There are certain smells that instantly remind you of Christmas, mulled wine, oranges and cloves, cinnamon and most definitely gingerbread.
Whilst I’m not the biggest fan of gingerbread men but I do love making them and I love the smell of them. Last Christmas I baked up a batch, popped them in cellophane bags and gave them away as gifts. They were a huge hit so I’m going to share with you the recipe I followed for Gingerbread Men Cookies.
If you’re looking for a little stocking filler from the heart then I can definitely recommend baking up these little Gingerbread Men cookies. They are very quick and easy to make (I made mine Christmas Eve!) so won’t take up too much of your time.
Gingerbread Men Cookies
- 350g plain flour, plus a little extra for rolling out
- 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- 2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 125g butter
- 175g light soft brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 4 tablespoon golden syrup
In a bowl sift together the flour, bicarbonate of soda, ginger and cinnamon. Add in the butter and mix until it looks like breadcrumbs. Then stir in the sugar.
Gently beat the egg and golden syrup together then pour into the mixture. Blend until it comes together. Remove the dough from the bowl and briefly knead.
Wrap in cling film and leave to chill in the fridge for about 15 minutes.
Preheat your oven to 180 degrees and line two baking trays with baking paper.
Lightly dust your work surface with flour, then roll out the dough until it is about 1/2cm thick.
Using your gingerbread cookie cutter, cut our the shapes from your dough then place on to your baking trays. Make sure you leave gaps in between each gingerbread man as they will expand slightly when baking.
Place in the oven and bake for 12-15 minutes or until lightly golden brown.
Once removed from the oven allow to cool on the tray for about 10 minutes before moving to a wire rack. Once they have cooled you can decorate how ever you wish with icing and sweets.