Recipe: Santa Claus & The Christmas Family (Gingerbread Biscuits)

Last year, we made some gingerbread man biscuits with our kids before Christmas time. They had a lot of fun helping out in the kitchen - rolling out the dough and cutting out the various shapes. We made quite a few batches and gave them to friends as a Christmas gift. We thought it would be nice to do the same this year. :)

Santa Claus & The Christmas Gang

It was nice to see the kids so enthusiastic about spending time with us in the kitchen. The dough has to be made first and refridgerated. It is best to work in small batches and only take out the dough you require as it get sticky due to the hot climate in Malaysia. This year, we had some new cookie cutters - Santa Claus, Mrs. Claus, reindeer and sleigh which we got from IKEA. Other than that, we also cut out some gingerbread man and heart shapes.

If you like them soft and chewy, simply roll them out thicker and bake for 10 minutes, and for crunchier biscuits, roll them out thinner and bake for 12-15 minutes.

A step up from last year, we decided to make some royal icing to decorate the gingerbread biscuits. Royal icing is hard white icing that dries to a nice matte finish and is made from either egg white or meringue powder, icing sugar and lemon juice. Credit has to be given to my husband who has very steady hands and decorated these in a matter of minutes. Fast, excellent worker, he is :) On the hearts, we put on our kids initials - C and D. I like our gingerbread family, very cute.

Our gingerbread family - Baby C,  mummy, Baby D and daddy :)

Our little elves hard at work

By the way, while waiting for the gingerbread biscuits to cool, Hubby also made some of these cute "Christmas themed" cut-outs which worked great as Christmas props for my photoshoots. They're really easy to make, just trace the shapes (using the cookie cutter) onto cardboard, then colour in the details with white colour pencil. You can get your kids involved, just like we did!

Our two precious gingerbread "kids"

Santa Claus & The Christmas Gang (Gingerbread Biscuits)
Recipe by Baby Sumo, adapted from here
Preparation time: 40 minutes
Cooking time: 10 - 12 minutes (per batch)
Makes about 20

Ingredients
1 2/3 cups all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
1 heaped tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
4 tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup golden syrup (or dark corn syrup)
1 tbsp evaporated milk (I omitted this)

For the royal icing (enough for 3-4 batches of gingerbread biscuits)
1 egg white
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
2 cups icing sugar, sifted


1. In a saucepan over medium low heat, heat the butter, sugar and syrup together until dissolved and allow to cool.

2. Sift the flour, salt, baking soda and spices together into a bowl. Once the syrup mixture has cooled, mix into the dry ingredients with the evaporated milk (if using) to make a dough. Chill in fridge for 30 minutes.

3. Preheat oven to 375°F/190°C and grease two baking sheets. Roll out the cookie dough to about 1/4 inch (5mm) thick and cut into desired shapes.

Christmas craft

4. Place on the baking sheets, allowing a little space to spread, and bake for 10-12 minutes until golden. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly for 10 minutes on the baking tray. Transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

5. For the royal icing, place egg white in a large bowl and beat with the electric mixer until foamy. Then, stir in the lemon juice and add in the icing sugar and beat until smooth and combined. Transfer the royal icing to a squeezy bottle with a small tip and cover with plastic wrap when not in use as royal icing hardens when exposed to air.

6. Ice the cookies as desired. Allow to set before storing the cookies.


Note: For soft and chewy gingerbread biscuits, roll them out thicker and bake for 10 minutes. For crunchier gingerbread, roll them out thinner and bake for 12-15 minutes.

I am submitting this to the "Baby Sumo's Christmas Recipes Collection 2013" event which I am hosting. You can link your recipes here.

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