I always thought it was ridiculous for the Internet graybeards, (for example, tenured computer science professors) to publish food recipes on their web pages.
Hereby I join their ranks! I have seen more than enough bad recipes and screwed up baking (always a social event! must not disappoint others!) one time too many. With the oncoming tsunami or AI slop, things will go downhill very quickly - AI doesn’t get food poisoning. Here I am, putting my long-term social standing at stake to protect and uphold sane and safe ways to fill one’s stomach. Stay tuned.
In this article, I will just replicate a condensed version of this recipe from BBC Food. I used it twice by this time, with consistently great results. The text is also concise and clear enough for a child to follow through on their own.
Ingredients
- 350g plain flour, plus extra for rolling out
- 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- 2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 125g butter
- 175g sugar
- 1 egg
- 4 tablespoon of golden syrup (or honey)
- decorations - writing icing, edible eyes, edible glue etc
Method
Sift together the flour, bicarbonate of soda, ginger and cinnamon and pour into the bowl of a food processor. Add the butter and blend until the mix looks like breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar.
Lightly beat the egg and golden syrup together, add to the food processor and pulse until the mixture clumps together. Tip the dough out, knead briefly until smooth, wrap in clingfim and leave to chill in the fridge for 15 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 180C. Line baking trays with greaseproof paper.
Roll the dough out to a 5mm thickness on a lightly floured surface. Using cutters, cut out the gingerbread men shapes and place on the baking tray, leaving a gap between them.
Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until lightly golden-brown. Leave on the tray for 10 minutes. When cooled decorate with the writing icing and cake decorations.
