Gingerbread Men
Gingerbread Men
Entertaining a young child on a wet Saturday afternoon resulted in a sticky face and hands, a big happy grin and a tray of gingerbread men, and of course they needed decoration after being baked.
It’s never easy finding things for children that they want to do when it’s cold and wet outside, but cooking seems to go down well with our young grandson. It certainly is a fun way to spend a few hours together and they learn so much without realising it. The only draw back is the cleaning up afterwards.
Gingerbread men
Gingerbread man
It’s funny how this tradition of baking a gingerbread man has caught on and stayed with us even in the 21st century. Wikipedia states ‘…Gingerbread dates back to the 15th century, and figural biscuit-making was practiced in the 16th century. The first documented instance of figure-shaped gingerbread biscuits appearing was in the court of Elizabeth I of England. She had the gingerbread figures made and presented in the likeness of some of her important guests…’
There are many versions of the Gingerbread Man story and probably as many versions of the gingerbread man recipe which is basically like a biscuit recipe with ginger, syrup and spices added and then cut out into the shape of a gingerbread man. A short bake in the oven and we have something tasty to eat too. How you decorate your men is entirely up to you or the children who made them.
