Eden Project

How to make gingerbread Christmas decorations

Don’t you just love Christmas decorations you can eat? Use this simple gingerbread recipe to make decorative biscuits to hang on your tree – or if you have any left, wrap them up in gift bags and offer them as festive treats to friends.

Ingredients (for 36 gingerbread biscuits)

• 1.5kg flour
• 525g dark brown sugar
• 300g butter
• 160g golden syrup
• 3 eggs
• 2 heaped tablespoons ground ginger

Technique

1. Preheat the oven to 190C / 375F / gas mark 5.
2. Mix all of the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, ginger) together in a large bowl, rubbing the butter in with your fingers.
3. Add the eggs and syrup and mix until they’re well combined and form a smooth paste.
4. On a lightly flour-covered surface, roll out the dough to 0.5cm / ¼inch thickness. Then cut into shapes using cookie cutters – or, using a sharp knife, draw and cut your own.
5. If you’d like to hang them as decorations when finished, make a hole in the top of each with the end of a pencil or a skewer.
6. Place on a flat baking tray, leaving a space between them, and bake for 12– 15 minutes until golden brown.
7. If you want, try decorating them in different ways, dipping them in melted chocolate, covering them in sprinkles or dusting them in icing sugar.
8. Add a piece of thread through the ready-made hole of any gingerbread biscuits that you’d like to hang up.

If you’re visiting Eden between now and 18 December 2011, pop into our Hive of Activity, where we’re running craft sessions, including gingerbread making. Throughout the month on our online Advent calendar, we’ll be bringing you more ideas and tips on preparing for Christmas, plus the chance to win prizes.

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children, Christmas, Food, kids