Sweetly spiced and fun to cut, bake and decorate these gingerbread biscuits are a winter essential (but great year-round too).
Ingredients (makes ~20 biscuits)
- 100g unsalted butter
- 100g light soft brown sugar
- 4 tbsp golden syrup
- 325g plain flour
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- Pinch of salt
Optional for decorating: icing sugar, royal icing, chocolate chips, currants, sweets
Method
- Melt the base In a small pan, melt together the butter, sugar, and golden syrup over low heat until smooth. Let cool slightly.
- Make the dough In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, bicarb, spices and salt. Pour in the melted mixture and stir to form a dough.
- Chill Flatten the dough slightly, wrap in cling film, and chill for 30–60 minutes until firm.
- Roll and cut Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan). Roll the dough out to about 5mm thick on a floured surface. Cut into shapes using gingerbread men cutters (or any cutter you have!).
- Bake Place on baking trays lined with parchment and bake for 10–12 minutes until golden at the edges. They’ll firm up as they cool.
- Cool and decorate Let cool completely on a wire rack. Decorate as simply or wildly as you like.
Tips & Variations
- Swap golden syrup for treacle for a deeper, darker flavour.
- Add a pinch of ground cloves or nutmeg for extra warmth.
- For softer biscuits, bake for 9 minutes. For crispier, bake a touch longer.
- Freeze unbaked dough or baked biscuits (undecorated) for up to 3 months.