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    Recipes

    Billington’s Christmas gingerbread hanging biscuits

    These delicious, traditionally spiced tree decorations are good enough to eat!

    These delicious, traditionally spiced tree decorations are good enough to eat!

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    (4 votes)
    Cooking Time

    Cook: 1 Hour 20 Mins

    Cooking Time

    Serves: 24

    Cooking Time

    Price: 12p per serving

    Nutritional Information

    Each 45g serving contains

    Energy
    725kj
    173kcal
    9%
    Fat
    4.6g
    Med
    7%
    Saturates
    2.9g
    Med
    14%
    Sugars
    15.8g
    High
    18%
    Salt
    0.37g
    Med
    6%
    of your reference intake.
    Typical energy values per 100g:
    1611kj/385kcal

    Ingredients

    2tbsp black treacle

    2tbsp golden syrup

    225g Billington’s Light Muscovado Natural Unrefined Cane Sugar

    450g plain flour, plus extra for dusting

    1tbsp ground ginger

    1tsp mixed spice

    1tbsp cinnamon powder

    1tbsp bicarbonate of soda

    5tbsp whole milk

    100g Icing sugar

    Edible silver balls (optional)

    10cm Christmas-themed cookie cutters, such as star and tree shapes

    Skewer

    Piping bag with a fine plain nozzle

    Ribbon or string to hang the biscuits

    Method

    1
    Preheat the oven to 170C/150C Fan/Gas 3. Line 2 baking sheets with baking paper.
    2
    Heat the butter, treacle, golden syrup and sugar gently in a pan until the butter melts and the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat and allow to cool a little.
    3
    In a large bowl, mix together the flour and spices.
    4
    Pour the melted butter mixture into the bowl and stir to combine with the spiced flour.
    5
    Dissolve the bicarbonate of soda into 1tbsp of the milk and add to the bowl. Combine to make a smooth dough, adding more of the milk as needed. Wrap in clingfilm and chill in the fridge for at least 30 mins to firm up.
    6
    On a work surface lightly dusted with flour, roll out the dough to about ½cm thick. Cut out shapes using the cookie cutters, re-rolling the offcuts until all the dough is used up. Arrange on the baking sheets, spaced apart, then bake for 10-15 mins until starting to brown at the edges.
    7
    Remove from the oven and, while the biscuits are still soft, make one hole in each with the point of a skewer. It should be large enough to thread the ribbon through, but with plenty of biscuit surrounding it. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack and allow to cool completely.
    8
    To decorate (up to 1 day before eating), mix the icing sugar with 3-5tsp cold water to form a stiff paste. Fill the piping bag and carefully pipe on dots or lines on to decorate the biscuits. If using edible silver balls, add while the icing is still wet.
    9
    Allow the biscuits to dry. Once the decoration is dry, thread some ribbon through the hole and tie the ends together with a knot.
    10
    Eat the biscuits within 1 day of icing. If making ahead, store the undecorated biscuits in an airtight container for up to 4 days, or freeze for up to 1 month.