Gingerbread Skeletons (Egg Free) with Video!

About two or so years ago, a friend of mine came to visit me around Halloween time, and she brought to me a small gingerbread man with a skeleton iced onto it; it was branded as a "Jack the Skeleton" biscuit, which made me chuckle. Ever since then, I've been curious about making some myself, but have had difficulty finding a gingerbread recipe that mimicked the soft, chewiness of the Jack the Skeleton biscuit.

This recipe, unlike the usual recipe I use, has a high ratio of sugar and syrup to flour, which renders the need to use egg as a binder redundant. Also, if you replace the butter with some good ol' margarine this recipe can be completely vegan! The icing is a very simple mix of butter, icing sugar, and water, so this doesn't use the traditional royal icing decoration. 

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DIFFICULTY

Requires mixing, rolling out, and cutting shapes

TIME

About 3 hours

RECIPE RATING

Easy!

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INGREDIMENTS

Makes six 3 inch gingerbread men

4 ounces (115 grammes) white spelt flour

¼ teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons ginger

1 teaspoon mixed spice

One pinch to a ¼ teaspoon ground cloves, to taste

2 ounce (55 grammes) unsalted butter, or margarine

2 ounces (55 grammes) golden syrup

2ounces (55 grammes) dark brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

To decorate

2 teaspoons (10 millilitres) melted unsalted butter, or margarine
2 ounces (55 grammes) icing sugar, sieved
Water, to mix

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FREE FROM

Eggs, nuts, wheat

CONTAINS

Spelt, dairy (italics show alternatives), refined sugar

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METHOD

First, make the biscuits

• In a jug or bowl, heat the butter, syrup, and sugar in the microwave at 50% power for a minute at a time until the butter has melted and the syrup is runny. Mix well.
• Sieve the flour, salt, spices, and baking soda into a mixing bowl, make a well in the centre, and pour in the melted butter and syrup mixture. Mix with a spatula or spoon until you have a very soft dough.
• Pour the dough out onto a piece of cling film, and wrap it up. Pop it into the fridge for an hour, or until firm.
• Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F, Gas Mk.4), and line one or two flat baking trays with non-stick paper.
• Roll the dough out on a floured surface to a quarter inch (5 millimetres) thick, and cut into gingerbread man shapes. Re-roll the scraps, trying not to mix in too much of the flour dusting.
• Lie the gingerbread men out on the tray(s), and chill for about 10 minutes before baking on the centre shelf of the oven for only 6 to 7 minutes for soft chewy biscuits, or up to 9 minutes for crispy biscuits.
• After the biscuits are baked, remove the tray(s) from the oven and cool the biscuits on the tray for about 10 minutes before moving to a wire rack to cool completely.

To decorate

• Mix the icing sugar and melted butter together in a small bowl, adding only enough water to make a thickly flowing icing.
• Make a small baking paper piping cone, and fill halfway with icing. Snip off the end, and pipe on the skeleton bodies.
• Allow to set for about 30 minutes before serving.

STORAGE

These keep for up to 2 weeks in an airtight container at room temperature.