Christmas gingerbread baubles
Have some fun in the kitchen making some gingerbread baubles for your tree. Plus enjoy as a perfect festive treat when you get hungry.
Ingredients:
Makes: 30-40 (depending on size)
Prepare: 40-45 minutes, plus resting
Cook: 25 minutes
- 75g unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
- 90g caster sugar
- 100g golden syrup
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 300g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- 3-4 tbsp whole milk
- pinch of fine salt
Royal icing
- 210g icing sugar, sifted (plus more, if needed)
- 1 medium egg white* (about 40g)
- lemon juice, to loosen if needed
* If you’d rather not use raw egg white, use pre-packed royal icing sugar mixed with 40ml cold water.
Method:
- Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Mix in the syrup, then add the dry ingredients. Gradually add the milk until a soft dough forms. Wrap the dough in cling film, press into a disc a few centimetres thick and chill for at least 30 minutes (ideally, a few hours, up to 48 hours).
- Preheat the oven to 200°C, gas mark 6 and line two large, flat baking sheets with baking parchment (you’ll probably need to make the baubles in 2 batches – 4 baking sheets’ worth). Unwrap the dough and roll out on a lightly floured surface until it’s about 3mm thick. Cut out shapes with circular cutters, using a skewer make a hole 1cm from the edge then carefully transfer to the lined trays. Repeat, re-rolling the dough as needed.
- Bake for about 10-12 minutes (for medium-sized biscuits), rotating and swapping the trays halfway if needed, until they’re all lightly browned at the edges. Insert the skewer through the hole again when the biscuits are warm. Leave on the tray for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool.
- Meanwhile, make the icing in a medium bowl: beat the icing sugar into the egg white until you have thick, pure white icing – it should be the consistency of toothpaste, so add a few drops of water or lemon juice if it’s too thick, or a few extra teaspoons of icing sugar to thicken, as needed. Transfer to a piping bag, snip off the end and use to decorate your gingerbread.
- Thread ribbon or thread through the hole in the biscuit and hang on your Christmas tree.