Gingerbread Garland

To prepare the gingerbread, place the flour, ground cloves 1, ginger, ground cinnamon 2, baking soda 3, sugar, and a pinch of salt in a mixer bowl.

Then add the grated nutmeg, cold butter cut into pieces, and honey 4. Once all the ingredients are in 5, pulse the blades intermittently to avoid heating the dough and create a sandy mixture 6.

Turn it out onto a work surface and form a well, then add the egg yolk 7 and mix initially with a fork, then by hand quickly to prevent the dough from warming up. Gather it together 8 and shape it into a disk, flatten it slightly, and wrap it in plastic wrap 9. Let it chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

To prepare the cocoa and hazelnut shortcrust: place the sifted flour and cold butter pieces in the mixer 1; pulse to create a sandy mixture, then add the hazelnut flour 2 and pulse again. Transfer the mixture onto a work surface and form the classic well shape: place the egg yolk in the center 3.

Add the seeds of half a vanilla bean, powdered sugar, and hazelnut paste 4 and start kneading quickly until you achieve a compact and smooth consistency. Dust the shortcrust disk with sifted cocoa powder 5, incorporate it into the dough 6. Shape into a disk, flatten slightly, then wrap in plastic wrap, and place in the refrigerator to firm up for at least 30 minutes.

To form the gingerbread garland, take the hazelnut shortcrust and gingerbread disks and roll them out to a thickness of 1/2 inch. Cut out shapes with cookie cutters (1-2) (you can re-roll the scraps to make more cookies until the dough is used up). Place the shaped cookies on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and use a 1/2 inch round cutter to make two holes in each gingerbread and cocoa hazelnut shortcrust cookie. Then, chill the cookies in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes, so they hold their shape during baking. Bake in a preheated static oven at 340°F for 15 minutes (300°F for 8-10 minutes if using a convection oven).

Once baked, remove them from the oven 4 and let them cool slightly, then cool completely on a wire rack. Meanwhile, prepare the icing: beat the egg white in a small bowl with electric mixers 5 and when it turns white, gradually add the powdered sugar 6 until you achieve a fluid consistency.

Divide the icing in half and add a few drops of red food coloring to one portion until you reach the desired color (7-8). Pour the two icings into two piping bags without nozzles, cutting a small hole at the tip. Then thread a ribbon through the holes in each cookie, alternating gingerbread men with shortcrust ones 9: you should create two garlands of about 11-12 men each.

Decorate the edges of the gingerbread and cocoa hazelnut shortcrust men with white icing 10, while creating buttons with the red icing 11: your gingerbread garland is ready to decorate your home 12.