Gingerbread

Hey guys,

It's only 2 more days until Christmas! So, for today's post I'm going to share a couple of really sweet recipes! One is a simple sugar cookie recipe and the other, gingerbread. I've never actually made any gingerbread but the recipe has some good reviews and looks like a good, easy to follow one so I thought it would be a good one to share.

~Gingerbread~

(I found this recipe at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/gingerbread_men_99096)

For the gingerbread, you will need:

350g of plain flour (plus extra for rolling out)

1 tsp of bicarbonate of soda

2 tsp of ground ginger

1 tsp of ground cinnamon

125g of butter

175g of light soft brown sugar

1 free-range egg

4 tbsp of golden syrup

To decorate:

Writing icing

Cake decorations

You could cut out gingerbread men shapes, decorate them or leave them plain and give them as gifts. You could also make a small hole in the top of the biscuit before baking and thread it with some string to use as decorations for your tree. 

You need to cook the cookies at 180ºC (350ºF/ gas mark 4) for 12-15 minutes until they are a light golden brown.

~Sugar Cookies~

This recipe is one that I have tried multiple times and can confirm, they are very nice! It is from my own recipe book and I haven't managed to find an online copy yet. You basically mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl and then leave the dough in the fridge (or, I prefer leaving it in the freezer) for about 30 minutes. Then roll it out, cut out the shapes you want and bake. They come out very light and sweet and you can decorate them in any way and cut them into any shapes.

You will need: 

115g of plain flour (plus extra for rolling out) 

75g of butter

25g of icing sugar

That's it believe it or not! Only 3 ingredients! You can also add cocoa powder or vanilla essence if you wish, but I think they taste just as nice without any extras.

To ice the biscuits, mix a teaspoon on water with as much icing sugar as you need to make the mixture thick but still kind of runny. You can also add some decorations like sprinkles to top the cookies off. Cutting them into fun shapes makes them cool too, like Christmas trees or gingerbread men shapes.

You will need to put the cookies into the oven for about 10-12 minutes at 180ºC (or about 350ºF/ gas mark 4) until they are golden brown on top.

Sorry this post only had one picture! I hope you enjoy these recipes and can share them with your friends or family for a festive treat.

Until next time

Grace

X