Will it run away?

For the coming Christmas, we are trying out the some Christmas recipe at home. Ethan and Emmanuel requested to make the Cookies House again this year. Instead of cookies house, I proposed them the Gingerbread man. They like the idea. Indeed, they had read the story of the "The Run away Gingerbread man", I think it will be fun for them to hands on for the little tiny gingerbread man. Selected the simple Gingerbread man recipe for kids at home. First time doing it, not sure what to expect, just hope they enjoy with it, and bring us more laughter together. 

Early in the morning, after Daddy go to work and we started our work too. Today our homeschooling activities will be "Gingerbread man hand craft"! They boys shouted hooray and we start. 

Gingerbread Ingredients

125g butter, softened

½ cup brown sugar, packed

½ cup molasses

1 egg yolk

2 ½ cups plain flour

1 tbsp fresh grated ginger

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

Cream room temperature butter and brown sugar together. Then add egg yolk and molasses, mix until combined. Add flour, ginger, cinnamon and bicarbonate soda. Done for the dough crumb. 

Place onto a piece of baking paper and then cover with another piece of baking paper – using a rolling pin, roll out the dough. This is the important step to avoid the dough stick on the table or on the hands. Which will mess up the place! Then chill it in the freezer till it turn little harder, ~around 30 minutes.  Then the dough will be easily cut out gingerbread man shape. We fine that it is hard to remove the gingerbread man to another baking paper. It will change the shape of the gingerbread man, it break easily. So instead of remove to another baking paper, we just remove the outer part of it. Let the tiny man stay on the baking paper.

Preheat oven, 180c. Then bake for 8-10 minutes. Once baked, let cool for 10 minutes on the tray and then transfer to cooling rack. Done. It is now ready for decoration.

Along the years, I collected some Gingerbread man cutter. So nice, now we have 5 different cutters and it simply represent "Daddy, Mummy, Gogo, Didi, Meimei". Love it!

Ethan : "Mummy, we supposedly to make the gingerbread man right?! This is gingercookies not bread mah!"

I stunned for a while... yeah hoh, I didn't realize it till Ethan highlighted it. 

Once the "Gingercookies man" is done, we started to decorate it. I am so impressed that Emmanuel know what to do with it. He trying to draw its eyes, mouth and then the buttons to the "Gingercookies man". Indeed, he loves the story of the Gingerbread man. 

Emmanuel : "Mummy, will the gingerbread man run away?"

Mummy : "Yeah, the Gingerbread man will open the door and run away!"

Emmanuel : "Over here don't have forest ah!"

Mummy : "But the wolf is waiting out there there..." howling to scare him.... 

Emmanuel : "Where? Where the wolf?!"......"Then we go to rescue him!"

Mummy : "You made the gingerbread man, so you have to go alone!"

Emmanuel : "eeeeerrrrr......I scared woh....." He looked so nervous!!! Oh my dear Didi....

After the first and only Gingercookies they drawn, they got distracted and never get back to their work. 

Ethan : "The ginger will warm my stomach!", "Mummy, Gingerbread man is not junk food!"

Egracia : "Pooo...." Peekabooo"

Our production line stopped at the only 3 little Gingercookies man. Then we called off the day. 

Will these 3 little men run away?

Merry Christmas & looking forward for the 2013++ Christmases with my loved one.

For the years we celebrate the Christmas, I hope we will still remembering the taste of the "Gingercookies man", its fragrant the house. It just like to remember the season of love and peace. The hope is already born for us.