Vegetarian gingerbread men with spelt and honey

Vegetarian cut-out gingerbread men made with spelt flour, honey, butter, cocoa and gingerbread spice, with almonds as buttons. Makes about 24 for cookie plates and desserts.

At a glance

• Serves 12
• Prep time: 30 min
• Cooking time: 12 min
• Total time: 42 min
• Calories: 276 kcal per serving
• Protein: 7 g
• Fat: 7 g
• Carbs: 46 g

Ingredients

• 250g honey
• 50g butter
• 350g spelt flour
• 150g wholemeal spelt flour
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp milk
• 30g almonds
• 2 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1 tbsp gingerbread spice
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1 pinch of salt

Method

You’ll need: oven · saucepan · baking tray · cookie cutters

1. Warm the honey and butter in a pan until the butter has melted, and let the mixture cool until lukewarm.
2. Mix both spelt flours, the cocoa, gingerbread spice, bicarbonate of soda and salt. Knead in the honey butter and egg until you have a smooth dough.
3. Wrap the dough in cling film and leave it to rest in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
4. Preheat the oven to 180 °C (160 °C fan). Roll the dough out 5 mm thick and cut out gingerbread men.
5. Place them on a baking tray lined with baking paper, brush them with milk, press in almonds as buttons and bake them for 10 to 12 minutes.
6. Leave the gingerbread men to cool on a wire rack and store them in a tin.

Good to know

Cutting out gingerbread men is part of Advent for many children. This dough is sweetened only with honey and rolls out well. After two days in a tin, the little men turn soft.

Swaps

Butter → coconut oil. Almonds → hazelnuts, or raisins as eyes. Wholemeal spelt flour → rye flour (spicier). Milk → water for brushing.

Cooking tips

The dough is firm when cold and softens as you roll it. Roll it out between two sheets of baking paper so nothing sticks. The men are still soft after baking and firm up as they cool. The dough can also rest overnight.

Storage

The gingerbread men keep for 3 weeks in a cookie tin; an apple wedge in the tin keeps them soft.

Allergens

Contains gluten (spelt), milk, egg and almonds. Because of the honey, not suitable for babies under one year old; suitable for children and during pregnancy.