies and bake in the oven for 5-7 minutes at 180 degrees.

Let's start preparing the glaze. Beat the egg whites with a whisk.

Add powdered sugar. Mix well.

When the glaze reaches the desired consistency, add a little lemon juice.

The finished glaze can be colored any color using food coloring.

Transfer the icing into a pastry bag and cut off the tip.

Let's start drawing on the cookies.