Gingerbread Family
Makes 6 large and 9 small
YOU WILL NEED
36 cm x 25 cm baking pan
pastry brush
pair of scissors
medium mixing bowl
measuring spoons
electric beaters
spatula
rolling pin
gingerbread family cookie cutters
1 x 390 g Ina Paarman's Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix
2 T (30 ml) ground ginger
125 g butter at room temperature
1 extra-large or jumbo egg at room temperature
ginger bread cookie cutters
sugar flowers
icing pens
reserved choc chips
Butter and line a 36 cm x 25 cm baking pan with baking paper. Adjust oven rack to one slot above middle shelf. Preheat oven to 180°C. Remove the choc chips from cookie mix and keep on one side for decorations. Add ginger to the dry mix. Mix cookies according to package instructions, leaving out the choc chips. Flatten the dough into the pan with your hand and then roll it level with a floured rolling pin.
Using the cookie cutters, cut shapes into the dough as economically as possible.
Without lifting the ginger bread family, bake them all together in the pan. Bake for 20 minutes until golden brown. While still warm re-cut on the marked lines using the cutters again. When cooled, carefully lift onto a cooling rack. Lots of left over bits for kitchen nibbles. Decorate as illustrated. Store in an airtight container.
INA'S TIP: We also found that one can only cut the cookies once, immediately when they come out of the oven, before the mixture hardens. But the cutters get very hot so best to press them down using a coffee mug.
