Ninja-bread men!

I first saw these ninja-bread cookie cutters online and immediately wanted a set. I resisted for a while as I thought the novelty would fade and they would be quickly relegated to the back of the drawer. I caved when i was asked to cook for a friend's brother's 21st brunch, as i thought they would be perfect for such an occasion. The boys loved them and i still take any excuse to use them. It is just such a cute and hilarious idea. They are hard to find in stores but are everywhere on the internet. I got mine for a good price on ebay. You can obviously use them with any biscuit dough recipe, but ginger bread is the most authentic. This recipe comes from the Bourke Street Bakery Cookbook. A stellar book all round. It makes a massive amount of dough, so halve it or freeze a couple of the discs to avoid suffering rolling pin fatigue. I keep meaning to decorate them but always run out of time. I still think they look pretty adorable nude. 

Ingredients: 

1.125kg plain flour

1tsp salt

tsp baking soda/bicarbonate of soda

1 1/2 tblsp ground ginger

2tsps ground cinnamon

2tsps ground nutmeg

400g unsalted butter

400g soft brown sugar

320g golden syrup or honey 

1 egg

4 egg yolks

Method:

Preheat the oven to 175*C. Sift the flour, salt, baking soda and spices together in a large bowl. Put the butter, sugar and golden syrup in a large bowl and mix with hand held electric beaters (or stand mixer) until pale and creamy. Add the egg and egg yolks in a small stream and mix until well combined. Add the dry ingredients, in three batches, until thoroughly mixed through. Divide the dough into four even sized portions and flatten each portion into a disc. Cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes, or for up to three days. You can also freeze the discs. 

Remove from the fridge and allow the dough to soften slightly. Roll each disc between to sheets of baking paper, dust with some flour if they become too sticky, until about 3mm thick. Cut into shapes with ninjabread men cutters! 

Place the biscuits on baking trays lined with baking paper and bake, in batches, for 15 to 20 minutes, or until slightly puffed and golden. Allow to cool on the trays. 

If you wish, decorate with royal icing.  Store in an air tight container for up to two weeks.