gingerpeople

Grace was very excited when I said we were going to make gingerbread men for the fun day. There's a Richard Scarry video that she watches sometimes which features slightly scary gingermen. I thought it would be a fun thing we could do together; it was and it wasn't. First there was the bad taste when she sneaked a lick of the spice mixture and then the (not badly) burnt finger when she tried to taste the syrup mixture. That said, the rolling out of the gingermen and the icing of them was greeted with much enthusiasm. As was the eating.

However, I have to say that as far as eating goes, I'd prefer a softer textured gingerbread. Dark and slightly chewy on the outside. These were quite hard and would be really good for Christmas tree hanging and as small gifts. Recipe is adapted from Biscuits, The Good Cook, Time-Life Books 1982. For the cake stall, I made a double quantity and that was heaps, with some over for home.

You will need

125g brown sugar
125g golden syrup or honey (I think molasses would work well too if you like the taste)
1tsp ground cinnamon
some fresh nutmeg
some mixed spice (actually I might leave the mixed spice and nutmeg out next time - the recipe called for 1/8 ground cloves instead, which I didn't have)
1 tsp fresh grated ginger (I'd be tempted to add more next time, but I love ginger)
1 tsp powdered ginger
90g butter
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
500g plain flour
pinch salt
1 lightly beaten egg
glace icing made from icing sugar, a tiny knob of butter and hot water and then coloured with lurid food colourings

To make

Dissolve the sugar, honey or syrup, spices and butter over a low heat and slowly bring to gentle boil. Cool to room temperature and add the baking powder. It will froth a bit.

Make a well in the middle of the flour and salt. Add syrup mixture and the egg. MIx well and ten turn onto a floured board and knead until it all comes together. Wrap in plastic or grease proof paper and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Roll the cooled dough to about 3 mm thick and cut into shapes. Bake in a preheated oven 170C oven for 8-10 minutes or just until they start to colour.

When the gingerpeople are cool, ice with icing from an icing bag or using a plastic bag with a small corner cut off.   

crinkles

These biscuits are from Still Life with Menu, ( Mollie Katzen, Ten Speed Press 1988) one of my favourite and most influential cookbooks. I've only made them once before and they are sensational. Don't be put off by the presence of molasses, it really works in these and is offset by the other sugar and spices. G suggested they needed ginger which I forgot and will definitely be adding next time. Please use the two different types of sugar, it does make a difference.

Ingredients

125 butter
1/4 cup molasses
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teasponn cinnamon
1 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon ginger
2 cups white self-raising flour
1 to 2 tablespoons additional white sugar

To make

1. Preheat oven to 170C. Line two biscuit trays with baking paper (I re-use mine because I'm cheap).
2. Melt the butter.  Add molasses, which may need a quick zap in the microwave to flow well enough for measuring. Beat the egg and add to cooled butter and molasses mixture.
3. Mix dry ingredients (except white sugar). Add the wet ingredients and mix. Use your hands to bring together into a soft dough.
4. Roll pieces of dough into small truffle sized balls. Dip in white sugar. Place on baking tray. Squash before baking (Grace loved doing this).
5. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until they puff up and fall down. Bake until darkish brown if you like a crisp biscuit. A beigey colur of you like a soft centre. I did some of each which is pretty unavoidable in our oven anyway.
6. Cool on a teatowel. Eat with soothing cups of tea.

Anzacs

My ideal Anzac biscuit is thin and crisp. They look healthy and do contain oats, but really there is too much butter and sugar in these for them to be good for you. I've tried making them with less butter and sugar but then they're not Anzacs. A slow oven and careful cooking is the key to success with these. It's difficult to get a uniform result in our oven. Luckily G likes them a bit soft and I like them super crisp.

You will need

1 cup rolled oats
1 cup plain flour
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup dessicated coconut
125g butter
3 tablespoons of golden syrup
1 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
1 tablespoon hot water

To make

• Preheat oven to 150C.
• Combine oats, flour, sugar and coconut in a mixing bowl. 
• Combine butter and golden syrup in a medium sized saucepan and melt on a gentle heat, taking care not to burn. 
• Mix soda with water and add to butter/golden syrup mixture. It will foam up. 
• Add the foam to the dry ingredients and mix well. The mix should be just wet enough to hold together.
• Drop soup spoon fulls onto biscuit trays lined with baking paper or lightly greased.
• Bake in a slow oven until they puff up and fall down again, about 15 minutes. Rotate to avoid burning.
• Allow to cool on trays before moving.

Yo-Yos

 

My mum is a legendary yo-yo maker and she has very definite ideas on the perfect yo-yo. It should not be browned, lemon icing is a must. I prefer my yo-yos to be very crisp. In my oven this means that some will be a bit brown and some will be a perfect color and very crisp. I've promised to ice some with chocolate icing next time I make them because G is a chocolate, as opposed to lemon, sort of guy.

They definitely use a lot of butter which I think is what makes them so nice. However if butter is not your thing, I've heard they can be made with margarine. My mother's original recipe calls for 12oz butter, 4oz icing sugar, 4oz custard powder, 12 oz plain flour. That's an awful lot of butter to make into a form of biscuit that will probably get eaten rather quickly. Unless baking for sale or gifts, I wouldn't make too many at once.

You will need

250g butter at room temperature
80g icing sugar
80g custard powder
250g plain flour

juice of about half a lemon
about a cup of icing sugar
a piece of butter the size of two peas

To make

1. Cream the butter and icing sugar until it is very pale and fluffy, scraping the sides of the bowl several times.


2. On a low speed, add custard powder an half the flour. When that is well combined, add the rest of the flour gradually. Sometimes you won't need all the flour, flours vary a bit. The dough should come together easily into a ball without being sticky.


3. Turn the dough out onto a board and gently press into a ball. Shapes into a flat squarish shape.Cut into four and then cut each square into eight. Roll each little sqare into a ball and place on the baking sheet. When all are done, press into each biscuit with the tines of a fork dipped in flour.


4. Bake for approximately 15 minutes at 170C. Rotate trays at the seven minute mark. Keep a close eye on them at the end. They are done just before they begin to brown, or when the end ones are starting to colour. Remove from oven and leave to cool on the trays (protect from marauding cats).

To finish

1. Make the lemon icing by mixing the juice of half a lemon, the little nob of melted butter and the icing sugar into a thick paste.


2. Match each biscuit with another the same size and doneness. Sandwich together with lemon icing. Allow to set before handling or eating.