Gingerbread Men Recipe

Add them to your gourmet cookie gift baskets or pop them in with kids get well gifts as a super delicious recovery treat!

Gingerbread people can also make fantastic Christmas gift ideas for teachers! Let the kids loose in the kitchen and get them to make their own unique designs.

Or create a whole gingerbread family and make a Christmas gift basket made entirely of gingerbread people!

Gingerbread Men Recipe

• 8 ounces plain flour
  
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
  
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  
• 4 ounces soft brown sugar
  
• 2 ounces butter
  
• 4 tablespoons light corn syrup
  
• 2 teaspoon milk

1. Preheat oven to 325 F (160 C) Line two cookie sheets with baking paper.

2. Sift flour, baking soda and spices into a bowl.

3. Place the butter, sugar and syrup into a pan over a low heat until melted. Cool, then mix in the flour with the milk to make a firm dough.

4. Wrap and chill in fridge for half an hour.

5. Using a floured surface roll your dough until it’s about one quarter inch thick and cut out your gingerbread people. Place on a cookie sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes, until firm.

6. Transfer on to wire racks to cool.

Makes about 24 shapes (depending on size of cutters).

Decorating Options

When it comes to decorating your gingerbread people, you could stay with the traditional design, or depending on your recipient be a little more adventurous.

Check out this amazing gingerbread family for some inspiration!

Cut out the shapes for their clothes, hair and so on and stick the icing onto the gingerbread men, simple! If you've ever played with play dough it's very similar!

Have some fun and try making gingerbread people as food gift basket ideas for kids projects. They love to do the decorating part!

Here's a basic icing recipe if you prefer to keep to a traditional gingerbread men recipe.

Basic Icing

• 4 ounces confectioner's sugar (icing sugar)
  
• 1 tablespoon warm water
  
• Few drops food coloring (optional)

1. Sift the confectioner's sugar into a bowl and gradually stir in the water. The icing should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon thickly.

2. Beat in the food coloring and use immediately.

Use a piping bag to put the decorations on the gingerbread men for the best results. Do your outlines first and make sure they are completely dry if you intend to fill in with any colored icing!

As an alternative to icing you can substitute small chocolate chips for the eyes and use something like currants or small sweets for the gingerbread men's buttons.

Looking for more INFORMATION on GINGERBREAD??

Visit gingerbread-house-heaven.com where you'll find gingerbread house designs, recipes, decorating ideas, kits, and photos. All things gingerbread!

Like what you see? Here’s some more pages you might be interested in:

Teacher Gift Basket Ideas

Gourmet Coffee Gift Basket

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Gingerbread Men Recipe to Christmas Food Gifts
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