Medenjaci are another version of the Paprenjac but with the added goodness of honey and ginger. These also happen to be a lot spicier than the paprenjaci I made earlier and you’ll be able to taste the pepper in the back of your throat after one bite.
A difference between these and the traditional western ginger snap or ginger cookie is that these Croatian one are traditionally covered in a white icing glaze. It wouldn’t be a medenjac without the icing!
My dad would buy these, the one’s made by the Croatian classic confectionary brand Kraš, and while they were good, these were way better. This was my first time making them and they definitely were not as perfect as the Kraš ones, but they tasted great and I think that’s the main thing!
So without further nostalgia, below is the recipe and of course if you want less spice, feel free to cut down the quantities.
Ingredients:
For the cookie:
- 200 grams honey
- 50 grams unsalted butter
- 500 grams plain flour, sifted
- 150 grams demerara sugar
- Two (2) teaspoons bicarbonate soda
- Two (2) teaspoons ground ginger
- Two (2) teaspoons cinnamon
- One (1) teaspoon ground cloves
- Half a teaspoon nutmeg
- One (1) teaspoon black pepper
- One (1) egg
- Four (4) egg yolks
For the icing:
- 300 grams icing sugar, sifted
- Two egg whites
Method:
- On a gentle flame heat the butter and honey for five minutes. Set aside to cool. The butter needs to melt into the honey.
- In a mixing bowl combine the flour, sugar, bi-carb and spices. Using a whisk combine all these dry ingredients and add the one whole egg and yolks. Mix with the whisk to combine and add the cooled butter mixture.
- Mix well to combine all the ingredients and knead in the bowl for a couple of minutes and then knead for a few minutes on a floured surface.
- Cover in cling wrap and place in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees celsius.
- Remove the dough from the fridge and take an amount that rolls into a ball of around 2cm. Repeat. Place them onto a baking tray lined with baking paper, with about 3cm between each to allow for spreading.
- Bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden. Let the cookies completely cool.
- For the icing, combine the icing sugar and egg whites until smooth.
- Dip the top of each cookie into the icing sugar mixture and put on a baking rack to set until icing is hard. I dipped some of mine a second time to get them really coated in that thick white icing.
- Once set, enjoy!
Let me know if you tried these spicy cookies and what you thought?
Dobar Tek! Zivjeli! (Bon Appetit! Cheers and let’s live!)
The Croatian Kitchen 