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The holidays just wouldn’t be the same without the seasonal aromas of ginger and spice baking in the royal ovens at Buckingham Palace. Gingerbread biscuits have been a staple of royal Christmases since Queen Victoria’s era, lending a delicious dose of history to each seasonal celebration. This royal cookie’s generations-old recipe crafts a tender ginger biscuit that’s perfect for dunking in a cup of Earl Grey on brisk winter days. Want to bring a taste of palace traditions home for the holidays? We have the time-honored royal gingerbread recipe so you can recreate these melt-in-your-mouth ginger biscuit bites enjoyed by noble children and dignitaries alike for over 150 years.
A Touch of Royal History in Every Ginger-Spiced Bite
Long before becoming a royal Christmas custom, gingerbread traces its roots back to medieval Europe. Ginger’s warming bite was highly sought after for flavoring breads and festive baked goods once rare imported spices became more readily available for cooks of the era. Come the Renaissance golden age, elaborate gingerbread showpieces were displayed as works of art and also used as gifts exchanged during the Christmas season. As gingerbread craft spread from bakeries to aristocratic houses, regional variations developed and passed down through generations. By Victorian England, ginger spice added to holiday cookies, cakes and of course – gingerbread houses – was no longer a luxury but expected treat that lent comfort and joy. Discover how Queen Elizabeth II and now King Charles III carry on the tasty tradition of royal gingerbread first kindled during Queen Victoria’s reign by whipping up a batch of deliciously simple ginger biscuits in your own kitchen.
The recipe used today by Buckingham Palace bakers features a blend of ground ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and other warming spices expertly balanced with unmolasses brown sugar and butter to create a softly spiced cookie that pairs perfectly with tea by the fireplace. While the full recipe remains a closely guarded royal secret, we have pieced together as authentic version as possible without breaching palace walls. Bake up a batch then sit back and envision the royal family gathering around the Christmas trees on Christmas Eve, cheerful despite missing their matriarch Queen Elizabeth II for the first time, sharing memories and signals that enduring ginger taste brings. From decorating to gift giving to statements on family unity, the royal family upholds treasured traditions especially at the holidays. Now your family can too with the royal’s cherished ginger biscuits gracing your holiday table.
Easy Royal Ginger Biscuit Recipe
With less than 10 readily available ingredients you can recreate the royal family ginger biscuits enjoyed by British monarchs for over a century and half. Our royal ginger cookie recipe adapted from highest quality sources mirrors that perfect balance of ginger heat and cinnamon sweet. Follow our simple directions for rolling and cutting out dough rounds ready to bake up deliciously festive any time of year. Enjoy with tea or coffee and imagine the scene unfolding in the palace kitchens this very moment as trays of ginger biscuits emerge piping hot from the ovens. With such simplicity you can honor a food tradition Queen Elizabeth herself took part in over the holidays during her long reign as monarch.
The key distinguishing factors setting apart this gingercookie recipe fit for kings include:
– Rich dose of ginger warmth balanced by sugar
– Dash each cinnamon and nutmeg w/o overpowering
– No molasses provides lighter color and taste
– Fresh, fine-crumb biscuit texture from baking powder
Dip these tender spiced biscuits just once into tea for the authentic Buckingham Palace treat or frost and decorate for a royal winter party. However you choose to enjoy them, may visions of palace life dance in your heads with each sublime bite!
The Royal Family's Gingerbread Biscuits
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cup unbleached flour
- 1 tsp. ginger ground
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. mixed spice (make your own recipe below)
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter cut into cubes
- 1/2 cup dark brown soft sugar
- 1/4 cup milk
- 2 tbsp. sugar for dusting
- royal icing to decorate (link to recipe below)
Instructions
- Sift together the flour and spices. Add the diced butter, and brown sugar and crumb together with your fingertips.
- Add the milk to form a paste. Wrap in film and allow to rest for minimum 2 hours (best left over night)
- Preheat the oven to 350 F.
- Roll out to approximately 1/8 inch (but depends on the size of the cookie you wish to make), cut shapes out and lay on a cookie sheet sprinkled with a little granulated sugar.
- Place the tray in the freezer for an hour to help them hold their shape.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes but be careful not to burn.
- Decorate with traditional royal icing. Link to the recipe is below.
