Piernik - great for Christmas!

More festive version.
Piernik covered with chocolate, walnuts
and maraschino cherries.
 Own source.

Again, my mom made sure that I got my spices and baking goodies before Christmas!! :o)
Every year she sends me a gingerbread spice mix - "Przyprawa do piernika".
I love the aroma of gingerbread filling the house...
Polish name "piernik" comes from peppery spices that create this incredible, full of aromas cake.

The mix consists of: cinnamon, cloves, ginger, allspice, colander, black pepper, cardamon and nutmeg.

I am going to share the recipe for piernik that comes from the packet with the spice mix and that I use every year. I am aware that you might not have the spice mix, but it can be replaced easily with:
2 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ground ginger, 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg, 1/2 tsp allspice and 1/2 tsp ground cloves.
Many traditional Polish recipes for piernik call for honey. If desired, add 2 Tbsp of honey to the recipe below (optional).

Piernik:
(source: "Przyprawa do piernika" by Gellwe)
1 cup=250 ml
3 cups flour,
120 g butter (a little more than a stick),
1 1/4 cup sugar,
2 eggs,
4 Tbsp plum/black currant jam,
3 tsp cocoa,
gingerbread spice mix ("Przyprawa do piernika") or your own mix (see above),
1 cup milk,
1 tsp baking soda,
1/2 cup chopped walnuts coated in flour (I mixed in approx. 2 tsp of flour)

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat baking pan with a cooking spray and a little bit of flour.
2. Melt butter in a small saucepan and let it cool.
3. Mix eggs and sugar. Add milk, cocoa, flour, baking soda and gingerbread spice mix. Stir in jam.
4. Add melted butter and stir well.
5. Coat walnuts in flour, add to prepared batter and stir.
6. Pour batter into a baking pan and bake for 60 minutes.
7. Decorate with melted chocolate and nuts, if desired.

Piernik - gingerbread can be layered with black currant or plum jam.
Smacznego!

Piernik in a loaf pan. Traditional shape. Own source.

*****

Vocabulary:

piernik - gingerbread

pierniczki- gingerbread cookies