gingerbread men

I dont know the answer but will bump for you.

If I may just digress here - soon, what does "bump" in this sense mean?
Ethel, I'm sure if you googled gingerbread man recipes you'd have a good choice, good luck anyway.

"Bump" usually means taking the message back to the top of the board to attract more answers ,as every time we post the message appears at the top of the board

75gr butter
2 tbsp. golden syrup
50gr brown sugar
200gr plain flour
1-2 tsp ground ginger
1tsp mixed spice
half tsp baking powder

Heat butter with syrup and sugar in saucepan until melted.
Flour and spices in large bowl.
Mix bp with little cold water and add to syrup mixture.
Add to flour and mix to dough.
Leave to cool for an hour.

If too dry add some water, if too wet add some flour Pretty foolproof..

Cook at 170 C in fan oven for 10 mins. Less in conventional oven.
They crisp as they cool. Enjoy.

Thanks aggie !

greenfinch I will try that one this weekend. thanks

Greenfinch....you recipe looks very similar to one I use....its very forgiving and remains in good condition no matter how much its been rolled...I've used it with youngsters for years.

I would love to make these, but DD has a severe allergy to Ginger, and DGS would be sure to want her to try them. Can you think of any other spices I could substitute ???

Vanilla? Or almond essence but what about the mixed spice? I'm allergic to cinnamon in a large quantity .

felice....I have made them plain...without the ginger ...and they are very yummy tasting of the butter and brown sugar. The darker the brown sugar you use the more flavour you get. I've also made them with white sugar and vanilla essence to get a plain biscuit that is good to ice.

I've also use the recipe with slightly less raising agent to make 'window pane' biscuits. Use a simple shape cutter and then cut out another smaller shape inside (you need to bake them on non-stick parchment paper). Into the hole you have made put a few pieces of broken boiled sweet - it melts in the oven and forms a window. The amount of sweet can vary according to the hole...so it does need a bit of trial and error....but that's part of the fun.

Thanks I tried with cookie dough but they were not very crispy, thats a wet afternoon sorted out.

I got a recipe from the BBC Good Food site which works a treat. In fact when I a recipe for anything the BBC Good Food site nearly always has what I want.

ImperialMetricIngredient
12oz 350gPlain Flour, plus extra for rolling out
1tsp 1tspBi-carbonate of soda
2tsp 2tspGround Ginger
1tsp 1tspGround Cinnamon
4 ½ oz125gButter or block margarine
6oz 175gLight soft brown sugar
1 1Egg
4tbsp 4tbspGolden Syrup
Sift the flour, bicarbonate and spices together. Rub in or blend the fat until a crumb is formed. Stir in the sugar. Lightly beat the egg and syrup together, the syrup may need to be warmed slightly so it flows. Blend in. Then knead the dough until smooth and then wrap in film or airtight box and chill in the fridge for about 15 minutes. Roll out to about ¼ inch (5mm) thick and use gingerbread cutter. Place on baking trays leaving gaps as they expand during baking. This mix makes 20 to 30 ginger bread men depending on the size of the cutter, they will need to be baked in several batches.
Bake for 12 to 15 minutes at 180c (Gas 6) and be careful not to over bake. Allow to harden for 10 minutes before cooling on a wire rack. When cold decorate as required.
If you don’t have a Ginger cutter, Homebargains have one for about 80p, Lakeland and John Lewis are much dearer.