Gingerbread People Recipes

GINGERBREAD PEOPLE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in molasses, egg, vanilla and lemon zest. In another bowl, whisk flour, ginger, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, salt and cloves; gradually beat into creamed mixture. Divide dough in half. Shape each into a disk; wrap in plastic. Refrigerate 30 minutes or until easy to handle., Preheat oven to 350°. On a lightly floured surface, roll each portion to 1/4-in. thickness. Cut with a floured 4-in. gingerbread man cookie cutter. , Place 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Bake until edges are firm, 7-9 minutes. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool completely. Decorate as desired.

GINGERBREAD PEOPLE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, whisk together flour, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; set aside. Using an electric mixer, beat butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy; beat in egg and molasses. With mixer on low, gradually add flour mixture; mix just until combined. Divide dough in half; flatten into disks. Wrap each in plastic, and refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours and up to 2 days, or freeze up to 3 months (thaw before baking).
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with racks set in upper and lower thirds. Working with one disk at a time, place dough on lightly floured parchment paper, and roll out to 1/8 inch thick, dusting lightly with flour as needed. Using paper, lift dough onto two baking sheets; freeze until firm, about 20 minutes.
• Remove paper and dough from baking sheets. Using a long offset spatula, loosen dough from paper. Cut out shapes with cookie cutters, and brush off any excess flour. Transfer to baking sheets. (Gather scraps, briefly freeze, and re-roll.)
• For softer cookies, bake 8 to 10 minutes; for crunchier cookies, bake 11 to 12 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Make icing: In a large bowl, whisk together confectioners' sugar, powdered egg whites, and 1/4 cup water (if needed, adjust consistency with confectioners' sugar). Transfer icing to a pastry bag with a small tip, or place in a resealable plastic bag, and snip a small hole in one corner. Decorate cookies as desired.

GINGERBREAD PEOPLE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream together the butter, sugar and corn syrup until smooth. Beat in the egg. Combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and allspice; stir into the creamed mixture. Cover and refrigerate dough for at least 1/2 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets. On a floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/4 inch in thickness. Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters. Place cookies 1 1/2 inches apart onto cookie sheets.
• Bake for 8 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
• To make the frosting, whip egg whites and cream of tartar until foamy. Gradually add sugar and continue to beat until icing is stiff. Add food coloring if desired and pipe onto cooled cookies. This icing can also be used as a glue to affix candy decorations.

GINGERBREAD PEOPLE

Steps:

• Combine first 4 ingredients. Beat all remaining ingredients except powdered sugar and water in large bowl with mixer until blended. Gradually add flour mixture, mixing well after each addition. Refrigerate 1 hour.
• Heat oven to 350°F. Roll out dough on lightly floured surface to 1/4-inch thickness; cut into gingerbread shapes with 4-inch cookie cutter, rerolling trimmings as necessary. Place, 2 inches apart, on baking sheets sprayed with cooking spray.
• Bake 10 to 12 min. or until edges are lightly browned. Cool on baking sheets 3 min. Remove to wire racks; cool completely.
• Mix powdered sugar and water until blended. Use to decorate cookies as desired.

GINGERBREAD PEOPLE

Steps:

• Melt the sugar, golden syrup and butter in a saucepan, then bubble for 1-2 mins. Leave to cool for about 10 mins.
• Tip the flour, bicarbonate of soda and spices into a large bowl. Add the warm syrup mixture and the egg, stir everything together, then gently knead in the bowl until smooth and streak-free. The dough will firm up once cooled. Wrap in cling film and chill for at least 30 mins.
• Remove the dough from the fridge, leave at room temperature until softened. Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6 and line two baking trays with baking parchment.
• Roll out the dough to the thickness of a £1 coin, then cut out gingerbread people with a cutter. Re-roll the excess dough and keep cutting until it's all used up.
• Lift the biscuits onto the trays and bake for 10-12 mins, swapping the trays over halfway through cooking. Leave to cool on the trays for 5 mins, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Use the icing to decorate the biscuits as you wish, and stick on chocolate or sweets for buttons. Leave to dry for 1-2 hrs. Will keep for up to three days in an airtight container.

SIMPLE GINGERBREAD PEOPLE

Steps:

• Beat butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer on high speed until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add egg; mix well. Beat in molasses, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, baking soda, and salt. Reduce speed to low, and add flour, 1 cup at a time, mixing until incorporated.
• Divide dough into quarters; shape into disks and wrap in plastic. Chill until firm, about 3 hours.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees with racks in upper and lower thirds. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out 1 disk of dough to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut out cookies, rolling out any scraps and additional disks as needed until you have about 24 people. Transfer to parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing 1 inch apart. With remaining dough, cut out additional shapes to make clothes, jewelry, and hair as desired. Dress cookies, then chill 20 minutes.
• Bake cookies 2 sheets at a time, 7 minutes; rotate sheets top to bottom and front to back, and continue baking until cookies are firm when touched, 6 to 8 minutes more. Let cool on sheets 5 minutes. Transfer to wire racks; let cool completely. Decorate cookies as desired.