Gingerbread family

Name: Gingerbread family
Prep time: PT20-30M
Cook time: 15 min
Yield: 24 depending on size of cookie cutter
Cuisine: Australian

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Desserts

Meet the gingerbread family! A twist on classic cookies, these treats promise to be a festive favourite and a delightful edible gift.

PREP TIME

20-30

COOK TIME

15 minutes

SERVES

24 depending on size of cookie cutter

About this recipe

These are not gingerbread men but they are the whole gingerbread family. There’s only one cookie that absolutely has to be on the dessert table each Christmas and that’s the Gingerbread cookie.

It’s the same dough, the same little-man cookie cutter, the same white frosting but let me shake it up a little for you. Here’s a new favourite ginger-based cookie idea to help you whip up new, more exciting gingerbread cookies. Not only will this idea wow the family, but this will become the go-to recipe for years to come. Everyone will be feeling the holiday cheer when you’re baking up personalised batches of these delicious gingerbread family desserts. Oh and What a fantastic idea for an EDIBLE GIFT for that special friend!

Ingredients

Main Ingredients

350 grams plain flour
1 teaspoon bicarbonate soda
1 tablespoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
100 grams butter (salted)
175 grams brown sugar
1 egg
¼ cup golden syrup

Icing

1 egg white
1 cup icing sugar
food colouring (optional)

Notes from Rouba

Cookies will crumble if they are handled warmly.
It’s very important for your bowl to be clean and dry when beating the egg white for the icing.
Allow cookies to completely cool before icing.
Dark brown sugar yields a richer, deeper brown colour. All are tasty!
Gingerbread dough’s soft and sticky texture is key to keeping the cookies moist rather than dry. Chilling the dough in the refrigerator helps make it more manageable. If it becomes too difficult to roll or cut at any stage, feel free to pause and refrigerate it, ensuring it’s covered with cling wrap to maintain its quality.
Rolling out between paper is easiest. Try to minimise use of dusting flour otherwise you will have white dust on the cooked gingerbread but don’t be afraid to flour your hands slightly if need be.
After baking and cooling the cookies, it’s time for decoration fun. Add smiles, buttons, or any design you like. Decorating is more enjoyable with a friend or a little helper. Choose between easy or traditional icing to bring your gingerbread to life.

Method

Step 1.

Preheat the oven to 170°.

Line a tray with non-stick paper.
In a bowl, sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda, ground ginger, and ground cinnamon. Rub in the flour the butter with your fingertips until it resembles sand like texture. Add the sugar and combine well.

Step 2.

beat the eggs for a few minutes and add the golden syrup. Add the wet mixture to the buttery dry ingredients and mix together until it forms a dough.

Step 3.

Place the gingerbread dough between two sheets of baking paper. Gently roll it out with a rolling pin, ensuring even thickness. Rolling between paper helps to avoid extra flour and keeps the dough clean. If the paper on the underside wrinkles as the dough spreads, simply flip the dough over, peel off the wrinkled paper, smooth it out, and then place it back on the dough. Continue rolling until you achieve a thickness approximately 0.3-0.5 cm.

Remove paper, smooth out gently and cut out using traditional gingerbread shape cutters and place onto the lined trays. Combine the trimmings and repeat.

Bake in preheated oven for approximately 10 -15 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to completely cool.

Step 4.

For the icing, place egg white in a bowl and beat with an electric beater. Gradually add the icing sugar beating until soft peaks form. Add a few drops of food colouring (your choice) and stir until well combined.

You can also divide the icing mixture into two bowls and add different food colouring. Pipe icing over the gingerbread family and personalise it with your family names. Green edible sprinkles were also used in the photo below.