Scents from the festive oven

Nothing smells like Christmas more than gingerbread baking in the oven. This spicy cookie is a seasonal favorite that is very easy to make. Pauline D. Loh spells out the pointers.

Two weekends before Christmas is when I dive into the store cupboard and dust off my baking sheets. It's gingerbread time, and this is when I bake enormous batches for friends, family and the Christmas tree. These festive biscuits are more than just good eating, they make great tree ornaments as well.

We have baked our own hearts and stars for our potted evergreen for several years now. The best thing is, when it's time to return it to the garden again, most of the dcor is already gone, pinched by boys, girls and puppies as they trot past the tree.

I learned how to make gingerbread from a classmate's mother. We were poor students away from home, and scant pocket money had already gone into new outfits and little presents for Christmas. We had a tree whose bare branches were decorated with meager strands of tinsel and a paucity of ornaments that shamed us.

The kind lady decided to donate a few crystal globes for our dormitory tree but her greatest gift was an invitation to her kitchen, where she taught us how to make gingerbread ornaments. We made shooting stars, hearts, angels and boy and girl cutouts. To make them hang right on the tree, we poked holes into the top of the biscuit with a drinking straw and threaded the cookies with brightly colored ribbons.

That year, we had the proudest little Christmas tree in Berkeley.

Some of us are grandmothers now, but those of us still in touch regularly share recipes via e-mails, and you can be sure that one of the most frequent exchanges at Christmas revolves around Aunty Genene's original gingerbread recipe.

My version of the original has undergone its fair share of changes as I adapted it to my own family's preferences. Still, I think I have stayed true to the spirit. These gingerbread cookies are delicious fresh from the oven, but they also develop a very mellow flavor as the spices gentle.

I have a lot of fun baking these cookies in many different shapes, but I have even more fun decorating them. All you need is a batch of white icing, lots of sugar balls and dragees and plenty of imagination.

I found some Mickey Mouse cookie cutters, and also used my traditional gingerbread man and teddy bear cutters. This year, I even made bone-shaped biscuits for the dogs. I reckon they might as well get their portions since they steal all the cookies hanging on the bottom branches any way.

This is one recipe that really is foolproof. The only thing you have to worry about is not to let them get too scorched in the oven. As usual, baking time depends on the sort of oven you have, so be sensible and watch your cookies. When they turn a light golden brown, take them out. They will harden as they cool, and the color will also darken.

If you want to hang these up, remember to poke a hole at the top end of each cookie. I find that a sturdy drinking straw is ideal for the purpose. Press the straw down where you want the hole to be and give the straw a little turn to release the soft dough. Works like a charm every time.

If you are very ambitious and want to make a gingerbread house, go online and get a template, and remember that you will need to roll the dough out thicker so the sections of the house won't crumble. A thicker icing will make a fine "mortar".

Recipe | Gingerbread

Ingredients (makes lots!):

Dry ingredients:

3 cups all purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

2 tbsp ground ginger

2 tsp 5-spice powder (or mixed spice)

120 g butter, room temperature

100 g soft brown sugar

1 large egg

160 ml dark honey

2 tbsp chopped crystallized ginger

Icing:

Lemon juice

Icing sugar

Silver or gold dragees

Colored sugar balls

Method:

1. Sift dry ingredients together.

2. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and honey and beat until well combined. Gradually beat in dry ingredients. Fold in finely chopped crystallized ginger at the end.

3. Divide dough into two batches. Wrap in plastic and chill.

(This helps you get evenly rolled dough.)

4. Preheat oven to 175 C. Line baking sheets with baking parchment.

5. Roll out dough between two large sheets of plastic wrap or parchment paper. The dough will stick to the rolling pin if you roll on it directly.

6. Shape cookies and transfer to lined baking sheets.

7. Make a hole in each cookie by wiggling a pointed chopstick or skewer to create a hole. You can use a drinking straw to poke a hole as well.

8. Bake cookies for about 12 to 15 minutes, depending on how large or small you have cut them. Watch the first batch to estimate your timing. Cool cookies down on rack before icing.

To make icing:

1. Sift icing sugar into bowl and slowly add just enough lemon juice to form a spreadable icing.

Add less rather than more juice and adjust consistency till you get it right.

2. Ice the gingerbread cookies and decorate as you will.

Food notes:

If you are catering for a more adult party, you can cut the gingerbread cookies into squares or rounds. Brush the top with a little water and top with granulated sugar crystals. Bake them a mite longer than you would for the recipe above so the cookie hardens more. This is the much-loved ginger snaps in the traditional biscuit tin. Enjoy!