The smell of gingerbread biscuits around the house can only mean one thing: Christmas is now around the corner. These biscuits are ready in just a few steps and they make a phenomenal Christmas gift. Have fun decorating them with friends and your little ones.
Gingerbread biscuits are one of my favourite things to bake and I think they shouldn’t be relegated just to the holiday season – they are such a good biscuit all year round.
We can’t deny though that a gingerbread biscuit is synonymous with Christmas. Apparently, the tradition goes back to a long time ago, Elisabeth I of England was also a fan. She asked to make the biscuits in the likeness of important guests and then displayed them on the table at dinner – this story always cracks me up. I really want to try this next time I have friends over. I hope none will get offended by poor decorating skills!
This is the second batch of Christmas gingerbread I make this year. I am very excited about the holidays and counting down the days. I even bought an advent candle so to see the days passing by.
I haven’t spent Christmas with my family for the last three years, but if all goes well this year I’ll be back home. I cannot wait.
I also desperately need something to break the routine and the magic spirit of Christmas is very welcome. This year I decorated the house crazy early, at the end of November the tree was already up. We all need something to cheer us up these days and it feels a pity just to have it on for a couple of weeks, especially when you are away for the holidays.
While the biscuits were baking in the oven, I turned all the Christmas lights on and played my favourite festive songs.
In our family, every Christmas we listen to the same songs by a group called the Three Degrees. The name of the group slightly reminds the Italian surname Degradi, the name of my brother’s teacher – this always made us giggle. Ah blessed childhood!
My mum found the CD (yes that’s how old we are) at the supermarket and we played the songs on repeat since then. It must be more than 20 years ago. It’s not Christmas without it. My mum even made us copies of the CD when my brother and I moved out. It’s really an integral part of our family life.
Do you also have a family Christmas tradition?
Among all the traditions and special moments, we never baked and decorated biscuits together. Until recently, this has never been part of Italian culture. I guess instead of putting icing sugar on biscuits we fold tortellini and ravioli in Italy.
That’s why making Christmas biscuits is something new to me. It’s an exciting part of finding and starting new traditions as an adult.
There is something special in the smell of homemade biscuits. At every breath, you inhale warmth, comfort, and love. While in the oven, you think of the happy moments they will bring, either as a gift to a loved one or a treat to enjoy with tea under a soft blanket.
Let the festive season begins with its many baked wonders!
Gingerbread biscuits
Course: Something SweetDifficulty: Easy10
minutes20
minutesThe smell of gingerbread biscuits around the house can only mean one thing: Christmas is now around the corner. These biscuits are ready in just a few steps and they are a phenomenal gift.
Ingredients
170 g butter
170 g muscovado sugar (or any other brown sugar)
1 free-range egg
5 tbsp golden syrup
500 g flour
1 tsp bicarbonate soda
1 1/2 tbsp ground ginger
1 tsp all spice
1 tsp cinnamon
a pinch of salt
Method
- Beat the butter with the sugar until they are perfectly mixed together and you have a light brown cream.
- Add in one egg and golden syrup.
- Sift the flours, bicarbonate, a pinch of salt, and spices, and gradually add them to the wet ingredients.
- Chill the dough in the fridge for at least three hours (better if overnight).
- Roll the dough till half of a centimeter thick.
- Cut out the dough with your favourite cookie cutter.
- Transfer the biscuits to the baking trays, they don’t grow in volume much but still make sure to leave a bit of space between them. Bake your biscuits for 10 minutes if they are small-medium and 15 minutes if bigger in size.
- Let them cool down for 30 minutes and have fun decorating them with writing icing. Happy Holidays
Notes
- This recipe makes for 12 big biscuits or 28 small biscuits.
