Today we show you how to make your gifts look extra festive on the outside, and they will smell great too! These biscuits are easy to make, and will really make you presents stand out under the tree (unless you have a dog, who will eat them all and think this the gift was for them!).
You will need:
1/2 batch of gingerbread dough (see recipe below) to make approximately 18 biscuits
Festive Cookie Cutters
A plastic drinking straw
Gifts to wrap!
Twine, ribbon or string
RECIPE
(adapted from Peggy Porschen’s gingerbread recipe)
210g light brown sugar
3 tablespoons treacle
3 tablespoons golden syrup
5 tablespoons water
3 tablespoons powdered ginger
3 tablespoons powdered cinnamon
250g diced butter
600g plain flour
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
INSTRUCTIONS
- Put the sugar, treacle, syrup, water, and spices into a saucepan and heat, stirring, until it comes to the boil. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter until well combined. Add the bicarbonate of soda and stir though. Leave to cool.
- Mix in the flour to form a dough, then wrap in clingfilm and refrigerate for an hour
- Roll out the dough between two pieces of greaseproof paper to about 0.5cm thick. Cut out the shapes using your Christmas cookie cutters.
- Using the straw to make two holes in the middle of each biscuit. If some of the dough gets stuck in the straw, snip a bit off the end.
- Place on a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper and pop in the fridge for 30 minutes or the freezer for 10 minutes. If you skip this step your biscuits will grow in the oven.
- Bake at 180C for approximately 10 minutes.
- If the holes close up whilst baking, don’t panic! Use a skewer to gently open them up again whilst warm, but be careful they will be hot! Leave to cool completely. The biscuits will keep in an airtight container for up to 2 months.
- Thread twine or ribbon through the holes, and attach to your gifts. This is best done just before your give your presents away, to prevent the gingerbread from going soft and the butter in your biscuit marking the wrapping paper .
