Gingerbread has been a part of the Christmas and Winter Feasts since medieval times, especially in Western Europe and remains popular today. These Christmas gingerbread biscuits have a delicious ginger and cinnamon flavour and a great snap. Cut with Christmas shaped cutters these cookies look fabulous hanging on the Christmas tree.
These gingerbread biscuits have just the right amount of warming ginger, complemented with another favourite festive spice, cinnamon. The dough is simple enough to make. First, the butter is rubbed into the flour and spices then it is mixed to a dough with treacle, syrup and an egg. I used half and half treacle and golden syrup as I did not want the treacle flavour to dominate.
Rolling Out the Christmas Gingerbread
The dough is a little soft, so I roll it out between two sheets of baking parchment as this makes it easier to roll. It wants to be the about the thickness of a £1 coin, (about 3mm or ⅛th inch). When you cut out cookies and transfer them to a baking sheet they can become a little distorted but I learnt a rather clever trick to avoid this.
Roll out the dough between two sheets of parchment about the size of your baking sheet. Once you have the correct thickness, stamp out the biscuits leaving them in place. Carefully remove the biscuit dough from between the biscuits. Now slide the parchment with the cut out biscuits still in place onto your baking sheet. Leave a little room between each shape as you cut it out as the biscuits will spread slightly. Gather the biscuit trimmings and re-roll to make more biscuits.
I couldn't resist buying Christmas bauble shaped cookie cutters when I spotted them at a cake show. You can, of course, use any shapes you like. remember if you want to hang them on a Christmas tree make a small hole with a skewer before baking. – You may need to remake the hole after baking if it has closed a bit. Do this as soon as they come out of the oven while the biscuits are warm to prevent them from breaking. The number of cookies you get will depend on the size of the cutters.
Decorating the Christmas Gingerbread Biscuits
I opted to use plain white icing and piped snowflake designs on the biscuits. With some quite simple line piping in glace or royal icing, you can make them look really pretty. However, you could really go to town and use different coloured icing if you wanted to. Last year I made some without the holes for hanging and piped the names of those having Christmas dinner with us. I popped them into cellophane bags tied with ribbon and they doubled as a small table gift and place marker.
The gingerbread biscuits will keep for up to a month if stored in an airtight container.
Step By Step Christmas Gingerbread cookies
Christmas Gingerbread Biscuit
Ingredients
- 350 g plain flour
- 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- 2 teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 150 g butter cut into dice
- 175 g light muscovado sugar
- 2 tablespoon black treacle
- 2 tablespoon golden syrup
- 1 large free range egg
- glacé or royal icing to decorate (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200℃ (180℃ fan)/400°F/gas mark 6.
- sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda and spices into a large mixing bowl. Add the butter and rub in until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Stir in the muscovado sugar
- Beat the treacle, golden syrup and egg together and add to the bowl. Mix to form a smooth dough.
- Roll out the dough between two sheets of baking parchment and cut out biscuits using Christmas cookie cutters. Reroll trimmings and cut out more biscuits.
- Make a hole in the top of each biscuit, with a skewer, if you want to be able to hang the biscuits on the tree. Bake the biscuits in the centre fo the oven for 10 to 12 minutes.
- Allow to cool for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Decorate as desired
Steph says
This recipe is absolutely lovely! I tweaked it slightly, but it’s come out absolutely lovely ☺️ massive hit with the family. Will definitely be making it again!
Jacqueline Bellefontaine says
So pleased you liked them Steph and thank you for taking the time to comment always nice to read feed back like this 🙂
Jo Allison / Jo's Kitchen Larder says
Your biccies look lovely Jacqui with their snowflake designs, almost like little lace icing! Such a brilliant idea to use these as little table gifts and place markers! I do love edible gifts at Christmas, you really can't beat those!
Jacqui Bellefontaine says
Thanks Jo, I think homemade gifts are always the best they come with extra love.
Jenny Paulin says
mmmmmm I love gingerbread and me and my boys always make a batch before xmas for them to decorate and well eat!!! such a fun tradition and a tasty one at that!
Your biscuits look so elegant and I will be trying your recipe this year
thank you for linking this to #BakeoftheWeek xx
Jacqui Bellefontaine says
Thank you Jenny can't wait o hear what you think.
Anna | Once Upon A Food Blog says
Wow - these look so pretty and your piping is gorgeous! I'd love to have some of these hanging on my tree. My husband spent 5 years of his childhood in America so we often put popcorn and cranberries on our tree. I think these unusual decos take a tree to the next level!
Jacqui Bellefontaine says
I have put popcorn on the tree before but never cranberries.
Anca says
Love these, they look great. Your decorating skills are amazing. This is more or less the same recipe I use for biscuits and it turns out fab each time.
Jacqui Bellefontaine says
It's a classic recipe I have been using for years and yes you are right it is very reliable.
Nickki says
I love gingerbread biscuits and these look absolutely delicious Jacqui. Beautiful job on the icing too. They make wonderful homemade gifts this time of year
Jacqui Bellefontaine says
Thank you
Monika Dabrowski says
These look just gorgeous, what an artist you are Jacqui! Ginger biscuits are also popular in Eastern Europe and are one of my favourite Christmas bakes.
Jacqui Bellefontaine says
Yes yes, I probably should have written accross Europe If its fairly simple piping i can do it. The really fancy stuff I leave for others. It is fascinating that every country has it variations and such a long history which i have been reading up on recently.
Kat (The Baking Explorer) says
Gorgeous biscuits and your piping is beautiful and so neat!