← Nouns Cooking · Bakery

Ingredients

• 350 g plain flour, plus extra for rolling
• 1 tsp Bicarbonate of soda
• 2 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 pinch Salt
• 125 g Butter, cold, cubed
• 175 g light or dark brown soft sugar
• 1 large egg
• 4 tbsp golden syrup (or light molasses)
• 60 g icing sugar, plus 2–3 tsp water, to decorate
• 30 g currants or raisins, for eyes and buttons (optional)

Method

1. Mix the flour, bicarbonate of soda, ginger, cinnamon and salt in a bowl. Rub in the butter with your fingertips until it looks like breadcrumbs, then stir in the sugar.
2. Beat the egg with the golden syrup, pour it in and mix to a smooth dough. Knead briefly, wrap and chill for 30 min so it rolls cleanly.
3. Heat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan, 350°F) and line two baking trays. Roll the dough out on a floured surface to 5 mm thick and cut out gingerbread people. Lay them on the trays with space between and press in currant eyes and buttons, if using.
4. Bake for 10–12 min until golden and slightly darker at the edges. Cool on the trays for 10 min (they firm up), then move to a rack.
5. Mix the icing sugar with just enough water to make a thick, pipeable icing and decorate the cooled biscuits.

Tips

• Bake for the shorter time for soft, chewy gingerbread, or longer for crisp biscuits that hang well on a tree.
• Cut the shapes on the baking paper and lift away the scraps, so the arms and legs don’t stretch when you move them.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

BBC Good Food RecipeTin Eats Joy of Baking