Making the gingerbread men!

So it wasn't as easy as I thought it would be...
I'm not great at following recipes, I tend to skip bits of the recipe because I am in such a rush to get it over and done with! (Not a fan of cooking as you can see!)

One of the steps that I found difficult was to know when the dough was tough enough. If I didn't kneed the dough enough then it would be too moist and most probably would stick all over the counter when I rolled the dough put. So I think I may have let the dough go too hard but in the end I must admit that they were VERY tasty!

One of the silliest steps in the recipe was that I had to roll out the dough to 0.5cm thickness which I doubt anyone is going to be careful enough to measure how thick their dough is. I personally found that when I rolled out the dough to 0.5cm thickness it was extremely hard to cut out the gingerbread men because when I lifted them off the counter try would tear because the dough was so thin.

I rolled the dough out much thicker and it we easier to cut out the gingerbread men. Who said we have to follow recipes strictly?

Overall, I would describe them to be delicious. I'm not in a rush to make them again though!!

Gingerbread Men Recipe!

Hello!

After some research I have picked my recipe that i shall use to make gingerbread men with children tomorrow! A nice session of reading The Gingerbread Man story to the kids and some back will make it a great day!

Ingredients
350g/12oz plain flour, plus extra for rolling out
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
125g/4½oz butter
175g/6oz light soft brown sugar
1 free-range egg
4 tbsp golden syrup

Preparation method
Sift together the flour, bicarbonate of soda, ginger and cinnamon and pour into the bowl of a food processor. Add the butter and blend until the mix looks like breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar.

Lightly beat the egg and golden syrup together, add to the food processor and pulse until the mixture clumps together. Tip the dough out, knead briefly until smooth, wrap in clingfim and leave to chill in the fridge for 15 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. Line two baking trays with greaseproof paper.

Roll the dough out to a 0.5cm/¼in thickness on a lightly floured surface. Using cutters, cut out the gingerbread men shapes and place on the baking tray, leaving a gap between them.

Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until lightly golden-brown. Leave on the tray for 10 minutes and then move to a wire rack to finish cooling. When cooled decorate with the writing icing and cake decorations.

I'm not a great cook but even this recipe seems a bit of a mission to follow! I'm not sure the kids will understand that the dough needs to be rolled out to 0.5cm in thickness. Well I'm sure I wouldn't have understood that t the age of 4!!

Wish me luck with the gingerbread men! Haha!

Lets give this a shot!

I have never written a blog and I don't know how good I will be at but let's give this a shot!

A few days ago I found one of my favorite books that I used to read as a child, I never realized how many of the children's fables were devoted to food.

Today, whilst working at the primary school, I read Hansel and Gretel to kids. Wow, it's been an extremely long time since I read that book. Reading it as young adult I picked up on so many things the little 4 year olds seemed to find amusing but were quite serious.

I must admit... As I read the book I couldn't help but fantasize about how yummy the candy in the images looked. Maybe I could try making some donuts with the kids? Maybe I could even make gingerbread men with them? I'm not a great cook but I do enjoy baking a cake or two. But I'm sure the kids would really enjoy it and it would help them engage with what happens in the story a bit more.

The food in the story is presented almost in a hypnotizing form. Hansel and Gretel couldn't wait to get their teeth in the roof of the witch’s house! A little boy named Georgie put his hand up and ask "Miss... Can we get some sweets at lunchtime?". Of course they are not allowed... I learnt my lesson from eating to many sweets - it means a visit to the dentist because some fillings are in order.

The children seemed to think that because Hansel and Gretel ate the sweets, then that meant that it is acceptable for children to eat as many sweets as they like. Does this mean that children misinterpret the meaning of the story? I mean... The story is about a witch that is a cannibal! (I did not understand that at the age 4 as well).

I had great time reading the children this book... What to read next week? I think I'll go for The Gingerbread Man and some donuts shall be made with the kids!

Fun, fun, fun!