To me Christmas smells of ginger, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. I love Christmas and I’m sure many of you do too. It’s almost impossible to resist the Christmas spirit; the decorations, the lights, the music and of course the food make this time of year a special one indeed.

Every country has their own food traditions but the cut-out gingerbread biscuits are a popular treat in many places. The gingerbread dough is versatile; you can use it to make decorations, little gifts or even a gingerbread house! But best of all, this dough is easy to manage so children and adults can spend time baking together.

There is one must-have ingredient that gives gingerbread its characteristic golden colour. This ingredient varies and it can be honey, molasses, golden syrup or treacle.

I chose to post a recipe using molasses for three reasons: first you can find molasses everywhere, second it gives the biscuit a very dark colour which contrasts with the royal icing, and third this recipe comes from a blog that I really like and trust www.joyofbaking.com. I just made two small changes to the original recipe.

Prepare this recipe with your children https://thegingerspoon.com/2017/12/06/making-cut-out-biscuits-with-children/ and don’t forget to check my blog because my next post will be on royal icing for beginners and the one after that will be on different ideas about how to use the biscuits as edible gifts.

This recipe has a strong flavour and a more grown-up taste to it but the smell coming from the oven wafts you directly into Christmas time.

Merry Christmas o Feliz Navidad!

Ingredients

400 grams flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (or baking soda)

2 teaspoons ground ginger

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

125 grams unsalted butter at room temperature

100 grams granulated white sugar

1 large egg

150ml Sulphur-free molasses** (spraying a measuring jar with a nonstick vegetable spray helps taking the molasses out)

**you might not know that your local supermarket supplies it so please check

Utensils

Measuring jar (pyrex)

Measuring spoons

Scale

Whisk

Electric mixer

Palette knife or non sharp knife

Spatula

A large bowl

Electric mixer bowl

Cling film

Small cutting board

Parchment Paper

Baking tray

Biscuit cutters

Rolling Pin

Oven tray rack

Air tight container

Preparation

1. In a large bowl whisk together flour, salt, bicarbonate of soda, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves

2. In the bowl of your electric mixer beat the butter and sugar until it’s light and fluffy (use the paddle attachment if you have it)

3. Add the egg and molasses and beat until well combined (use the spatula to scrape down the bowl so everything is combined)

4. Add the flour mixture slowly until it is well incorporated (but do not overwork the dough)

5. Divide the dough and shape it into two flat rectangles. Wrap each half with cling film and refrigerate for two hours or preferably overnight

6. Line a baking tray with parchment paper

7. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured work surface to a thickness of 0.5 cm (or to your taste). You can also roll it in between two sheets of parchment paper

8. Using biscuit cutters, cut the dough out and with the help of a palette knife lift them up and carefully place them onto the baking tray. Leave at least 1cm between each biscuit

9. Preheat the oven 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4

10. Place the baking tray in the fridge for at least 15 minutes to prevent the biscuits from spreading out and losing their shape in the oven

11. Place the baking tray in the middle of your oven and bake for 5 -8 minutes. Rotate the tray halfway through. The exact time depends on your oven

12. Remove from the oven when they are lightly brown on the edges

13. Put them on a cooling rack (or on your oven tray rack)

14. Repeat the process with the rest of the dough

Feliz Navidad!

PS1. If your baking tray doesn’t fit in your fridge use a big cutting board instead and then you can transfer the parchment paper with the biscuits onto the oven tray.

PS2. Rolling pin and biscuit cutters should be lightly floured as well.

PS3. Once cooled you can decorate them or save them in an air tight container

Recipe Resource: Joy of Baking blog. There are videos and useful tips.