While the wife’s away the kids will play.
This weekend has been a boys weekend in my house, with the wife popping away to catch up with some old school friends. Which left me and my two boys alone for the weekend to get up to mischief.
Gingerbread Men
On Saturday morning we decided to pop to the local farm shop’s new cafe to sample their breakfasts. As usual at any coffee shop we go to the boys will sniff out the gingerbread men. The farm shop was full of pumpkins as Halloween is just around the corner. That gave me the idea to dust off my favourite gingerbread man recipe and do some baking with the boys. Skeletons and mummies were on the cards.
I have a great skeleton cutter that I have not had a chance to use yet that imprints a skeleton onto the dough so you can fill the impression with icing. Unfortunately the definition was slightly lost as the biscuits cooked but it did give me a guide for my first attempt at piping royal icing. The smaller mummies I just free handed with a small flat piping nozzle.
Gingerbread skeleton
This recipe uses golden syrup rather than treacle so makes a slightly lighter coloured gingerbread but it has a good kick of ginger and cinnamon to make a lovely, warming biscuit.
Makes: About 20
Oven Temp: Gas 4, 350F, 180C (160C Fan)
Ingredients
350g plain flour
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
125g butter
175g light soft brown sugar
1 egg
4 tablespoons golden syrup
Extra flour for rolling
250g royal icing sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
40-50ml water
Instructions
- Sift together the all of the dry ingredients into the bowl of a food processor. Add the butter and whizz until the mix looks like fine breadcrumbs. Add in the sugar and whizz again just to incorporate.
- Beat the egg and golden syrup together, add to the food processor and whizz until the mixture starts to come together. Tip the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth, wrap in cling film and leave to chill in the fridge for 15 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 180C. Line two baking trays with grease-proof paper.
- Roll the dough out to about half a centimetre thickness on a lightly floured surface. Using gingerbread men cookie cutters, cut out 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 to cool slightly, then move to a wire rack to finish cooling.
- To make the icing add the royal icing sugar, vanilla extract and 40ml of water to the bowl of a mixer with the whisk attachment or you can use an electric whisk. Before whisking mix together with a spoon or spatula. This will prevent a icing sugar cloud when you start mixing.
- Whisk for a couple of minutes until thick, if too thick to pipe, loosen with an additional teaspoon or two of water.
- Put into a piping bag.When cooled decorate with the icing.
Adapted from a GoodFood recipe.
- 350g plain flour
- 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- 2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 125g butter
- 175g light soft brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 4 tablespoons golden syrup
- Extra flour for rolling
- 250g royal icing sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 40-50ml water
- Oven Temp: Gas 4, 350F, 180C (160C Fan)
- Sift together the all of the dry ingredients into the bowl of a food processor. Add the butter and whizz until the mix looks like fine breadcrumbs. Add in the sugar and whizz again just to incorporate.
- Beat the egg and golden syrup together, add to the food processor and whizz until the mixture starts to come together. Tip the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth, wrap in cling film and leave to chill in the fridge for 15 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 180C. Line two baking trays with grease-proof paper.
- Roll the dough out to about half a centimetre thickness on a lightly floured surface. Using gingerbread men cookie cutters, cut out 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 to cool slightly, then move to a wire rack to finish cooling.
- To make the icing add the royal icing sugar, vanilla extract and 40ml of water to the bowl of a mixer with the whisk attachment or you can use an electric whisk. Before whisking mix together with a spoon or spatula. This will prevent a icing sugar cloud when you start mixing.
- Whisk for a couple of minutes until thick, if too thick to pipe, loosen with an additional teaspoon or two of water.
- Put into a piping bag.When cooled decorate with the icing.