Gingerbread Men!

This week in Christmas Baking Club, the children made and decorated gingerbread men. We enjoyed giving them all their own individual characters!

Have a try making these at home using this easy recipe:

Ingredients

350g/12oz plain flour, plus extra for rolling out

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

2 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp ground cinnamon

125g/4½oz butter

175g/6oz light soft brown sugar

1 free-range egg

4 tbsp golden syrup

raisins

glace cherries

1. Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda, ginger and cinnamon into a bowl. Add the butter and mix in with your fingertips until the mix looks like breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar.

2. Lightly beat the egg and golden syrup together, add to the dry ingredients and mix the mixture clumps together.

3. Tip the dough out, knead briefly until smooth, wrap in cling-fim and leave to chill in the fridge for 15 minutes.

4. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. Line two baking trays with greaseproof paper.

5. Roll the dough out to a 0.5cm/¼in thickness on a lightly floured surface. Using cutters, cut out the gingerbread men shapes and place on the baking tray, leaving a gap between them. Use raisins to make faces and buttons, and slices of cherry for the mouths.

6. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until lightly golden-brown. Leave on the tray for 10 minutes and then move to a wire rack to finish cooling.