Cook an Alien
Have fun and cook your very own gingerbread alien. Ask an adult to help you. Take some photos of your delightful creations and send them in.
Ingredients
- 125g softened butter or margarine
- 1/2 cup (100g) brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (125ml) golden syrup
- 1 egg
- 3 cups self-raising flour (gluten-free flour also works)
- 1tbs ground ginger
- 1tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2tsp ground cloves
- snakes, jubes, sultanas, honey to decorate
Method
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees C
- Line 2 oven trays with baking paper
- Use an electric mixer to beat the butter, sugar and golden syrup together in a large bowl until creamy
- Add the egg and beat until combined
- Add the flour, ginger, cinnamon and cloves and stir with a wooden spoon until combined
- Use your hand to knead until smooth
- Cover and rest in refrigerator for about 15 minutes
- Divide the dough into 2 portions
- Roll one portion out on a lightly floured surface to about a 4-5 mm thickness
- Use a 12cm gingerbread man pastry cutter to cut out shapes
- Reshape head by pushing in the sides to elongate and make more triangular
- Alternatively for those more creative, do not use cutter, use a blunt knife to shape by cutting freehand.
- Use a skewer to poke two holes for nostrils and draw a thin line for a mouth
- Bake in oven for 10-12 minutes
- As soon as gingerbread aliens come out of oven, decorate with sultanas and honey mixed together, snakes and lollies for eyes. Aliens need to be hot for lollies to stick while cooling.
- Repeat with remaining dough, rolling and re-rolling gingerbread.
Alien Submissions
“I just have to stop the kids eating too many aliens at once! They are still decorating some today so it was a good school holiday activity,” Submitted by Helen, with help from Peter and Emma.
“I made these for school during book week. They were very yummy and a huge success!” Submitted by Sean.
