Description

This ultimate easy gingerbread recipe delivers perfectly spiced, tender gingerbread biscuits with a delightful hint of golden syrup sweetness. Simple to make and ideal for festive decorating, these classic treats are rolled, cut into shapes, and baked to golden perfection, then finished with an easy royal icing for charming holiday decorations.

Ingredients

Scale

For the Gingerbread Dough

100g salted butter
3 tbsp golden syrup
100g dark muscovado sugar
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tbsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
225g plain flour

For the Icing

50g icing sugar
1–2 tbsp water

Instructions

Heat Butter, Syrup, and Sugar: In a small pan, gently heat the salted butter, golden syrup, and dark muscovado sugar together, stirring occasionally until fully melted. Remove from heat and allow the mixture to cool slightly.
Mix Dry Ingredients and Combine: In a large bowl, whisk together bicarbonate of soda, ground ginger, ground cinnamon, and plain flour. Pour in the slightly cooled buttery syrup mixture and stir until combined. Use your hands to bring the mixture together to form a soft dough, which will firm up once chilled.
Roll out the Dough: Place the dough between two sheets of baking parchment and roll out to about ½ cm thickness. Transfer the rolled dough on the parchment to a baking sheet to keep it flat, then chill in the fridge for 1 hour to firm up.
Preheat Oven and Prepare Baking Sheet: Preheat your oven to 190°C (170°C fan)/gas mark 5. Line a large baking sheet with baking parchment.
Cut Shapes and Bake: Remove the dough from the fridge and cut out shapes using a cookie cutter (9cm stars recommended). Space the cutouts apart on the lined baking sheet. Bake in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes, adjusting time slightly based on cutter size, until edges are set and lightly golden.
Cool the Biscuits: Leave the baked gingerbread shapes to cool completely on the baking sheet to firm up.
Prepare and Pipe the Icing: Mix the icing sugar with 1-2 tablespoons water to create a thick, pipeable consistency. Using a piping bag fitted with a thin nozzle, decorate the cooled biscuits as desired for festive flair.

Notes

The dough will be soft initially but will firm up during chilling, which is essential for easy rolling and cutting.
You can customize the shape of your gingerbread using any cookie cutter you prefer, including cutters with internal cut-outs for threading ribbons.
If you don’t have golden syrup, light corn syrup or honey can be used as a substitute with slight taste variation.
The icing consistency is critical – too thin will run off the biscuits, and too thick will be hard to pipe; adjust water quantity carefully.
Store baked gingerbread in an airtight container to maintain freshness and crispness.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 10-12 minutes per batch
Category: Baking
Method: Baking
Cuisine: British

Keywords: gingerbread, gingerbread biscuits, Christmas cookies, holiday baking, easy gingerbread, festive baking, spiced cookies