I can't remember a single year in my life when I did not bake gingerbread for Christmas. For as long as I can remember it was something I really looked forward to. Until I moved to London I always used the gingerbread dough that my great aunt had prepared for us and very rarely resorted to the store bought versions and I can say that nothing beats the homemade stuff. However, with moving to London it was a bit difficult to get hold of my great aunt's gingerbread dough and I really haven't seen ready made doughs in shops over here, so the only option I was left with was to prepare the dough myself. As it was something I had never seen how it was made I was a bit scared in the beginning as I though that it would be incredibly difficult and time-consuming. Fortunately, I was proven wrong and this recipe is probably one of the easiest cookie recipes that I have made.
As I have given you the recipe way before Christmas there is no excuse whatsoever to resort to the store bought versions of gingerbread men and in addition to getting the most delicious and crunchy home-made cookies, your home will be filled with the amazing smell of freshly baked gingerbread. They are great for nibbling or even giving as gifts, especially as home-made presents are gaining popularity right now.
(Makes approximately 100 small cookies)
- 350g plain flour
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 2 tsp ground ginger (or more if you wish)
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon (or more if you wish)
- 125g butter, room temperature
- 175g light soft brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 4 tbsp golden syrup
- Various cake decorations or icing to decorate
Directions
Sift together the flour, soda, ginger and cinnamon and pour the mixture into food processor. Add the butter and blend until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs, then stir in the sugar. In another bowl, lightly beat the egg and golden syrup together and add to the food processor and pulse until the mixture clumps together. Take the dough out and knead until smooth, wrap it in clingfilm and place in the fridge for around 15 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 180C and line baking trays with baking parchment. Roll the dough out on a floured surface and use cookie cutters to cut out different shapes. For some cake decorations, you can put them on the gingerbread cookies before putting them into the oven, but for others you can't. Depending on the size of your cookies, bake them between 7-15 minutes and make sure that they don't burn. When they have cooled down decorate them with icing and cake decorations.
Recipe from BBC Food
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