GINGERBREAD MEN, A CHRISTMAS CLASSIC

Posted on December 17, 2012 by Francesca Lanni

350g plain flour, plus extra for rolling out, 1 tspbicarbonate of soda, 2 tspground ginger, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, 125g butter, 175g light soft brown sugar, 1 egg, 4 tbsp golden syrup.To decorate: writing icing cake decorations.

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. 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 clingfim and leave to chill in the fridge for 15 minutes. Preheat the oven to 180C. Line two baking trays with greaseproof 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. This easy recipe for gingerbread men is great for baking with children because this very well-behaved dough is ideal for children to play around with. Gingerbread men cutters are widely available but, if not, you can easily make a template out of stiff card and cut around it. For a children’s party, instead of arranging currants along the bodies, leave them plain, then afterwards pipe on in icing the name of each child.