Gingerbread Recipe - DIY Mother's day Treats.

I've been told I make pretty excellent gingerbread, I baked a lot over the Christmas period with Eli as my little kitchen helper of course and gingerbread became one of his favourite festive treats. I feel that the rest of the year gingerbread gets a little neglected so I thought I'd add it to one of my Mother's Day hampers and today I have been baking tons of it.

Here is what you need:

• 350g plain flour.
• 1tsp bicarb.
• 2tsp ground ginger.
• 1tsp cinnamon.
• 175g light brown sugar.
• 125g butter.
• 1 egg.
• 4tbsp golden syrup or honey. 

Your first step is too measure out and add your flour, bicarb, ginger and cinnamon to a bowl giving them a good mix around. Then add you butter cut up into small chunks (this makes it easier to work with) and with your fingers gently rub the butter into the flour mixture until I looks like a breadcrumb consistency, this can be done in a food processor if you are impatient but I find it quite therapeutic!

Next measure out your light brown sugar and stir it into you butter and flour mix. After that crack an egg into a jug or cup and add 4tbsp of either golden syrup or runny honey. I tent to use honey as I feel it tastes exactly the same without the tons of refined sugar thats in golden syrup which is better for me and my son who loves these lots! beat these together until combined and pour onto your flour, butter, sugar mixture.

 

Initially you can start to work the mixture with a wooden spoon folding the honey and egg into all the flour but once it starts to clump together its better to just get in there with your hands! Press the mixture together until it starts to form one lump of dough then tip it out on a floured work surface and kneed it a little until smooth. Place the ball of dough on some cling film and wrap it up and place in the fridge to chill for a minimum of 20 minutes this will make the dough more firm and easier to work with.

 

Remove the dough from the fridge and preheat your oven to 180 degrees and flour your work surface and rolling pin ready, I like to roll the dough out on cling film as i find it a lot easier to clean up afterwards. Choose your cookie cutters I have a large selection including many difference sizes of gingerbread man, I particularly like the smallest one as it is the perfect bite sized biscuit but you could use any shape you want or have. Roll out the dough to 0.5-1cm thick (the will rise a bit in the oven) and cut out as many biscuits as you like, remember don't feel like you have to use all the dough up at once as you can freeze any left over dough and it is very handy to just defrost and make some more when needed. Bake for 12-15 minutes on a baking paper lined try until the biscuits are lightly browned.

 

And there you have it! This is just one section of the tower of treats mothers day hamper I have created for my mother-in-law tomorrow, I still have to make some chocolate muffins for the last section. Oh and of course I made enough to fill up our own biscuit tin so I will be having a few of these little men with a nice cup of tea later on.

Thank you for reading.

Loulou.