Mummy gingerbread
Makes 16
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Resting time: 1 - 2 hours
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Cooking with children is fun, you just need to remember that the decorations may not look exactly how you want them to but the kids will be laughing and smiling as they decorate. If you want ordinary gingerbread men, just leave off the bandages. You can also make cookies by rolling out 16 balls about the size of a walnut. Take 2 tbsps caster sugar and roll each ball in the sugar. Put on to the lined trays and with your hands, gently push down to squash a little. Bake as below.
Ingredients
150g butter, softened
200g soft light brown sugar
2 tbsp golden syrup
1 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
1 egg
½ tsp salt
250g plain flour
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
½ tsp baking powder
1 tbsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
A tube of ready mixed buttercream icing
Coloured ready mixed icing tubes for eyes
Equipment Needed
Gingerbread man cookie cutter
Baking trays
Method
Ideally in a stand mixer beat the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Alternatively use a large bowl, a wooden spoon and a lot of elbow grease. Add the golden syrup and vanilla and beat again. Add the egg and beat until combined.
In a separate bowl, whisk the salt, flour, bicarb, baking powder and spices briefly. Slowly add this to the wet mixture until it just comes together.
Cut the dough in half and shape each half into a ball then flatten so that you have two discs. Cover each disc in cling film and place into the fridge for 1-2 hours, this gives the dough time to loose its stickiness and firm up.
Preheat the oven to 180c.
Take out of the fridge 1 of your dough discs. Line 2 baking trays with silpat liners or baking paper. Lightly flour your surface, your rolling pin and the top of your dough and roll out to the depth of a £1 coin. Cut out your gingerbread men, roll up your leftover dough and roll out flat again cutting out some more men, repeat until all of the dough has been used.
Bake your men until golden and set, around 12 minutes. Leave on the baking tray to cool for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool otherwise you risk breaking them
Repeat with the other dough disc or freeze for another time.
Once the biscuits are completely cool, decorate. If your buttercream is not in a tube then put into a small food bag and cut out the corner to make a little piping bag. Make the hole about ½ cm wide. With the buttercream, drape across to look like bandages. Ice on eyes.