The perfect gingerbread recipe

Nothing beats a great gingerbread recipe and this one is fool-proof. The festive smells of gingerbread baking in your oven will make you want to put some carols on to truly get you into the holiday spirit. These delicious biscuits are great to make with your family and you can decorate them in lots of different ways.

You also can try different cookie cutter shapes such as a Christmas tree or Santa to give you a bit of variety in shapes and sizes. Or maybe you want to try a gingerbread house and decorate it with smarties, candy canes, lollies, melted chocolate and icing! The possibilities are endless.

Ingredients

Melted unsalted butter, to grease
125g unsalted butter, at room temperature
100g (1/2 cup, firmly packed) brown sugar
125ml (1/2 cup) golden syrup
1 egg, separated
375g (2 1/2 cups) plain flour
1 tbsp ground ginger
1 tsp mixed spice
1 tsp bicarbonate soda
Plain flour, to dust
150g (1 cup) pure icing sugar, sifted
8-10 drops of red liquid food colouring
8-10 drops of green liquid food colouring
Smarties, to decorate

Method

Preheat oven to 180°C.
Brush 2 baking trays with  melted butter to lightly grease or line with baking paper
Use an electric beater to beat the  butter and sugar in a bowl until pale and creamy
Add the  golden syrup and egg yolk and beat until combined
Stir in the flour,  ginger,  mixed spice and bicarbonate of soda
Turn onto a lightly  floured surface and knead until smooth. Press the dough into a round flat disc, then cover it with plastic wrap and rest in the fridge for 30 minutes
Dust the work surface with flour. Knead the dough and form it into a long cylinder. Divide into thirds. Use a rolling pin to roll each third into a 20cm disc
Meanwhile, place egg white in a clean, dry bowl. Use an electric beater to beat until soft peaks form. Gradually add icing sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Divide icing among 3 bowls. Cover 1 bowl with plastic wrap and place in the fridge. Add red colouring to 1 bowl and stir until combined. Add green colouring to the remaining bowl and stir until combined. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge
Place the dough between 2 sheets of baking paper and roll out until about 4mm thick. Use a 9cm gingerbread man cutter to cut out shapes. Place on trays about 3cm apart. Repeat this process until you have used all of the dough
Bake in the oven for 10 minutes or until brown. Remove from oven. Transfer to a rack to cool.
Place prepared icings in small plastic bags. Cut a small hole in a corner of each bag. Pipe icing over gingerbread men to decorate.
Finish with Smarties .

Decorate with your children to see what wonderful ideas they come up with for this gingerbread recipe. Want to see more of the food that we serve at our centres, you can book a tour or send us a message.