Monday 9 July 2012

gingerbread men

Little Mr Z is so full of sweet questions at the moment. They go something like this: 
why is the inside of ginger yellow?
why is ginger hard?
does butter grow?
this [bicarb of soda] grows deep under the ground doesn't it?
why is this called 'kneading'?
and so on...
if i hesitate for too long it's followed by "why? why? why?"
what does keep him quiet is a good bit of batter to lick. this recipe was so quick to make (probably aided by my desire for a little bit of quiet... and for Little Miss M to not nap for too long) that as i handed Mr Z the beater to lick he said with extreme delight "already? that was the shortest lick day i've ever heard of!!"

Gather:
butter (soft)
1 egg
golden syrup
brown sugar
plain flour
ground ginger
bicarb of soda
1. Beat 125g butter and 1/2cup (110g) brown sugar together until creamy
2. Add 1 egg and 2 tbsp golden syrup and beat until combined
3. sift 2 cups (300g) plain flour, 2 tsp ground ginger and 1 tsp bicarb of soda together
4. Fold the dry ingredients in to the wet ingredients until a dough is formed. On a floured surface knead gently to form a dough. Wrap in cling film and chill (the dough and you!) for at least an hour.
while the dough was chilling, i sent Mr Z to wake his little sister and heard him saying to her: "So, have you had a brilliant sleep? would you like a kiss and a cuddle?" - that melted my heart
5. preheat oven to 180C and roll the dough out to 1cm thick
6. cut out your shapes and bake on a greased/lined tray for 8-10 mins
here are our more traditional shapes
and the more unusual
 cover in various coloured icings (looks like there is more licking than decorating going on here!)
finished product
or just enjoy with a nice cool cup of milk

4 comments:

  1. Awe..those questions are just great! Kid's always ask the best questions..
    Those gingerbread men look Yummy. It reminds me of when I was a child, we would always get out the selection of Christmassy cookie cutters and make gingerbread men. We would decorate ours with icing and candy on top :)
    Have a lovely day today...
    Magie x

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  2. thanks Magie. the ginger bread men were yummy and the intention was to do more exciting decorating but we only got round to some basic icing in the end... was all a bit rushed & chaotic ... as usual :) thanks for stopping by x

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  3. Oh I love Z's comment about the shortest lick day! I can't wait to do some cooking with you in the coming weeks. Talk about chaotic! xxx

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  4. What a lovely post and brilliant gingerbread men!

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thank you. i love your comments x