When it come to Christmas, baking is a must in our family gathering for Christmas eve/day. Everyone loves to have something to snack on before the meals ready or before we open presents on midnight Christmas Eve.
I thought I'd share with you two of the recipes that we would bake for this festive months, one of the recipes is a Portuguese one, as its a tradition for us to have for this festive month.
Ginger and Cinnamon Gingerbread Men:
I'm a big fan of Gingerbread Men, the smell of the spiced ginger and the cinnamon instantly reminds me of Christmas.
Ingredients
- 350g plain flour
- 125g unsalted butter
- 175g light soft brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 3 tbsp golden syrup
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees, mix together the flour, bicarbonate of soda and the butter. Add the sugar with the cinnamon and ginger. The mixture should look quite crumbly, add the egg and golden syrup. Tip the mixture onto the kitchen surface and knead all of the mixture together.
Once mixture is ready move to the fridge to cool for 15 minutes, once cooled you can start rolling and cutting. Roll the dough out to half a cm thickness and use a cookie cutter to get the Gingerbread man figures. Lay all of the guys out on the trays and make sure they're not too close to each other otherwise it'll sticking to each other. Bake for 10 minutes but do keep and eye on them.
Once its baked leave to cool before doing any decorations.
Portuguese Spice Molasses Cookies:
Ingredients
- 1/2 tsp Baking soda
- 1/2 cup brown sugar, dark
- 1 3/4 tsp Cinnamon, ground
- 1/4 tsp Cloves, ground
- 1/3 cup Cornstarch
- 1 tsp Fennel seeds, grounds
- 1/2 tsp Guar gum
- 1/2 tsp Kosher salt
- 1/4 cup Molasses, dark
- 1/3 cup Potato starch
- 3/4 cup Sorghum flour
- 1/4 cup Sweet rice flour
- 1/2 cup Tapioca flour
- 1/2 cup White sugar
- 2 tsp Xanthan gum
- 1/2 pound Butter, unsalted
- 2 Eggs, large
Combining the dry ingredients:
Whisk together the sorghum flour, tapioca flour, potato starch, sweet rice flour, and cornstarch in a large bowl. Add the xanthan and guar gum, the spices, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, whisk them together. Set aside.
Creaming the butter and sugar:
Using a stand mixer (if possible), combine the softened butter and sugars. Mix them together well until they have nuzzled together to become one. Do not beat them for longer than 1 minute or so, because over-creaming the butter and sugar can cause gluten-free cookies to spread. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, and then drizzle in the molasses. When everything is incorporated, stop the mixer.
Finishing the dough:
Add the flour mixture to the butter and sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, mixing on low between additions. Refrigerate the dough for at least 1 hour before baking. Overnight is best.
Preparing to bake:
When ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350 degrees, Line a sheet tray with parchment paper or Silpat.
Baking the cookies:
Roll dough about the size of a tablespoon between your palms and place about 2inches from each other on the baking sheet. Bake until the edges have browned and the centres are firm but still yield a bit to the tough, about 15 minutes. Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack and allow to them to cool for at least 15 minutes before eating.
Hopeful I get to make some cookies with the flat mates before we break off for Christmas break, and also hope that when I get home they the have cookies waiting for me :)
Toodles x
