A lot of gingery treats have a snappy crunch to them but with this recipe we wanted to recreate the kind of gingerbread you get at a local bakery, which has got a slightly softer, bendier texture. It took a while to perfect this recipe, but we got there eventually! If you’re like us and you love gingerbread, we urge you to give it a try.
Makes 12
350g plain flour
½ tsp salt
150g light brown sugar
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp xanthan gum
6 cloves or ½ tsp ground cloves
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
3½ tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
100g dairy-free butter, cold from the fridge
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
50ml golden syrup
80ml dairy-free milk
For the icing
150g icing sugar
vegan sprinkles (optional)
Preheat the oven to 160°C fan • Lightly dust 2 large baking sheets with flour • Lightly dust a clean work surface and a large sheet of parchment paper with flour • Cookie cutters in the shape of people • Piping bag fitted with a fine drawing nozzle (or a piping bag you can snip the end off)
Make the dough • Put the flour, salt, sugar, bicarbonate of soda and xanthan gum into the bowl • Grind the cloves if you’re using whole spices and add them to the mix • Grate in the nutmeg • Add the rest of the spices and stir to mix • Cut the dairy-free butter into cubes and rub it into the flour mixture until you have a texture like fine breadcrumbs • In a separate bowl or jug, mix together the vinegar, syrup and dairy-free milk until smooth • Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients • Pour in the wet mixture and mix thoroughly with a butter knife • Tip on to the work surface and shape into a ball
Cut out the shapes and bake • Roll out the dough to 1cm thick on the sheet of parchment paper • Cut out the shapes with the cookie cutters • Transfer the gingerbread people to the prepared baking sheets, leaving 2cm between them so they don’t stick together • Put the trays in the oven and bake for 10–15 minutes, until lightly golden • Remove and leave to cool on the trays
Make the icing • Measure the icing sugar into a bowl • Add water, a few drops at a time, mixing with a spoon until it starts to make a fairly firm but pipeable paste • Spoon the icing into the piping bag
Decorate your gingerbread people • Snip a tiny bit off the end of the piping bag or use the fine nozzle to pipe clothes and faces on to your characters, then decorate with sprinkles, if using • Leave to set before serving
Check out more scrumptious recipes in BOSH!’s new book BOSH! on a Budget. Out now!
