• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Cook Like Czechs
  • Recipe Index
  • Czech Republic
  • About
  • Newsletter
    • Facebook
    • Pinterest
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Recipe Index
  • About
  • Newsletter
    • Facebook
    • Pinterest
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • Recipe Index
    • About
    • Newsletter
    • Facebook
    • Pinterest
  • ×

    Home » Recipes » Christmas Cookies

    Soft Gingerbread Cookies with Icing (Perníčky)

    Published: Nov 22, 2022 · Modified: Feb 22, 2023 by Petra Kupská

    Jump to Recipe
    • Facebook
    • Pinterest
    • Email
    • 54shares

    Pernicky are delicious Christmas cookies, baked in the Czech Republic, smelling of aromatic spices such as cloves, anise, and cinnamon. Decorated with sugar icing, pernicky are a staple on every Czech Christmas table!

    Czech gingerbread cookies (pernicky).
    Table of Contents hide
    ➜ Ingredients you need
    ➜ Instructions with photos
    ➜ How to store gingerbread cookies
    ➜ Czech gingerbread spices
    Soft Gingerbread Cookies with Icing (Perníčky)

    The recipe for Czech gingerbread highlights bee honey as the main ingredient, along with a spice blend that gives the cookies a mild and delicate flavor.

    Pernicky cookies are decorated with a simple sugar icing made from egg whites and sugar after baking. If you visit Prague at Christmas time, you will see street stalls with lots of beautifully adorned gingerbread that will steal your breath away!

    MY TIP: Try vanocka, also known as houska, traditional Czech Christmas bread.

    Decorating gingerbread cookies with sugar icing.

    Fun fact: The same dough is used to make the gingerbread house (pernikova chaloupka) that Czechs bake and craft during the Christmas holiday season. The gingerbread houses are lavishly dressed, and many of them are true works of art!

    ➜ Ingredients you need

    Ingredients for Czech gingerbread cookies (pernicky) with captions.

    To make authentic Czech gingerbread cookies, you will need the following:

    • All-purpose flour; or plain flour in the UK. In the Czech Republic, we call this kind of flour "hladka mouka"
    • Powdered sugar
    • Bee honey; of good quality. I buy honey from a neighborhood beekeeper. Sometimes happens, that the honey becomes stiff and granulated. In that case, heat it on the stove. Heating will dissolve the sugar and give the honey the liquid consistency you need to make the gingerbread dough.
    • Unsalted butter; melted but not hot. I melt the butter in the microwave (10–45 seconds) or a small pot on the stove.
    • Egg
    • Unsweetened cocoa powder; for the better color of cookies
    • Baking soda; for creating a tender texture of the baked dough
    • Spice mixture: anise seed, anise star, allspice, ground cinnamon, cloves. More on Czech gingerbread spice later in the article.

    ✅ You’ll find the exact amount of ingredients below in the recipe card, which you can also print out.

    Optional: An egg yolk to brush the gingerbread cookies right after they left the oven. Brushing the gingerbread cookies will ensure that their surface is beautifully shiny. If you want a matte finish, leave the cookies unbrushed.

    In this recipe, I brush the cookies, so they are nicely glossy (see the description with individual steps).

    Sugar icing: An egg white, icing or confectioner sugar, and potato starch.

    Ingredients for sugar icing inclusive captions.

    ➜ Instructions with photos

    STEP 1: Grind the gingerbread spices, remove the larger particles, or sift the mixture through a coarse sieve. Melt the butter and possibly the honey if it is granulated.

    STEP 2: Mix flour, cocoa powder, and baking soda. Sift these dry ingredients through a sieve into a large mixing bowl. Add sugar, ground spices, eggs, melted butter, and honey.

    Ingredients for gingerbread dough in a white bowl.

    First, use a fork to mix the ingredients until compact chunks form. Then carefully dump the mass onto the work surface and work it by hand into a smooth, lightly sticky dough.

    STEP 3: Wrap the pernicky dough in cling film and leave it to rest in the fridge overnight.

    Gingerbread dough.

    STEP 4: Roll out the rested dough on a lightly floured work surface to a thickness of about ⅛ inch. Cut out any shapes from the dough, carefully scoop them up with a pastry spatula and transfer them to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

    Cutting out shapes of gingerbread dough.

    STEP 5: Preheat the oven to 325°F (160°C) and bake the pernicky cookies for 8-10 minutes. The baking time depends on the size of the cookies; smaller cookies will need less time, while larger shapes will require a minute or two longer in the oven.

    Cut out shapes of gingerbread cookies on baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

    STEP 6: If you want gingerbread cookies with a shiny surface, prepare the egg yolk in a bowl and beat it with a fork. As soon as you take the cookies out of the oven, brush them thinly with a yolk. Because the gingerbread is hot, the egg yolk will firm up and create a glossy layer.

    Brushing baked gingerbread cookies with egg yolk.

    STEP 7: Prepare the sugar icing. Sift the icing sugar and potato starch into the bowl. Add the egg white and mix well. The result should be a thick glaze that, when you scoop it with a spoon, doesn't run off the spoon but falls off in chunks.

    Sugar icing for cookies.

    STEP 8: Pour the frosting into a piping bag fitted with a #2 or #3 piping tip and decorate the gingerbread cookies to your liking. Allow the cookies with icing to dry overnight before placing the cookies in the box.

    Decorating gingerbread cookies with sugar icing.

    MY TIP: If you want soft pernicky for Christmas, bake them 3-4 weeks in advance and store them as I describe here in the article.

    ➜ How to store gingerbread cookies

    When removed from the oven, the pernicky cookies are crispy. To soften, they need to rest in a paper box, closed with a lid (not an airtight container, please).

    Line the paper box with kitchen paper towels and stack the gingerbread in it. Cover the box with the cookies and store them in a cool, dark place. The paper box is breathable, so the gingerbread gets the moisture it needs to soften.

    Pernicky Czech gingerbread cookies served on a platter.

    Nice to know: The most popular gingerbread cookie cutters in the Czech Republic include star, comet, gingerbread man, bell, Christmas tree, angel, or fish shapes.

    ➜ Czech gingerbread spices

    A little about the spices used in Czech gingerbread.

    Even though the name makes it sound like the mixture has ginger, it doesn't. Traditional Czech gingerbread spice is a mix of spices, but the types, amounts, and proportions are not set in stone.

    In the past, each family made a spice blend based on their own recipe and what spices they had on hand.

    Cloves, aniseed, star anise, cinnamon, cardamom, coriander seeds, fennel seeds, and allspice are the most common spices found in Czech gingerbread.

    ⇢ Learn more about herbs and spices used in Czech cuisine

    Some people only use three kinds, while others like to mix more than three. Personally, I like to use a combination of anise, star anise, cloves, allspice, and cinnamon.

    For the best smell and taste, the spices should be ground into a powder before being used. I grind the spices in an electric coffee grinder, but you could also use a mortar and pestle or a hand spice grinder. Also, learn one quick method for grinding the spices by hand.

    More Czech sweet treat recipes:

    • Linzer cookies (linecke cukrovi)
    • Pracny (Christmas cookies)
    • Gingerbread slice (pernik)

    Want the smell and aroma of Czech Christmas? Try Czech spiced wine, called "svařák"!

    Tried this recipe?

    Leave a review down in the comments! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

    Follow me on Facebook and Pinterest. Subscribe to my newsletter. Send me any question about Czech cuisine to my e-mail. I love hearing your feedback!

    Czech gingerbread cookies (pernicky).

    Soft Gingerbread Cookies with Icing (Perníčky)

    Pernicky are delicious Christmas cookies, baked in the Czech Republic, smelling of aromatic spices such as cloves, anise, and cinnamon. Decorated with sugar icing, pernicky are a staple on every Czech Christmas table!
    Print Pin
    Prep Time: 20 minutes
    Cook Time: 10 minutes
    Resting time: 1 day
    Total Time: 1 day 30 minutes
    Servings: 30 pieces
    Calories: 77kcal
    Author: Petra Kupská
    Prevent your screen from going dark
    Course: cookies
    Cuisine: Czech
    Keyword: Christmas cookies, Honey recipes

    Ingredients

    Czech gingerbread spice:

    • 1 anise star
    • ½ teaspoon anise seed
    • 4 cloves
    • 3 allspice
    • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

    Pernicky dough:

    • 2 cups all-purpose flour (260 g)
    • ¾ cup powdered sugar (90 g)
    • 3 Tablespoons bee honey
    • ½ stick unsalted butter (55 g) melted
    • 1 egg
    • 1 teaspoon baking soda
    • 1 Tablespoon dark cocoa powder unsweetened
    • ½ Tablespoon Czech gingerbread spice see list of spices above

    Sugar icing:

    • ½ egg white
    • 1 cup icing sugar (130 g)
    • 1 Tablespoon potato starch

    Misc.:

    • 1 egg yolk to brush baked pernicky cookies for a shiny look

    Instructions

    • Grind the gingerbread spices, remove larger particles, or sift the mixture through a coarse sieve. Melt the butter and possibly the honey if it is granulated.
    • Mix flour, cocoa powder, and baking soda. Sift these dry ingredients through a sieve into a large mixing bowl. Add sugar, ground spices, eggs, melted butter, and honey.
    • First, use a fork to mix the ingredients until compact chunks form. Then carefully dump the mass onto the work surface and work it by hand into a smooth, lightly sticky dough.
    • Wrap the pernicky dough in cling film and leave it to rest in the fridge overnight.
    • Roll out the rested dough on a lightly floured work surface to a thickness of about ⅛ inch. Cut out any shapes from the dough, carefully scoop them up with a pastry spatula and transfer them to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
    • Preheat the oven to 325°F (160°C) and bake the pernicky cookies for 8-10 minutes. The baking time depends on the cookie size; smaller ones need less time, while larger shapes will require a minute or two longer in the oven.
    • If you want gingerbread cookies with a shiny surface, prepare the egg yolk in a bowl and beat it with a fork. As soon as you take the cookies out of the oven, brush them thinly with a yolk. Because the gingerbread is hot, the egg yolk will firm up and create a glossy layer.
    • Prepare the sugar icing. Sift the icing sugar and potato starch into the bowl. Add the egg white and mix well. The result should be a thick glaze that, when you scoop it with a spoon, doesn't run off the spoon but falls off in chunks.
    • Pour the frosting into a piping bag fitted with a #2 or #3 piping tip and decorate the gingerbread cookies to your liking. Allow the cookies with icing to dry overnight before placing the cookies in the box.

    Notes

    • Makes about 30 pernicky cookies (depends on their size)
    • STORAGE: When removed from the oven, the pernicky cookies are crispy. To soften, they need to rest in a paper box, closed with a lid. Line the paper box with kitchen paper towels and stack the gingerbread in it. Cover the box with the cookies and store them in a cool, dark place. The paper box is breathable, so the gingerbread gets the moisture it needs to soften.
    • If you want soft pernicky for Christmas, bake them 3-4 weeks in advance and store them as described above.
    • The most popular gingerbread cookie cutters in the Czech Republic include star, comet, gingerbread man, bell, Christmas tree, angel, or fish shapes.

    DISCLAIMER: Because I come from Central Europe, my recipes are based on metric units such as grams or milliliters. Check out how I convert metric units to the U.S. system:

    Conversion chart

    Nutritional Estimate pro portion

    Calories: 77kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 16mg | Sodium: 40mg | Potassium: 20mg | Fiber: 0.3g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 64IU | Vitamin C: 0.03mg | Calcium: 5mg | Iron: 0.5mg
    Do you like the recipe?I would be happy for your feedback! Please, rate the recipe and share your opinion or questions in comments bellow. Thank you very much.
    • Facebook
    • Pinterest
    • Email
    • 54shares

    More from Czech Christmas Cookies (Cukroví)

    • Heavy cream cookies (Czech slehackove cukrovi) coated in powdered sugar, served on a plate.
      Heavy Cream Cookies (Czech Slehackove cukrovi)
    • Czech crispy hollow cookies, served on a plate.
      Crispy Hollow Cookies (Czech Krehulky)
    • Mushroom shaped no bake cookies served on a plate.
      No-bake Mushroom Cookies
    • Spiced wine served in a porcelain cup with teaspoon and some spices.
      Spiced Wine (Czech Svařák)

    Reader Interactions

    Leave a star rating and review or ask a question! Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe rating




    Primary Sidebar

    Hi there, I’m Petra, a self-taught home cook and a Czech mom of two teen boys with more than 20 years of cooking experience. I am here to share traditional recipes from the Czech Republic, a small country in the very heart of Europe.

    More about me →

    Popular

    • Sliced nut roll on a grey plate, with a dessert fork.
      Slovak Nut Roll (Orechovy Zavin)
    • Baked rye rolls on a baking sheet.
      Rye Bread Rolls (Czech Dalamanky)
    • Two green kohlrabies.
      How to Cut Kohlrabi
    • Braised sweet and sour kohlrabi in a skillet.
      Braised Kohlrabi (Czech Kedlubnové zelí)

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    All Things Czech

    • Czech Recipes
    • Czech Republic
    • Conversions U.S. to metric

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for new recipes, stories and more Czech stuff

    Useful Links

    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact

    Copyright © 2023 CookLikeCzechs.com