Who doesn’t love gingerbread people (to be politically correct!) and with Christmas fast approaching try these healthier homemade gingerbread people for a spin on an old recipe.
Ingredients
Serves: Approximately 6 gingerbread men
1 cup plain flour
1 ½ tsp dry ginger
1/2 tsp white pepper
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp all spice
Grated rind of 1 orange
5 tbs applesauce or pureed apple
2 tbs butter
Goji berries, sultanas, shredded coconut or cacao nibs to decorate
Method
- Preheat oven to 180˚C
- Mix the flour, ginger and rind together in a bowl.
- Melt the butter and applesauce and slowly mix the wet mixture into the dry ingredients.
- Bring the mixture into a ball with your hands and work it together until the texture becomes smooth.
- Wrap the mixture in cling wrap and pop it in the fridge for an hour to rest (this is especially important in warmer weather otherwise the butter will be too soft).
- Remove from the fridge and leave to rest until it is warm, but still firm.
- Roll the mixture out until it is around ½ cm in thickness. Use a gingerbread man or other festive cutter of choice to cut out shapes. Place on a lined baking tray about 2cm apart.
- Pop them in the oven for 8-10 minutes or until brown.
- Decorate gingerbread men with sultanas or cacao nibs immediately after removing from the oven (press down while biscuit is still soft). If you have a reindeer shaped biscuit, you could even use goji berries for Rudolph’s nose! Shredded coconut also works a treat for your gingerbread man’s hair – simply press into the biscuit before placing into the oven.
- Once decorated, transfer to a rack to cool.
Note: This recipe is refined sugar free, but you can add some honey or maple syrup if you feel it needs a little sweetening. Plain white flour works best, but you can also try wholemeal flour or a combination of gluten free flours – don’t be afraid to mix things up!
