Gingerbread Train Biscuits

Gingerbread Train Biscuits

This is a very simple recipe for Gingerbread biscuits. Perfect for weekend baking with kids. 

This recipe has lots of benefits for cooking with children:

Unlike lots of biscuit recipes, you don't need to let the dough cool in the fridge first. So you can make the dough and roll out straight away. 

It is also a manageable dough for children to help roll out, rather than ending up with a sticky mess!

Plus they take 8 mins to cook and hardly anytime to cool. Which saves the impatient 'are they ready yet' demands! 

This recipe makes 12. But double it if you would like more. 

Ingredients:

60g unsalted butter (or baking margarine)

50g muscavado (dark brown) sugar

2 tbsp golden syrup

160g plain flour

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 tsp ground ginger

Method:

Pre heat your oven to 170 degrees C (fan oven). 

Line your baking sheet with greaseproof paper, you may need two sheets. 

Place the butter, sugar and golden syrup in a medium saucepan and heat gently until all melted. Leave to one side to cool slightly.

Then in a mixing bowl weight out the flour, bicarbonate of soda and ginger and add the butter/sugar mixture.

Mix into a dough and turn out onto a lightly floured board ready to roll. 

* Tip, keep a little pile of spare flour at the side of your board to use as and when you need it. 

Roll out the dough to a thickness of approx 5mm. Then cut out into biscuits in your choice of shapes.

My boys are train mad and I recently bought a 'train cutter' which we not only use for biscuits but sandwiches! Gingerbread men are also a favourite. 

Once you have cut out your biscuits. place on a baking sheet lined with greaseproof paper and bake in the oven for approx 8 mins.

They will be nicely browned when they are ready. Don't worry if they are slightly soft to touch, they will firm up as they cool. 

Place on a cooling rack. They do not take long to cool.

Decorate with writing icing and sprinkles. 

This is far less messy than making runny icing yourself which ends up absolutely everywhere! But if brave, or your children are older and more responsible than my cheeky monkeys, mix your own icing by adding water to icing sugar. 

* Or tip for tastier icing. Use the juice of a lemon or orange instead of water. 

Enjoy!