Gingerbread safari park
This delicious gingerbread recipe from Andrew MacKenzie shows that these spiced biscuits aren't just for Christmas, and can be made and decorated for any occasion. Animal shapes would be perfect for a kids party, but the biscuits would still be delicious in more traditional forms too. If you don't have these cookie cutters then see our guide on how to cut dough using a stencil.
Ingredients
Cookie dough
- 350g of plain flour
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- 175g of soft brown sugar
- 125g of butter , softened
- 4 tbsp of golden syrup
- 1 egg
Cookie frosting
- 125g of icing sugar
- 1 1/2 tbsp of milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- red food colouring
- green food colouring
- yellow food colouring
- blue food colouring
Equipment
- Animal pastry cutters
Method
1
Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon, ginger and brown sugar into a blender and blitz to combine
- 350g of plain flour
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- 175g of soft brown sugar
2
Add the softened butter and pulse until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Transfer to a large bowl
- 125g of butter , softened
3
In a pan, heat the golden syrup until runny. Pour into the bowl along with the egg, mixing to make a smooth dough
- 4 tbsp of golden syrup
- 1 egg
4
Form the dough into a flattened ball shape. Wrap in cling film and refrigerate for 1 hour
5
Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4
6
Lightly flour a work surface and rolling pin. Roll out the gingerbread mix to 1/2cm thick
7
Use animal-shaped cutters to cut out the gingerbread and place on a greased and lightly floured baking tray
8
Cook in the oven for 10-15 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes
9
Meanwhile, to prepare the frosting, combine the icing sugar, milk and vanilla, mixing to form a thick paste. If it's not thick enough, add a little more icing sugar until you reach the desired consistency
- 125g of icing sugar
- 1 1/2 tbsp of milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
10
Divide evenly into 4 bowls and add the food colouring, as desired, to make the icing in each bowl a different colour
- yellow food colouring
- blue food colouring
- red food colouring
- green food colouring
11
Decorate the gingerbread animals using the icing and some confectionery of your choice
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Gingerbread safari park
