Our Cookbook

British

Gingerbread men

Spiced cut-out biscuits, easy to make with the kids and decorate.

  • YieldMakes 20 biscuits
  • Prep30m
  • Cook15m
  • Effortweeknight

Biscuits

  • 350g plain flour, plus extra for rolling
  • 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 2 tsp ground ginger
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 125g butter
  • 175g light soft brown sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 4 tbsp golden syrup

Icing

  • 100g icing sugar optional
  • 1.5 tbsp water optional
  • cake decorations or raisins

Method

Biscuits

  1. Sift the flour, bicarb, ginger and cinnamon into a food processor. Add the butter and blitz to fine breadcrumbs, then stir in the sugar. Rub in by hand if you don’t have a processor.
  2. Beat the egg and golden syrup together, add to the processor and pulse until the dough clumps.
  3. Tip out, knead briefly until smooth, wrap and chill for 15 minutes.
  4. Preheat the oven to 160°C fan and line two baking trays.
  5. Roll out to 5mm on a floured surface, cut out shapes and space them out on the trays.
  6. Bake for 12-15 minutes until lightly golden. Leave on the trays for 10 minutes, then cool on a wire rack.

Icing

  1. Mix the icing sugar with the water, a little at a time, to a thick pipeable paste. Pipe onto the cooled biscuits and add decorations while wet.