Every year we make gingerbread reindeer. They are easy to make and and are great for a buffet or for putting in cellophane bags in our hampers that we give as gifts some times. They are also cheap to make but look good. Basically they are just an upside down gingerbread man. They keep really well in a tin for weeks. The gingerbread men cutters with shorter legs look better as reindeer, in my opinion.
I love this recipe as it does not spread when baking. My recipe has extra ginger in as I like them spicy and I buy my ginger in big containers and so it is now older, and not as strong. The gingerbread men mixture makes about 45 biscuits, depending on the size of your cutter. The eyes I buy for £1 from Poundland. You could make them with fondant, though. I use icing made from icing sugar and a few drops of water to stick on the eyes and ice the horns. The nose is coloured red fondant rolled into little balls.
Ingredients
370g plain flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
4 tsp ground ginger
120g cubed unsalted butter
175g brown sugar
5 tbsp golden syrup
1 large egg.
Method
- Switch on the oven to 180C and line a couple of trays with parchment paper or silicone mats.
- Put the flour, bicarbonate of soda, and ginger into a large bowl
- Cube the butter and add to the bowl and rub in until it looks like breadcrumbs
- Mix in the sugar and stir through the mix
- Add the golden syrup and the beaten egg and beat until it is a smooth dough.
- Lightly knead the dough on a surface with a sprinkle of flour
- Roll out the dough until it is about half a cm thick and cut out your ginger bread shape
- Place on the trays and bake for about 10 minutes. You don’t want them too well done.
- Place on a cooling rack.
- Decorate when cool
