Christmas Edition: How to make Gingerbread Men Recipe

hristmas Edition: Gingerbread Men Recipe

Preparation time: 30 mins

Cooking time: 10-12 mins

Difficulty: Easy

Serving Size: Around 20 pieces

This is an easy baking recipe to make for friends, family or could be a fun project with the kids. A Christmas without gingerbread biscuits is a crime so it’s time to get festive around here, shall we?

Ingredients

          For the gingerbread

• 2 eggs // 1 tbsp chia seeds
• 400g plain flour
• 200g butter // coconut oil
• 2 tbsp ground ginger
• 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
• 200g white sugar (brown sugar for softer consistency)
• 50g maple syrup
  

          To decorate

• 1 egg white // 50ml aquafaba (water from a can of chickpeas)
• 200g icing sugar
• ½ tsp lemon juice
• Any sprinkles you like
  

         Equipment needed

• Oven
• 2 small bowls
• 2 large mixing bowl
• Measuring spoons and cups
• A whisk or hand mixer
• Cling film
• Rolling pin
• Gingerbread people cutter
• Baking tray
• Baking parchment
• Wire rack
• Piping bag
• Piping nozzle

Alternative ingredients after the “//” symbol have been given to make the recipe vegan-friendly.

Method

1. Put the chia seeds in a small bowl and stir in 3 tbsp water. Leave to soak for 5-10 mins until gloopy (you can skip this step and use eggs in step 2). Meanwhile, put the flour into a large mixing bowl along with the butter (or coconut oil) until fully combined. Stir in the spices.
2. In another bowl, mix together the sugar, maple syrup, eggs (or chia mixture) and 2 tbsp water until smooth, then pour over the flour. Stir until well combined, then knead together to make a soft dough. Wrap in cling film until ready to use.
3. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 6. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface then cut into gingerbread people and bake for 10-12 mins on baking tray lined with baking parchment until just starting to darken at the edges. Let them cool for a couple of minutes on the tray, then transfer to a wire rack to cool.
4. While the gingerbread cools, whip the egg white (or aquafaba) in a bowl using electric beaters until really foamy. Add 3/4 of the icing sugar and whisk until smooth and thick, then whisk in the rest of the icing sugar and the lemon juice. Whisk again until the mixture forms stiff peaks. Transfer to a piping bag until ready to use. Snip a little off the end of the piping bag and use to create designs and faces on your gingerbread along with some sprinkles.

Enjoy your biscuits with some milk and happy baking!