Gingerbread Men

Makes 13

Children love gingerbread men, they seem to get great satisfaction from eating a little man, and the biscuits taste pretty good too. However the real satisfaction comes from decorating them; if you make your own you can go crazy with the icing pens and make little hats and buttons with sweets.

Making gingerbread men is a fun project you and your children can do together over the school holidays. During the Christmas season you could always make a few gingerbread snowmen and Santas for the Christmas tree, or if you are feeling adventurous a Hansel and Gretel style gingerbread house is also very seasonal and requires lots of icing.

In summer a gingerbread ice cream sandwich is a perfect treat to cool down with and they look particularly good decorated in their swim suits ready for the beach. 

Ingredients

• 400g plain flour
• 100g butter
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 2 tsp of ground ginger
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 100g light soft brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 6 tbsp golden syrup

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C and grease a baking sheet.
2. In a large bowl mix the sugar, butter, bicarbonate of soda, golden syrup, ginger and cinnamon, until it resembles bread crumbs.
3. Gradually mix in the flour, until it becomes a dough.
4. With a rolling pin roll out the pastry on a floured surface and with a gingerbread man pastry cutter, cut out gingerbread men.
5. Place on the baking sheet and bake for 8-13 minutes, until golden brown.
6. Leave to cool on a wire rack then decorate.