Faux Gingerbread Tutorial

Ever the imaginative decorators, the Victorians would hang gingerbread to their trees on Christmas Eve for family and guests to in enjoy a tasty treat over the holidays! I thought this a great idea however, in the modern era, we tend to decorate our trees earlier in the festive season. Therefore, “faux” gingerbread is a handy alternative to hang on the tree to decrease the risk of mould and decay. Thus, one can capture the Victorian spirit of the holiday season with a contemporary twist.

You will need :

Begin by weighing and measuring the dried ingredients and adding them to a mixing bowl. I then slowly added the water while mixing. Take care not to add too much too soon or you might end up with a big soupy mess. Alternatively don’t add all the water if it isn’t needed. Then knead the mixture into a dough ball and place it into the fridge for around 15-20 minutes.

When the 20 minutes is up, place the dough on a chopping board lightly sprinkled with cinnamon. Be sure this isn’t flour as this will change the colour to white. Roll out the dough to a thickness of around 2-3 millimetres and cut the cookies out using your favourite cookie cutters.

Then you can place them on a baking tray and put them in the oven at 80ͦ°c for 20-30 minutes each side.
It’s important to keep a close eye on them to ensure you’re drying them out not cooking them! When they start to lighten up they are dry enough for you to flip over.

After both sides are dry, take them out of the oven and place them on a rack to cool. This may take up to an hour. Take extra care not to burn yourself as you take them out the oven and use appropriate oven gloves when handling the hot oven tray. If being used for tree decorations, don’t forget to make a hole in the top before drying them out. This can be used to hang it afterwards.