Originally published on the Blog of Blore on 12/12/13

Christmas isn’t Christmas without a bit of gingerbread, and this is the recipe we make every year. It is a synthesis of four different recipes from Waitrose, Channel 4, Epicurious and The Joy of Baking, and contains the four horsemen of Christmas: ginger, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. If you’ve never crushed a clove or grated a nutmeg, please go and do so at the next possible opportunity. And then have a lovely big sniff.

Ingredients

Method

• In a large bowl, sift together the flour, salt, baking soda, and spices.
• In another bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
• Add the egg and treacle to the butter/sugar mixture, and beat until well combined.
• Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter/sugar/egg/treacle, beating until incorporated.

• Divide the dough in half, wrap each half in cling film, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.
• Preheat oven to 175 C and place rack in the center of the oven.
• Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a thickness of about 0.5 cm
• Use a gingerbread cutter to cut out the biscuits.
• With a spatula lift the cut-out biscuits onto the baking sheets, placing them about 2.5 cm apart. (If you are hanging the gingerbread or using as gift tags, make a hole at the top of each with a straw or end of a wooden skewer.)
• Bake for about 8 – 12 minutes depending on the size of the cookies. Small ones will take about 8 minutes, larger will take about 12 minutes. They are done when they are firm and the edges are just beginning to brown. It’s probably best to bake each tray of biscuits separately.Remove the gingerbread from the oven and cool on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes. When they are firm enough to move, transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.