Nothing says Christmas quite like the smell of freshly baked gingerbread, so why not whip up a batch to bring in the holiday season? The adorable little treats are soft and chewy in the centre, crisp on the edges and packed full with warming spices – there’s nothing not to love. Not only do they make the perfect tasty treat and hot chocolate topper, but they also make thoughtful little gifts for the ones you love. Plus, they’re a great little activity for little ones, once the baking is done that is.
Now, if there’s one thing we know how to do here at Silver Mushroom it is to find beautiful mugs, if we say so ourselves. We have been curating our collection for literally over 10 years and we can assure you, as coffee and tea fanatics, that our selection are the type of mugs that really do make your brew taste better; you know the ones. If you’re gifting these mug hugging gingerbread houses this Christmas, why not pop them on the side of a brand new mug for a truly lovely and thoughtful gift? You can check out our mug collection here.
Lets bake a batch…
Ingredients:
– 500g Plain Flour
– 250g Soft Butter
– 180g Brown Sugar
– 120g Golden Syrup
– 2 Eggs
– 2 Tablespoon Ginger
– 1 Tablespoon Ground Cinnamon Powder
– 2 Teaspoon Baking Powder
Icing:
– 1 Egg White
– 1/3 Teaspoon Lemon Juice
– 160g Icing Sugar
– Few Drops of Mint Extract
Instructions
1. Mix together the butter, brown sugar and golden syrup in a large bowl until light and fluffy.
2. Gradually add the eggs and incorporate them well till thoroughly combined.
3. Sift the various dry ingredients – flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking powder – into the wet mixture. I like to begin by sifting in the spices and baking powder. I then gradually pour in the flour while mixing the batter.
4. Mix well until smooth, making sure there are no lumps of flour in the batter.
5. Knead the dough until it is smooth, then roll it out to a thin 5mm sheet. Refrigerate for 15 mins.
6. Now comes the fun part – using your favourite cookie cutters, cut the dough into shapes.
7. Bake for 8 mins or until lightly browned at 180ºC. Leave the cookies to cool completely before icing them.
Making the Icing:
1. Beat the egg whites until they become foamy.
2. Gradually add the lemon and icing sugar, making sure you incorporate them well into the egg whites.
3. Beat until the mixture is thick and creamy. Add a few drops of mint extract.
4. Divide the mixture into bowls and tint each one with the desired colour (if you want to use coloured icing).
5. Pipe onto cookies, bringing the different characters to life.
6. Make sure the icing is completely dry before you store the cookies.
How to Make the Mug Huggers (The Fun Part):
If you are making the mini gingerbread house mug toppers, use the icing as glue to put together the house. Start by attaching 2 of the sides together and wait 1-2 minutes for the icing to harden before you attach the next side.These mini gingerbread houses are perfect to top a mug of hot cocoa or a Christmas latte. They’d also look lovely on top of cupcakes.
And there you have it, the key to making the perfect batch of gingerbread goodness. We hope this recipe gets you feeling just as festive as we do – be sure to let us know in the comments if so!
Love Poppy x
