Gingerbread Men are a must have at Christmas time in America and Canada. And they taste so good that we had to find the easiest way to make them. The good news is that there is – as always – an easy way. And they are a nice gift for neighbors and friends. So… have fun with your Christmas baking.
Recipe:
Shopping List for 30 pieces
Gingerbread Men:
360 g all purpose flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
2 tsp finely grated ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp mixed spice
125 g butter
175 g brown sugar
1 egg
4 tbs. maple syrup
Decoration:
250 g confectioners sugar (powdered sugar)
edible pearls, food coloring if you want
Preparation Time: approx. 40 minutes
Directions for the Gingerbread Men:
Peel the ginger and grate until you have the 2 tsp. With a hand mixer, mix together the ginger, cinnamon, mixed spice, flour, baking soda and butter until it’s a breadcrumb like consistency. Then, with a spoon, stir in the sugar.
Beat the egg and maple syrup together slightly, then add to the dough mixture and mix until it clumps together. Take the dough out of the bowl and knead together with your hands briefly, until smooth.
Wrap the dough in cling wrap and put in the fridge for 15 minutes.
Heat the oven to 180 C and when the dough has been in the fridge for the 15 minutes take it out and, on a floured surface, roll it out and cut out your gingerbread men shapes. Place them on a baking sheet with baking paper. Make sure to leave a bit of space in between each one as they will expand slightly.
Bake for 15 minutes. Be sure to keep an eye on them, and take them out as soon as the edges start turning a golden brown. If they are left in much longer they will start to get hard.
While they cool, get your icing ready: Put the powdered sugar in a bowl, add a tiny bit of water and mix together until all the lumps are gone. (If it’s too thick add more water, if it’s to runny add more powdered sugar – for these gingerbread men, it’s better when the icing is a bit thicker)
Once your icing is ready and your gingerbread men have cooled, start decorating! You can use a tea spoon to spread on the icing, and then be creative with the pearls and food coloring… and whatever else you may want to use.
When you’re finished, let the icing set and these traditional Gingerbread Men are done!