One of the biggest nights of the year is almost here!
The Late Late Toy Show kicks off tomorrow night, and for the past few years, families across the country have been enjoying the craze of so-called ‘Toy Show Boxes’.
These boxes are typically filled with an array of delicious treats for everyone in the family to enjoy throughout the course of the show - sweets, cupcakes, chocolate-filled delights and more.
However, with all of our purses feeling a bit of a squeeze this Christmas, it’s possible that a Toy Show Box from your local bakery or supermarket is a luxury that you cannot afford right now. Despite this, we believe that this shouldn’t stop you from joining in on the fun!
If we’re honest, we’re loving creating our very own DIY Toy Show boxes ahead of the big night tomorrow night. As well as filling it with our favourite sweets and snacks from the supermarket, it is always a lovely idea to get the kids involved in baking something for their Toy Show boxes.
If you’re looking for a Christmas-themed recipe to go along with your Toy Show surprises, then we have just the idea for you! These gingerbread biscuits from BBC Good Food are the perfect treat to include in your boxes. They are super easy and lots of fun to make:
Makes: 15-20 biscuits
Prep time: 30 minutes
Baking time: 10 minutes
Ingredients:
225g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda
1 heaped teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
50g unsalted butter
100g soft brown sugar
100g golden syrup
Icing, to decorate
Method:
First of all, heat your oven to 190°C or 170°C if you have a fan oven. Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
Sieve the flour, salt, bicarbonate of soda, ginger and cinnamon together into a large bowl.
Melt the butter, sugar and syrup together on a low heat. Once dissolved, leave it to cool slightly, and then mix it in with the dry ingredients until they form a dough.
Chill the dough in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
Once out of the fridge, lightly dust your surface with flour before rolling out your dough to a 1/4-inch thickness.
Now, this is the fun part! Cut out your dough into any shapes you wish. Of course, the most popular choice for this recipe is gingerbread men, but you can use any shapes - snowflakes, Santa, hearts, stars, whatever you like! Keep re-rolling and re-cutting until all the dough has been used. Re-dust your surface with flour as necessary.
Line all of your dough shapes onto your baking sheet, ensuring that there is sufficient space between each one, as they will spread slightly when baking.
Place your tray in the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes, until they are golden brown. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.
Once cooled, you can pipe icing onto your biscuits in any way you wish. Don’t be afraid to get creative!
Once the icing has set, you can place your biscuits in with the rest of your Toy Show Box goodies, ready for the show tomorrow night. Enjoy!
You can catch The Late Late Toy Show tomorrow night, Friday, November 25, on RTÉ One at 9:35pm.
