Sweet Christmas treats for all to enjoy

By Sarah Lavelle and Laura Meehan

 

With Christmas fast approaching, Sarah Lavelle and Laura Meehan share their favourite festive recipe. 

It’s just a few weeks until Christmas and you can feel the festivity in the air. We all know the best part about this holiday season is all the delicious food, so we thought we’d share our favourite Christmas recipe. These gingerbread men are so simple and fun to make and can involve all your little helpers. This recipe takes 30 mins to an hour to prepare, 10-30 mins to cook and makes 20 men. So throw yourself into baking this Christmas and don’t forget to enjoy the best part – the decorating at the end.

 

Ingredients:

350g/12oz plain flour, plus extra for rolling out

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

2 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp ground cinnamon

125g/4½oz butter

175g/6oz light soft brown sugar

1 free-range egg

4 tbsp golden syrup

½ bag of icing sugar

Food dyes of your choice

 

 

Preparation method

• Sift the flour into a bowl, then add bicarbonate of soda, ginger and cinnamon.
• Add the butter and blend until the mix looks like breadcrumbs. Then stir in the sugar.
• In a separate bowl, lightly beat the egg and golden syrup together and add to the mixture. Keep stirring until the mixture clumps together.
• Knead the dough on a flat surface until smooth, wrap in clingfim and leave to chill in the fridge for 15 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. Line two baking trays with greaseproof paper.
• Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface. Using cutters, cut out the gingerbread men shapes, (or try out some of your own Christmas 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.

 

Now its time for the fun to begin; Mix half a bag of icing sugar with 2 ½ tablespoons of water. When the mixture is smooth, divide it into separate bowls before adding the food colouring. Just a drop of the dye is all that is needed to create a bright, festive colour. When the gingerbread men have cooled, they are ready for decorating and are yours to enjoy.

Photo by Laura Meehan