Oxford's oldest student newspaper

Independent since 1920

Recipe: festive gingerbread stars

Emily Beswick suggests a great teatime snack, or thrifty Christmas gift

This recipe takes advantage of two things that tend to be in short supply at Oxford: time, and decent ovens. Make the most of the Christmas vacation and bake these treats at home. These stars make great snacks, as well as potential Christmas gifts if you find yourself a bit broke.

Makes around 20 (depending on size)

Ingredients

  1. 50g butter
  2. 100g caster sugar
  3. 100g runny honey
  4. 225g plain flour (plus extra for dusting)
  5. ½ tsp baking powder
  6. ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
  7. 1 tsp ground ginger
  8. 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  9. ½ medium egg
  10. To decorate (optional):
  11. Writing icing
  12. Sprinkles

Method

1 – Heat the butter, sugar and honey on a low heat in a saucepan, stirring until melted and smooth. Off the heat, add the dry ingredients and stir until crumbly, then add the egg and work to a dough (add a little flour if it seems sticky). Tip on to a work surface, and pat until you have a smooth ball of dough. Wrap in cling film and leave to chill for a few hours.

2 – Preheat oven to 180°c/160°c fan/gas 4 and grease two baking trays.

3 – Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to a thickness of about 2mm and cut out stars.

4 – Bake for about 12 mins until golden. Immediately after taking them out, loosen from the tray and place on a wire rack to cool.

5 – Decorate and serve!

Check out our other content

Most Popular Articles