Gingerbread men recipe for kids
- Learning Resources Posted On Aug 1, 2021 | Seasonal Fun
Our curious Coding Critters cats Scamper and Sneaker are off on another exciting Coding Critters World Adventures Story. This time they are in Marrakech, the capital city of Morocco. This African country is famous for its markets called souks. If you visit a souk, you’ll find lots of spice shops filled with piles of delicious, brightly coloured spices from Morocco. Here, you can buy ginger you’ll need for this easy gingerbread men recipe for kids.
It was in one of these markets that Scamper and Sneaker learned about a special spice called saffron. Follow Learning Resources on Instagram to learn about saffron.
Gingerbread men recipe for kids
Gingerbread men are popular at Christmas, but we think they’re a delicious treat for any time of year. Here’s an easy gingerbread man recipe that you’ll want to eat all year round.
Parents, this is a fun way for kids to practise maths skills at home by measuring, weighing, setting the oven temperature, and keeping track of time.
You'll need:
- 100g butter
- 100g caster sugar
- 125ml treacle
- 1 egg yolk
- 250g sifted plain flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- 1 teaspoon ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- Icing for decorating (make your own Royal icing or use store-bought icing)
Method:
Using an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Carefully stir in the egg yolk and treacle. Then combine the flour, salt, baking powder, bicarb, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and nutmeg. Mix until smooth, and then cover and chill for at least an hour. (Try a Learning Resources Digital Timer to keep track.)
While you wait the 60 minutes, preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius (Gas mark 4). Sprinkle a little flour onto a smooth, flat surface so the dough doesn’t stick when you roll it. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough until it’s about 1/2cm thick. Use a gingerbread man cookie cutter to cut the shapes. Place your yummy biscuits onto an ungreased baking tray, 5cm apart. Bake for 8-10 minutes until firm. Remove from the baking tray and place to cool on wire racks. Decorate when cool.
Fun spice facts for kids:
When you buy spices from the supermarket, they often look different from how you’d find them in nature. Did you know that many of these spices are grown in India? Read Rumble and Bumble’s 10 facts about India for kids.
Learn more about the spices used in this gingerbread men recipe for kids:
Ginger comes from a root that grows underground. You can buy fresh ginger in the supermarket, but it’s better to use dried, powdered ginger when baking gingerbread men.
Cinnamon is tightly curled tree bark that is dried and ground to make a powder. Many cultures around the world use it in both sweet and savoury recipes.
Nutmeg is a roundish seed surrounded by a hard shell. Like cinnamon, it is used in both sweet and savoury recipes in many countries.
Cloves are tough dried flower buds from a tree and are ground into a powder for baking and cooking. Many years ago, people used cloves to treat toothache. Yikes!
