Biscuits for crafters: Gingerbread biscuit recipe

Use Messyla's tasty gingerbread recipe to make your own cute crafty biscuits!

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Published: December 22, 2014 at 12:28 pm

If, like us, you love crafting with a large mug of tea and the occasional sneaky snack then this one's for you. It's your turn to wow the foodies with crafty biscuits perched atop the rim of their mug. This gingerbread biscuit recipe, written by Messyla, bakes in just 18 minutes so there's lots of time to perfect the icing, but they're really easy to make so it shouldn't take any time at all. Whip up a batch as thoughtful homemade gifts, for winter crafternoons or post Christmas dinner treats.

Disclaimer: your kitchen may become an extension of your craft room. Sorry.

Gingerbread biscuit recipe 2

Ingredients:

Gingerbread biscuit recipe ingridents

For the gingerbread biscuit dough:

200g Plain Flour • ½ Teaspoon Baking Powder • ½ Teaspoon Ground Ginger • ½ Teaspoon Cinnamon • ½ Teaspoon Mixed Spice • 50g Dark Brown Soft Sugar • 100g Unsalted Butter, Softened • 50g Black Treacle

For the icing:

• 500g Icing Sugar • 3 x 5g Sachets of Egg White Powder • 90ml Water

Baking utensils:

• Scallop Rectangle Cutter • Circle Cutter • Rolling Pin • Sharp Knife • Baking Tray • Freestanding Mixer or Handheld Electric Mixer • Cooling Rack • Pink, Blue, White and Brown Food Colour • Icing Bags • Sharp Scissors • Scribe Tool

Gingerbread biscuit recipe

Step 1

Gingerbread biscuit recipe step 1

In a freestanding mixer with a paddle attachment, put your dry ingredients in the bowl and mix together.  Add your softened butter in small cubes and mix together.  Follow by the treacle and mix thoroughly.   Empty out onto a board and ball together in your hands.  Wrap in cling film and leave in the fridge for 15 minutes.

Once chilled, flour your board and roll out the dough to about 5mm in thickness.  Using a scalloped rectangle and circle cutter,  cut out as many as you can from the dough.  Take a sharp knife and cut a thin rectangle out of each for perching on your mug.  Roughly measure the thickness of your mug rim and cut the slither accordingly.

Step 2

Gingerbread biscuit recipe step 2

Place in a 170 degree oven for 18 minutes, until firm and baked.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Step 3

Gingerbread biscuit recipe step 3

In your mixer again, add the water to the mixing bowl and follow by the egg white powder and sieved icing sugar.  Mix together for 5 minutes, until icing is glossy and brilliant white.  Transfer an equal amount into bowls for colouring.

Using a small dot of colouring, little by little, combine with the icing mixture until you reach your desired colour.  I have used a pink, blue, white and pale brown.  Place a piping bag in a tall object, like a coffee pot or cocktail shaker, and empty the icing into each bag.  Put an elastic band at the top of each bag to stop it over-spilling.  Using a sharp pair of scissors, cut the tip of the bag in a straight line.

Step 4

Gingerbread biscuit recipe step 4

Take your rectangle biscuits and, using brown icing, outline the top and bottom of your bobbin.

Step 5

Gingerbread biscuit recipe step 5

Scribble some icing between the outlines and use a scribe tool – or toothpick – to smoothen the icing.  Leave to dry.

Step 6

Gingerbread biscuit recipe step 6

Outline the bobbin in blue, pink or white icing and similarly scribble in between the outlines.

Step 7

Gingerbread biscuit recipe step 7

Like in step 5, flood the bobbin icing until smooth.  Leave to dry.

Step 8

Gingerbread biscuit recipe step 8


Using your blue icing again, ice continuous lines across the bobbin to represent thread.  Using your brown icing again, add a little circle to the top of the bobbin.

Step 9

Gingerbread biscuit recipe step 9

Using your blue, white and pink icing, outline each circle biscuit.

Step 10

Gingerbread biscuit recipe step 10

Ice continuous lines, coming from the centre, like strands of yarn. Leave all biscuits to dry, on a baking tray, in a 100 degree oven, or over night.  Perch off the side of your mugs and enjoy!

We hope you have fun making Messyla’s gingerbread biscuits. Make sure you tag us in a picture of your biscuits and current craft projects on Instagram using #molliemakers.

About Messy La

La is a designer, stylist, lifestyle blogger and photographer who lives in Scotland in a tiny cottage.  She loves cats, coffee and baking sweet treats.  She loves to crochet, paper craft and sew for her small business, Messyla.  Where she makes wonderful goods that are a little bit vintage and a little bit country.  www.messyla.com