Gingerbread People
By OcadoLife
Published on 16 November 2021
Gingerbread is a classic treat for the winter months. Rich and warming with both sweetness and spice, it always goes down a treat with adults and little ones alike. Have fun decorating these gingerbread people with coloured icing and, if you're feeling adventurous, perhaps play around with flavourings too, adding citrus or caraway seeds, maybe. Time and servings
45 minsTotal time
45 minsPrep time
Ingredients
- 200 g of plain flour, plus extra for dusting
- 0.5 tsp of bicarbonate of soda
- 2.5 tsp of ground ginger
- 1 tsp of mixed spice
- 1 pinch of salt
- 100 g of unsalted butter, chilled and diced
- 100 g of light soft brown sugar
- 2 tbsp of golden syrup
- 1 large egg yolk
- 200 g of icing sugar
- 2 tbsp of lemon juice
- 1 dash of red food colouring paste (optional)
Method
Step 1
Place the flour, bicarbonate of soda, spices and pinch of salt into the bowl of a food processor and pulse a couple of times to combine. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles fine sand. Now add the sugar and pulse again until combined.Step 2
Combine the golden syrup and egg yolk in a small bowl, then pour the mixture into the food processor. Pulse until the dough starts to come together. Tip it onto a clean work surface and gently knead the dough into a smooth ball. Flatten the dough into a disc, wrap in clingfilm and chill for 1 hr.Step 3
Lightly dust the work surface with plain flour and roll the dough out to a thickness of 5mm. Use a cutter to stamp out shapes, then arrange them on baking sheets lined with parchment paper, leaving some space between each biscuit.Step 4
Gather any dough scraps together, re-roll and stamp out more biscuits, or smaller round ones.Step 5
Chill the raw biscuits for 20 mins while you preheat the oven to 180ºC/160°fan/gas 4.Step 6
Bake for about 12 mins until starting to brown slightly at the edges. The biscuits will still be soft, so leave to cool on the baking sheets.Step 7
To decorate, sift the icing sugar into a bowl and, beating constantly, gradually add enough lemon juice – 1tbsp at a time – to make a smooth icing that holds a firm ribbon trail.Step 8
Scoop all but 2tbsp of icing into a disposable piping bag, snip the end into a fine point and use to decorate the biscuits in a pattern of your choice.Step 9
If you would like to add another colour to your decoration, add a tiny amount of red food colouring to the reserved 2tbsp of icing, transfer to an icing bag, as above, then use to pipe red buttons, scarves or boots on your biscuits. Leave to set for 1 hr before eating or using as decorations.