Gingerbread

Ginger has grown on me over the years. I used to abhor it the way I abhor black licorice. I dunno if it's acquired taste or just age, but I now enjoy ginger beer, ginger cookies and I am even giving pickled ginger a chance!

These biscuits keep really well in an airtight container so are ideal to bring over as a gift or give out at Christmas time.

I actually just wanted an excuse to finally use some cookie cutters I bought ages ago! Halloween was the perfect excuse.

GINGERBREAD

In a saucepan melt 100g butter.

Add 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1/4 cup golden syrup.

In a bowl combine 1 cup plain flour, a pinch of salt, and 1/2 teaspoon each of ground ginger, cinnamon and all-spice.

Slowly incorporate the wet to the dry ingredients. 

Mix until a ball forms.

Wrap in cling film and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Roll out to about 0.5cm thickness.

Use your cookie cutters. Keep rolling and cutting until the dough is used up.

Place cookies onto lined baking trays and bake at 160 C for about 15 minutes.

Leave to cool on the trays.

Royal Icing

These cookies are a bit plain-jane if you don't jazz them up with some icing!

This is a fun way to make some mess with the kids!

Mix together 1.5 cups icing sugar with 1 egg white and a tiny squeeze of lemon juice.

(Keep that lemon handy)

Mix until the sugar is completely dissolved.

Separate your icing into ramekins which will hold each colour you will use.

I made orange (red + yellow, duh) for my pumpkins and purple (blue + red!).

Be careful when adding food colouring because you can add but you can't take back!

I hope you've kept that lemon handy. Before decorating we need to check the consistency.

Drizzle the icing upon itself - it is right when the peak disappears in about 10 seconds.

If too thick, squeeze more lemon. If too thin, add a tiny bit of icing sugar.

Spread directly onto your cookies or use a piping bag if you wanna be pedantic.