Edible Christmas tree decorations are deliciously homespun. These mini gingerbread houses with their pretty stained glass windows look so enticing you’ll need to keep a close eye on hungry guests over the festive season – you may find your decorations have suddenly disappeared from your tree.
In this recipe, the richly spiced dough is shaped into little wooden houses, Scandi-style, but you can shape them in any way you want; stars, trees, or even the family pet. Making the “stained glass” windows couldn’t be easier, and it gives the biscuits that added wow factor – pinks, reds and yellows work really well with the greens of a fir tree.
These decorations are also the perfect edible gift, and will keep well on your tree or in an airtight container for a couple of weeks. For added ease, all the ingredients are available to buy at Aldi. You can vary the spices you use if you’re not so keen on a big hit of ginger – swap it out for more cinnamon, if you like, or even add some orange zest into the dough for a little freshness. You might also want to flavour your icing; lemon or almond extract are very light in colour if you’re looking for it to stay snow white.
Gingerbread Christmas tree decorations
200g dark brown sugar
100ml honey
125g butter
500g flour
½ tsp salt
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp baking powder
1 egg, beaten
To decorate
125g icing sugar
1 tbsp water
1 packet boiled sweets
Makes 12-16
Melt the sugar, butter and honey in a saucepan, then remove from the heat and allow to cool a little.
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4, then line two trays with baking paper. Mix the flour, salt, spices and baking powder in a large mixing bowl, then add the butter mixture and egg, stirring until combined and forming a dough. Wrap in clingfilm, then allow to rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Next, roll out the dough to around 1cm thick, then, using a sharp knife, cut out a house shape around 8cm tall.
Make a small hole at the top of each house to thread ribbon through, then cut out a rectangle at the bottom of the house to form the door, and two squares either side above it to form windows. Put on the lined baking trays; you should have around 12-16, so will need two trays.
Next, crush three sweets per house, green for the door, and red, yellow or orange for the windows, then sprinkle into the holes. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until golden brown, then remove from the oven. If the dough has expanded over the holes, push it aside so you can see the “glass”, then let them cool for 10 minutes on the tray before moving to a wire rack.
To decorate, mix the water with the icing sugar, then put into a piping bag and outline the roof, doors and windows. You can even add a little red food colouring to the roof, if you like. Allow the icing to harden, then thread through some red ribbon and hang on the tree.
