I made this gingerbread men recipe a few months ago now though I remember it like it was yesterday. My flatmate even remembers. That night never ended, the kneading, the rolling, the cutting – this recipe seriously makes an unanticipated 100+ gingerbread men. Hence, I have renamed this recipe….Gingerbread men and friends.
It is interesting that the original recipe that which I am currently copying down is titled “Gingerbread Man” when in fact it not only produces man, but woman, girl, boy, cousin, sister, brother and friend..
I hadn’t made gingerbread men since I was a very young child so this recipe (although a little ambitious by myself due to the share number!) was an absolute delight to make. I’m sure I could have been more creative with the decorating had I more time.
Anyway, enjoy – I sure did, but I kind of recommend making these with children! Decorate them with red and green and they will make excellent little pre-Christmas gifts!
Gingerbread Men and Friends
- 2 ½ cups of plain flour, sifted
- 1 teaspoon of baking soda
- 125 grams of butter
- ½ a cup of brown sugar
- ½ cup of golden syrup
- 2 teaspoons of ground ginger
- ½ a teaspoon of ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon of ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon of ground cloves
Preheat oven to 190 degrees.
Sift together the dry ingredients into a bowl. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the spices, golden syrup and flour, and mix to form a very smooth dough. Divide the dough in half and wrap in plastic film, refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or until quite firm.
Here comes the fun part! Roll out the dough between sheets of non-stick paper to about 5mm thick. Grab your cutters! You can you pretty much anything you like – gingerbread man, star, Christmas tree, you name it! Cut out the shapes and place on a baking tray lined with baking paper.
Bake your little gingerbread men for about 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown. Place on a cake rack until well cooled.
Decorate to your heart’s content!
After Taste 