VRYHEID KZN: Bake some gingerbread men this Christmas

Gingerbread men are a great way to bring the Christmas spirit into the kitchen.

You will need:

• 170g lightly salted butter, softened.
• One and two thirds of a cup of sugar.
• One orange, zested.

The dry ingredients:

• Four cups all-purpose flour, plus half cup additional for rolling, if needed.
• One and a half teaspoons baking powder.
• Half a teaspoon baking soda.
• One tablespoon of ground dry ginger.
• Half a teaspoon ground nutmeg.
• Half a teaspoon ground allspice.
• Two teaspoons ground cinnamon.
• A quarter teaspoon ground cloves.
• Half a teaspoon kosher salt.

The wet ingredients:

• Two eggs.
• Half a cup dark molasses.
• One lemon, juiced.

Easy orange frosting:

• One cup powdered sugar.
• Finely grated zest of one orange.
• One to two tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice.
• Half a teaspoon orange liqueur.
• A quarter teaspoon light corn syrup.

What to do:

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle, add the butter, sugar and orange zest and beat until smooth, about five to eight minutes.

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, dry ginger, nutmeg, allspice, cinnamon, cloves and salt. Whisk to blend. Set aside.

In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, molasses and lemon juice.

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

When the butter and sugar are integrated, lower the speed of the mixer and add the dry ingredients. Add the egg mixture and when blended, remove the bowl from the machine. Divide the cookie dough in half. Press the first half of the dough in between two sheets of waxed paper or plastic wrap and chill for 15 minutes. Repeat with the second half. This step will make it easier to finish rolling out the dough when it has chilled. It will also mean you only have half of the dough getting warm as you roll it.

Lightly flour a flat surface. Use a floured rolling pin to gently roll the first half of the dough about one and a half centimetres thick. Lightly flour the cookie cutter and cut the shapes, making as few scraps as possible. Use a metal spatula to gently transfer them, cookie by cookie, to a baking sheet. Repeat with the other half of the dough and transfer them to another baking sheet. Leave room between the cookies. Bake until brown around the edges, roughly about eight to 10 minutes.

Orange frosting:

In a medium bowl add all of the ingredients and whisk together to combine. If too thick in consistency, add a touch more orange juice or water to thin out.

Use a pastry bag fitted with a star tip to pipe the frosting on the gingerbread cookies.

You can also add sweets to make your gingerbread men more colourful.

ALSO READ: Healthy Friday: The powerful health benefits of fresh ginger and some recipe suggestions

Recipe obtained from www.foodnetwork.com.

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