Gingerbread.

Every year I make gingerbread. This recipe is beautiful as it uses honey. So far everybody loves this. I used to make it for school lunch boxes too. I would cut it into gingerbread men shapes and the girls would turn them into gingerbread girls by decorating them with dresses and making smartie bikini tops! While we were at it, they would make some for friends to take to school as well. This was usually the day before school went back from the holidays. We would have a day of baking cup cakes, biscuits and savoury lunch box things. It was a great fun day!

This year I have made some little packets to give away and used left over sewing trims (to use them up) to tie up my parcels.

Like all my recipes it started out years ago with a recipe that I tried which I found way too dry and fixed it. Once moist enough it was a great recipe. And with all recipes they tend to start out complicated. I don't understand it. Like the fruit cake recipe... it's so easy and good but when I first read it there were over 20 ingredients on the list. Enough to daunt anyone! It kind of went 200 grams sultanas, 200 grams cherries ... I added it all up and put 1 kilo of fruit you like! Isn't that simpler! 

Anyway the same applied here! 

So here is the recipe....

250 grams butter melted. This is about  2 sticks of butter US or just over 1 cup. 

1 cup runny honey. If not runny microwave it until it is.

I cup, packed. dark brown sugar, 

2 eggs.

1 cup SR flour,

4 cups of plain flour,

1 teaspoon ground ginger,

Half a teaspoon ground nutmeg. 

(if you dont have either spice you could use mixed spice, it will do)

A little extra flour on hand for rolling or if the dough is too sticky.

In a big bowl mix the lot together. It will start out crumbly and then squeeze it together and knead it in a few batches until you have a dough. Roll your dough nice and smooth, the more you work it the smoother it will be. Use flour if its sticky and roll it out in batches and cut into the shapes you want. Cook on baking paper on trays. Go for a medium oven and if you like soft chewy biscuits it will be around 10 mins, and crunchy biscuits a few minutes longer. I like crunchy! Just keep an eye on your first batch to get your timing right... you want golden colour then they are done! Cool and package or decorate. 

Letting the kids decorate them is a great activity and you can get gorgeous colours and things to use for hair, jewellery (our gingerbread girls had diamond rings and necklaces of course!) and the stuff you can get now is even better. You can buy edible gold, glitter in all colours... and you can use icing plus sprinkles, lollies etc. We sometimes made them to look like certain people which was hilarious.

I had one for breakfast this morning so I had better give them all away today (after putting one in Andys lunch box for tomorrow) !