Spicy tree biscuits

Spicy tree biscuits

These cookies are great for getting the kids involved in cooking, and they will look great on the tree too

Difficulty and servings

Easy

Makes 30-40 depending on size

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 40 mins

Cook time

Cook 15 mins

plus chilling
Freezable

Method

  1. Heat the sugar, golden syrup and butter until melted. Mix the spices and flour in a large bowl. Dissolve the bicarbonate of soda in 1 tsp cold water. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients, add the melted sugar mix, egg and bicarbonate of soda. Mix well. At this stage the mix will be soft but will firm up on cooling.
  2. Cover the surface of the biscuit mix with cling film and leave to cool, then put in the fridge for at least 1 hr to become firm enough to roll out.
  3. Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead briefly. (At this stage the dough can be put into a food bag and kept in the fridge for up to a week.) Cut the dough in half. Thinly roll out one half on a lightly floured surface. Cut into shapes with cutters, such as gifts, trees and hearts, then transfer to baking sheets, leaving a little room for them to spread. If you plan to hang the biscuits up, make a small hole in the top of each one using a skewer. Repeat with remaining dough.
  4. Bake for 12-15 mins until they darken slightly. If the holes you have made have closed up, remake them while the biscuits are warm and soft using a skewer. Cool for a few mins on the baking sheets, then transfer to a wire rack to cool and harden up completely.
  5. Break up the chocolate and melt in the microwave on Medium for 1-2 mins, or in a small heatproof bowl over simmering water. Drizzle the chocolate over the biscuits, or pipe on shapes or names, then stick a few silver balls into the chocolate. If hung up on the tree, the biscuits will be edible for about a week, but will last a lot longer as decorations.

119 kcalories, protein 2g, carbohydrate 20g, fat 4 g, saturated fat 2g, fibre 0g, sugar 11g, salt 0.18 g

Recipe from Good Food magazine, January 2010.

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Latest comments and suggestions

Results 1-20

  • Binder photo recipes

    07 December 2009

    recipes rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    great dough. good for children to use but the cooking time was excessive in my fan oven. from preheaded only needed about 8-10 mins not 12-15. First batch burned after 12 mins.

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  • Binder photo carmelria

    10 December 2009

    carmelria commented on this recipe

    Yummy! I left my dough in the fridge overnight so when I took it out I had to leave it for an hour to come back to room temperature before rolling it. Only needed 12 mins in the fan oven. Really tasty and cruncy

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  • Binder photo brownie

    12 December 2009

    brownie rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    I did the same with my dough and agree it definateley needed time to warm back up! Watch the timings though, the bics I made were quite small and only need about 6-7 mins (not fan oven) also don't roll them too thin

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  • Binder photo kjrogers25

    01 January 2010

    kjrogers25 rated this recipe

    4 stars

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  • Binder photo WriterToniC

    06 January 2010

    WriterToniC rated this recipe

    5 stars

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  • Binder photo emmas

    25 January 2010

    emmas rated this recipe

    4 stars

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  • Binder photo Nicky S

    27 November 2010

    Nicky S rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Easy to do - left dough in the fridge for an hour and it was perfect to roll. I froze half in freezer in cling-film as suggested. They took the 12 mins plus, but our dough was a bit thicker! I used less ginger in the receipe and they still tasted lovely. My 3 yr old is very proud of his cookie cutting...

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  • Binder photo Pegasusprincess

    02 December 2010

    Pegasusprincess commented on this recipe

    Fairly straight forward to do. I used light brown muscavado sugar as that was all I had and mixed spice instead of the cinnamon and ginger separately, (basically the same spices in mixed spice) but the end result was great! I also did not have white chocolate (currently snowed in!) So I made some peppermint icing with icing sugar a little water and peppermint essence. My 2 year son and I made them with the christmas cookie cutters and results were great. 12mins was enough with a fan oven. Will make again!

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  • Binder photo Pegasusprincess

    02 December 2010

    Pegasusprincess rated this recipe

    4 stars

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  • Binder photo nermich

    19 December 2010

    nermich rated and commented on this recipe

    1 stars

    They turned out way to big, risen and soft. As they cooled they got an uneven surface. Not exactly gifts for jars I wanted!

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  • Binder photo Mrs H

    21 December 2010

    Mrs H rated and commented on this recipe

    3 stars

    Agree you need to cook for less time than the recipe says, though I guess that depends how thinly you roll out the dough. Yummy spicy biscuits - ours didn't last long enough to make it onto the Christmas tree!

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  • Binder photo Spronny

    26 December 2010

    Spronny rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    very easy to make and mine turned out perfect - which was a surprise as I'm not usually very good at baking! They were great with a cup of tea.

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  • Binder photo Trainee Domestic Goddess

    26 September 2011

    Trainee Domestic Goddess rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    Have just made these biscuits as a non-christmas spiced biscuit. I found that they needed additional time in the oven (not sure if this would have been different had I followed previous comments about removing mixture from fridge for longer before cooking). I also thought the the recipe could take more spice, for more grown-up biscuits, I will next time try doubling the cinnamon and ginger.

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  • Binder photo Ross Atkinson

    06 November 2011

    Ross Atkinson rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Very easy to make on short notice. ;)

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  • Binder photo Kathryn

    27 November 2011

    Kathryn rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    Lovely spicy biscuits with a real "ginger nut" tang and crunch. I have made a couple of batches for a charity Christmas Fayre next week and hope to sell them in batches of 6 in sellophane bags tied with a pretty ribbon - I just hope the decorations stay on! One tip though - make sure you take them off the baking tray as soon as you can and whilst they are still warm. Once they have cooled down they get stuck and break as you try to remove them.

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  • Binder photo Lizznaylor

    21 December 2011

    Lizznaylor commented on this recipe

    I used this recipe to make a Gingerbread Christmas tree. It was excellent because the biscuits rose slightly in the oven, but didn't spread so maintained their shape. I'm making another one as we speak!!

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  • Binder photo Mckeana

    15 January 2012

    Mckeana rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    Easy to make with the kids but first batch came out rock hard due to the cooking time, tried again baking 8-10 minutes for a better result.

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  • Binder photo Chickin

    24 January 2012

    Chickin rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I used this recipe to make gingerbread people with my 4 year old son. Took note of the comments on here and only cooked them for 8 mins in my fan oven which was just right. Also made them a bit chunkier in thickness as I don't like them too hard. Biscuits were delicious and didn't last long with the children or adults so had to make another batch!

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  • Binder photo Albertine

    05 December 2012

    Albertine rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    good recipe, easy for children to make as long as they're old enough to stir the melting stuff on the hob. We started a new family tradition some years ago of making these before Christmas, decorating with white royal icing and sprinkles (silver balls & edible glitter especially good!) and hanging them on our tree. Also giving to friends instead of Christmas cards - goes down a treat.

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  • Binder photo Emily

    17 December 2012

    Emily commented on this recipe

    Sounds good! how long do they last without going stale or stodgy want to know when to make them! thankyou!

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Difficulty and servings

Easy

Makes 30-40 depending on size

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 40 mins

Cook time

Cook 15 mins

plus chilling
Freezable

Ingredients

  • 175g dark muscovado sugar
  • 85g golden syrup
  • 100g butter
  • 3 tsp ground ginger
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 350g plain flour , plus extra for dusting
  • 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 1 egg , lightly beaten

TO FINISH

  • 100g white chocolate
  • edible silver balls
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119 kcalories, protein 2g, carbohydrate 20g, fat 4 g, saturated fat 2g, fibre 0g, sugar 11g, salt 0.18 g

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