I recently made gingerbread men with my two children and while we were icing them with funny faces, the impish child in me decided to ice one to go with my (future) husband’s lunch the next day. He was moaning about the football or something at the time so I made the gingerbread face a little grumpy – childish I know but I found it amusing.
The recipe: (for my lovely friend Esther x)
Preheat the oven to gas mark 5 or 190c
This makes about 18 – 20. Grease or line 2 or 3 large baking sheets.
120z (350g) plain flour
3 teaspoons of ground ginger
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 teaspoon of bicarb of soda
4oz (100g) marg or butter
4 tablespoons of golden syrup
1 large egg
some white royal icing to pipe for decoration
Put all the dry ingredients together in a bowl and rub in the butter. Lots if gingerbread recipes do not have the cinnamon in. I think its essential in bringing out the best in the ginger flavour (and if you ever made gingerbread that didn’t taste ‘gingery’ enough you will know what I mean) . In a jug, beat the egg and mix in the syrup with a fork. Add this, a little at a time into the flour with a wooden spoon until it is combined to a fairly firm, smooth dough. If you have time, wrap in cling film and refrigerate for at least an hour. This will make the dough easier to handle as it can be a little soft.
Roll the dough to about 5mm thick and cut out in your chosen shape. Use a fish slice to transfer them to the baking tray and make sure they are well spaced out. Bake for 12-15 until golden brown and leave to cool on a wire rack before icing – be kinder than me if your icing family members!
Make Bake & Sew 