Jul 8

Jul 8 Rainy Day Gingerbread

food, pre-schoolers, sensory, motor skills

Stuck indoors?

Maybe the baby is asleep. Maybe you've had a big morning. Or maybe the day is just too soggy, and the kids are too snotty, and you all just need to stay inside where it's cosy and warm.

So, what to do?

This activity is perfect for those bleak, cold, miserable winter days. Shaping gingerbread warms up little fingers, ignites the children's creativity, and fills the house with the gorgeous aroma of baking. It’s just as much fun as playdough, with the added bonus of creating something delicious.

I adapted this from a friend's recipe many years ago, and its been a staple in our house ever since. My children have spent many an wintery afternoon making these, and we've even baked and bagged up batches of gingerbread as Christmas gifts. Sometimes it's a nice activity for a child to do when they're stuck indoors with a visiting friend or two - in that case you can send the visitor's biscuits home with them in a paper bag (a decorated paper bag of course - hand out some textas while the gingerbread is in the oven).

So turn off the screen and turn your indoor day into a gingerbread day. Let the kids whip up a batch for a warming afternoon tea, then fill the bikky tin with the leftovers - that's if there are any leftovers!

Rainy Day Gingerbread

125 g butter

2 tablespoons golden syrup

1 cup brown sugar

1 egg, beaten

2 ½ cups plain flour

1/4 tsp salt

2 tsp ground ginger

Prepare an oven tray with baking paper. Sift the flour, salt and ginger together and set aside.
Melt butter and golden syrup in a saucepan while stirring constantly. Take the pot off the heat then add sugar and egg, stirring madly now to stop the egg cooking before it’s been combined.
Add the sifted ingredients to the mixture while still in the saucepan and combine it all well to make a wet dough.
Turn the dough out onto a floured board or table top. Divide into parts and give some to each child to model, cut or mould into biscuits.
Drop a pile of utensils onto the table (anything will do really - rolling pin, cookie cutters, stamps, forks, skewers) and watch some amazing gingerbread creatures appear. Add details with currants or choc bits if you like.
Bake at 165 C until golden brown. Approx 10 - 12 minutes.