Gingerbread Autumn Leaves

I've been obsessing over anything and everything autumnal in theme on Pinterest lately, to the point where I've had to create a separate board for all the rustic and cosy seasonal inspiration I just can't seem to get enough of. What's more, if you follow me on Insta, you'll know that my autumnal obsession has had one main focus in the last week or so: leaves.

To me, autumn is the perfect season- not too hot and not too cold but cosy and rustic with just the faintest whisper of Christmastime around the corner... I think Emily Brontë perfectly sums up the joy to be found in this season in her poem, 'Fall, leaves, fall':

Fall, leaves, fall; die, flowers, away;

Lengthen night and shorten day:

Every leaf speaks bliss to me

Fluttering from the autumn tree. 

I shall smile when wreaths of snow

Blossom where the rose should grow;

I shall sing when night's decay

Ushers in a drearier day. 

As my obsession for crispy autumn leaves has clearly become intense enough to drive me to quote poetry (!) it was only going to be a matter of time before I felt the need to whip up a yummy leaf-inspired recipe to share with you all!

These spicy and seasonal biscuits are a twist on an original gingerbread recipe from the great Mary Berry herself. I've made them into a sandwich biscuit (à la custard cream) and cut out some of the darker, more 'Christmassy' gingerbread flavours to create something a little lighter and less festive in taste.

The spiced mascarpone filling adds a creamy and sweet touch to the peppery soft biscuit, but feel free to forego the extra calories and keep these as simple little cut-out cookies if you just want something yummy to dunk in your tea!

Anyway, here's what you'll need if you want to give them a go...

For the gingerbread biscuits:

- 350g/12oz plain flour
- 1 tsp. bicarbonate of soda
- 2 tsp. ground ginger
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 125g/ 4 1/2 oz butter
- 175g/6oz light soft brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 4 tbsp. golden syrup

For the filling: 

- 1 tbsp. mascarpone
- 1 tbsp. icing sugar
- 2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1. Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda, ginger and cinnamon into the bowl of a food processor or mixer. Add the butter and blend everything together until the mix looks like breadcrumbs. Pour in the sugar and mix everything together well.

2. Lightly beat the egg and golden syrup together. Add this to the dry ingredients and then mix it all together until everything clumps into a ball. Tip the dough out and knead briefly until smooth. Wrap the dough in clingfilm and pop into the fridge to chill for 15 minutes.

3. Preheat the oven to 180c/350f/Gas 4. Line two baking trays with greaseproof paper.

4. Once chilled, roll the dough out onto a lightly floured surface until roughly half a centimetre thick. Using a floured leaf cutter, cut out your shapes and place them on the pre-prepared baking trays. These biscuits will puff up and spread out just a little bit whilst baking, so be sure to leave enough room between each so they don't merge together! 

5. Take a cocktail stick and draw a leaf pattern onto each biscuit- this is far simpler to do than it at first seems, so stick with it and try not to press too hard into the dough!

6. Bake the biscuits in the oven for around 10-12 minutes, or until they have turned light brown in colour. Remove from the oven and allow the biscuits to sit on the trays for around 10 minutes before transferring them onto a rack to cool completely.

7. Whilst you wait for the biscuits to cool, prepare the filling by mixing the mascarpone, icing sugar and cinnamon together in a small bowl.

8. When the leaves are completely cool it's a good idea to partner them up with biscuits of a similar size, as this will make for a neater 'sandwich' effect. Once you have your perfect pairings, spread a small amount of the filling onto one biscuit and place its partner on the top (the same way round, don't turn it over or they won't match up!), squeezing down to evenly distribute the filling.

And that's it! These autumnal offerings will keep in an airtight container in a cool, dry place for up to a week- if you can resist gobbling them all up for that long!

Do you have any recipes you love to bake or cook at this time of year? I'd love to hear about them in the comments below. And be sure to let me know if you decide to make these for yourself, it would be lovely to see a yummy Instagram or two!


In the meantime,
All the love,

Sian x