There are certain spices that scream Christmas, these are ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg. I have been coming up with plenty of ways to incorporate those spices in my cooking right now. Obviously, the most common recipes are gingerbread biscuits and ginger cake. I have been making both of these items for over 30 years now.
Even though my boys are now grown men, I still love to bake for them. These are both gluten-free and vegan and have been for the past 3 years, the dough needs slightly more care because of this. I love this recipe, the results are
- Chewy
- Crispy edges
- Warm with spices
- Delicious
- Moreish
You can choose to make cookies, men or houses with this recipe.
Tips
Once the dough is mixed and you have tipped it out onto a floured clean surface, I find having an oiled plastic or metal dough scraper helps to bring the mixture together. This stops your fingers from getting clogged up with it. Just keep scraping the dough from the side to the top. Once it is a lot stiffer, place it on a sheet of clingfilm and use the edges of it to keep folding the dough over to the centre until you have a pliable dough. This will be then ready to go into the fridge.
Gingerbread biscuits
- Preparation Time 30 Minutes
- Baking Time 10 Minutes
Vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free
Ingredients
- 80 g golden syrup
- 60 g black treacle
- 200 g light brown sugar
- 200 g dairy-free butter
- Zest of 1 orange
- 4 tsp ginger
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg (optional)
- 500g plain flour
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 flax egg (1 tbsp ground flax seeds + 3 tbsp hot water
Instructions
In a large deep saucepan add the golden syrup, black treacle, butter, sugar, spices, and zest. Melt over medium heat until the sugar has dissolved.
Once the sugar has dissolved, increase the heat and bring the mixture to a boil, remove from the heat and whisk in the bicarbonate of soda. This is why you need a large pan as the mixture will bubble up once the bicarb has been added.
Leave to cool for about 15-20 minutes.
Mix the ground flax seeds with the water and set them to one side to thicken.
Sift the flour with the salt and then gently fold into the cooled mixture. Next beat in the flax egg. Try not to overwork the dough too much.
Although the dough will be sticky, do not be tempted to add any more flour, scrape the mixture onto a clean surface and knead until smooth. Refrigerate your dough wrapped in clingfilm for an hour before using.
After the dough has rested, roll it out on some lightly floured baking parchment to around 5mm thick. Cut out the shapes you are using and place onto a tray lined with baking parchment and then freeze for 5 minutes or in the fridge turned to the coldest setting. This ensures that the gingerbread keeps its shape when baked and does not spread into each other.
While in the freezer preheat the oven to 160C
Remove from the freezer and bake for 8-10 minutes. The longer it is in the oven the crispier the biscuits will be. Leave to cool on a rack. Once completely cooled you can decorate.
If you decide to give this recipe a try, please tag me on Twitter as @veganalchemist1 or my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/thegfveganalchemist I love seeing your versions of the recipes. I would love to hear your comments.
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