Gingerbread men
This easy gingerbread recipe is great for baking with children, and it makes a lovely homemade Christmas present. Make gingerbread men or any other shape!
Each serving provides 161 kcal, 2g protein, 25g carbohydrates (of which 11.5g sugars), 6g fat (of which 3.5g saturates), 0.7g fibre and 0.3g salt.
Ingredients
- 350g/12oz plain flour, plus extra for rolling out
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 125²µ/4½´Ç³ú butter
- 175g/6oz light soft brown sugar
- 1 free-range egg
- 4 tbsp golden syrup
To decorate
- water icing (optional), see Recipe Tips
- cake decorations or raisins (optional)
Method
Sift together the flour, bicarbonate of soda, ginger and cinnamon and pour into the bowl of a food processor. Add the butter and blend until the mix looks like breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar. (You can rub the butter in by hand, if you don't have a food processor.)
Lightly beat the egg and golden syrup together, add to the food processor and pulse until the mixture clumps together. Tip the dough out, knead briefly until smooth, wrap in cling film and leave to chill in the fridge for 15 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4. Line two baking trays with baking paper.
Roll the dough out to a 0.5cm/¼in thickness on a lightly floured surface. Using cutters, cut out the gingerbread men shapes and place on the baking tray, leaving a gap between them.
Bake for 12–15 minutes, or until lightly golden-brown. Leave on the tray for 10 minutes and then move to a wire rack to finish cooling. When cooled decorate with the writing icing and cake decorations, if using.
Recipe Tips
You can freeze the gingerbread dough, double wrapped in cling film, for up to 3 months. Defrost, roll and bake!
The baked gingerbread men can also be frozen before icing.
You can make a pipeable icing by mixing together 100g/3½oz sifted icing sugar with 4 teaspoons lemon juice. Add the lemon juice to the sugar gradually and adjust to get a good piping consistency. A sandwich bag with the corner snipped off makes a decent piping bag for kids to use to decorate your gingerbread men.