Follow this easy gingerbread recipe to make a delicious biscuit dough full of warming flavours and spices. From classic gingerbread people to a beautifully decorated house, you can use this staple dough to get creative over the festive season!
Gingerbread at Christmas is like chocolate at Easter! There’s just something so fun and festive making homemade gingerbread, for me it symbolises the start of the season. The decks go up, it becomes acceptable to play Christmas music and the smell of freshly baked gingerbread fills the house.
This easy gingerbread recipe will help you master a staple gingerbread dough. There’s nothing complicated about the recipe, as the title of this post suggests it’s actually very easy, but using good quality ingredients is really important (more on this later) for a flavoursome gingerbread dough.
3 Gingerbread Baking Ideas
There are so many festive bakes you can create using this gingerbread recipe. Here are 3 baking ideas:
1. Gingerbread People
The gingerbread classic! Use different sized cutters to create a family of gingerbread people and then bring them to life with white icing and sprinkles for the decoration. How cute is the baby gingerbread? 😍
2. Gingerbread Christmas Tree
If you fancy something a little more challenging, why not use this easy gingerbread recipe to create a stunning edible Christmas tree! The tree is made from different sized gingerbread stars stacked on top of each other. For the decoration I used meringue drops, sprinkles and a selection of edible figures to create a winter wonderland scene. Find the detailed recipe here.
3. Miniature Gingerbread House
Saving the best for last with these adorable miniature gingerbread houses. Beautiful as a stand alone decoration or perfect to place on top of cupcakes for some festive pizzazz. You could even hang them on the side of a cup of hot chocolate! Just follow the gingerbread recipe and then use a mini gingerbread house cutter to create your shapes. I’d recommend using royal icing to assemble the houses and for decoration, it dries quickly and will firmly hold the shapes together.
What ingredients do I need for the gingerbread recipe?
- Unsalted butter: Gives the gingerbread their melt-in-mouth flavour and chewy in the middle texture.
- Dark muscovado sugar: This type of sugar contains molasses making it perfect for gingerbread. It also has a deep caramel flavour.
- Golden syrup: Adds a punch of extra sweetness and improves the chewy texture.
- Egg: A little beaten egg helps bring the dough together.
- Plain flour: Provides structure and prevents the gingerbread from spreading too much.
- Bicarbonate of soda: Helps firm up the edges of the gingerbread, making them crunchy.
- Ground ginger: It wouldn’t be gingerbread without ginger! I like to use ground ginger for ease, but for a more intense flavour you could use grated fresh ginger.
- Ground cinnamon: Not essential but I think cinnamon lifts the flavour and adds a lovely warming spice.
Helpful gingerbread recipe tips
- Let the melted butter mixture cool down. If the mixture is too hot when combined with the dry ingredients and eggs, the dough will end up being very wet and sticky.
- You don’t need to add all the beaten egg. This gingerbread recipe calls for 1 medium egg, but you won’t need to use the whole egg. Beat the egg in a small jug and start by adding just enough to bring the dough together.
- Chill the gingerbread dough before rolling. This will improve the flavour and make sure the gingerbread doesn’t spread out too much in the oven. I recommend chilling the dough for at least 30 minutes. You can also make the dough ahead of time and store it in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- How to freeze the dough. If you want to make the dough ahead of time, you can wrap and freeze it for up to 2 months. Defrost at room temperature for 1-2 hours, then roll, shape and bake.
Easy Gingerbread Recipe
Ingredients
- 50 grams Unsalted butter
- 75 grams Dark muscovado sugar
- 50 grams Golden syrup
- 175 grams Plain flour
- 0.5 teaspoon Bicarbonate of soda
- 2 teaspoon Ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon Groun cinnamon
- 1 medium Egg at room temperature
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 170°C fan. Line baking sheets with greaseproof paper.
- Crack the egg into a small jug and beat with a fork. Set aside for now.
- Measure the butter, dark muscovado sugar and golden syrup into a small saucepan.50 grams Unsalted butter, 75 grams Dark muscovado sugar, 50 grams Golden syrup
- Heat on low until the butter and sugar melt. Once melted turn the heat up and let the mixture boil for 1 minute. Remove and leave to cool for 10 minutes.
- Stir the plain flour, bicarbonate of soda, ginger and cinnamon together in a medium-sized bowl.175 grams Plain flour, 0.5 teaspoon Bicarbonate of soda, 2 teaspoon Ground ginger, 1 teaspoon Groun cinnamon
- Now pour in the melted butter mixture and half of the beaten egg. Use a wooden spoon to fold the mixture until it starts to come together into a dough. Now use your hands to knead the dough gently until smooth and the bowl is left clean.1 medium Egg
- If the dough is too dry add a little bit more egg, if it's too wet add a little flour.
- Wrap the gingerbread dough in clingfilm and place in the fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes*.
- Lightly dust a worktop and a rolling pin with flour and roll the gingerbread dough out to a £1 coin thickness.
- Use cookie cutters to stamp out your shapes and place on a lined baking tray**.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes until golden and firm.
Notes
This post contains affiliate links which means I will make a small commission if you purchase through those links. I only recommend products that I know, trust and love!
[…] with a dusting of cinnamon, frosted cranberries, and a snowflake gingerbread biscuit (either homemade or shop-bought). Gingerbread men would also look […]
Can’t wait to try this. Thank you for sharing. Can you share the icing recipe as well? Is it strong enough to hold gingerbread houses together? Thank you!
Hi Elise, yes of course, that’s a great idea. I always use royal icing for gingerbread as it gives a sturdy structure, bright white finish and it dries hard so you don’t have to worry about smudges. My royal icing recipe is:
• 250g icing sugar
• 1 medium egg white
• 1 teaspoon water
1. Whisk the egg white on high speed (electric mixer) until thick, white and foamy.
2. Whisk in the icing sugar until the icing is thick and bright white. If you find the icing is too thick, add the water to loosen. If the icing is too thin, add a tablespoon of icing sugar at a time.
3. Whisk in your food colouring if desired until the colour is even.
Hope that helps 😊
So easy to make as the instructions are clear, quick and easy and the dough didn’t spread so the shapes kept their, well, shape!🥰
Thanks for this review Amy! I also love this recipe, so easy but the biscuits are suuuuuuuper tasty 🙂