Ginger bread men, women and children

Gingerbread families are the one of oldest cookie recipes dating back to the 16th century. But we never get tired of it here :) We just any excuse to bake them and they are fantastic with spiced-chai or any beverage for that matter. Now with Anjalie taking a keen interest in "assisting" me in the kitchen baking these have become a great way to spend quality time with her while making yummy snacks to share with everyone and enjoy. Since these cookies disappear quite fast we usually have to make extended families that include gingerbread man, woman, children, aunt, uncles, grandparents....you get the point. Here is the recipe to make about 30. This time around we made a few stars as well. So you can use any shape of cookie cutter to enjoy your favorite treat.

Things you will need are:

3 cups plain flour

2 inch fresh ginger, grated and juice squeezed out (optional)

2 tsp ground ginger 

4 tbsp maple syrup/golden syrup/molasses

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup soft brown sugar

1 egg

100 gms unsalted butter

This is another recipe that children can help with, until, it is ready to go in the oven that is. They will also enjoy decorating them with the adults. Just be prepared to do a lot of cleaning after their "help", lol! :)

or better yet, they can help with the cleaning too!

In a large mixing bowl add butter and brown sugar and mix well using a electric mixer or hand whisk until smooth and fluffy. 

Add the maple syrup or golden syrup or molasses, ginger juice and egg and beat for another minute in medium speed. 

Add ground ginger and add 1/2 cup of flour at a time and mix slowly until it makes a soft dough. 

if children are helping with the "mixing" then the adult may have to take over with the mixing after the first cup of flour is added since the dough will get harder to mix for them.

Wrap with cling film and leave it in the fridge for 40 mins to 1 hr.

After an hr in the fridge roll out the dough to a 0.5cm/¼in thickness on a lightly floured surface and cut the ginger bread men, women, children or any desired shapes using a cookie cutter.

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Line two baking trays with greaseproof paper and place the cut cookies on the baking tray, leaving 2 cms gap between them. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until lightly golden-brown. Leave on the tray for 10 minutes and then move to a wire rack to finish cooling.



When cooled decorate with the writing icing and cake decorations.





Note: if the cookie spread too much, you can pop the cookies into the fridge for a 15-20 mins before putting them straight in the oven.

I am sending this one to A Home maker's Diary and Vardhini's Bake Fest hosted by Sayantani.