Splash-tastic Gingerbread Babies!
Posted on 18th December 2017
We’re feeling festive this Christmas and decided to try our hand at baking some Happy Nappy themed gingerbread babies. They make the perfect after swim snack!
They are super easy to make and are ideal for keeping children occupied during the holidays. If they’re baking cookies they won’t be hunting for presents!
Here’s how to make them…
What you’ll need:
350g plain flour (plus extra for rolling out)
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
125g butter
175g light soft brown sugar
1 free-range egg
4 tbsp golden syrup
To decorate:
Icing sugar
Food colouring
Cake decorations (optional)
Tools:
Gingerbread men cookie cutter
READY, SET, BAKE:
- Sift together the flour, bicarbonate of soda, ginger and cinnamon and pour into a large mixing bowl and stir together using a wooden spoon. Add the butter and blend until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs. We found it easier to use our hands rather than a wooden spoon (just make sure any little helping hands are thoroughly cleaned before and after this stage) and then stir in the sugar.
- Lightly beat the egg and golden syrup together, add to the bowl with the dry ingredients and mix together until the mixture clumps together. Tip the dough out, knead briefly until smooth, wrap in cling film and leave to chill in the fridge for 15 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. Line two baking trays with greaseproof paper.
- Roll the dough out to a 0.5cm thickness on a lightly floured surface. Using cutters, cut out the gingerbread baby shapes and place on the baking tray, leaving a gap between them.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until lightly golden-brown. Leave on the tray for 10 minutes and then move to a wire rack to finish cooling.
- When cooled decorate with the icing and cake decorations.
Handy Tip: If your gingerbread babies come out of the oven slightly misshapen or have spread, you can always use the gingerbread cutter again on the baked cookies to reshape them (just remove i.e. eat any offcuts). Be careful not to burn yourself, wait until the cookies are warm (not hot) before you touch them.
How to decorate a Happy Nappy onto a gingerbread baby:
- Mix the icing sugar powder with a drop of water (instructions should be on the back of the packet) to a smooth yet stiff consistency. Then pipe an outline of the Happy Nappy onto the gingerbread baby (Tip: If you do not have access to a piping bag, use a small freezer bag, moving the icing to one of the corners and make a small hole for the icing to be piped through). Then leave to dry
- Mix another batch of icing, this time adding a drop of food colouring (colour optional) once mixed, pipe the coloured icing within the iced outline of the Happy Nappy waist and leg bands.
Follow Step 2 again but this time using a different food colour to decorate the body of the nappy. - Leave to dry and then they are ready to eat!
