Christmas Animal Biscuits

Delicious and simple, Christmas Biscuits that your kiddies will want to make over and over again…

what you need…

• 225g self raising flour
• 1/2 tsp of ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp of ground cinnamon
• 115g caster sugar
• 115g butter softened
• 1 egg beaten
• winter animal or Christmas biscuit cutters
• rolling pin
• mixing bowl
• measuring scales
• teaspoon
• wooden spoon
• small bowl for beating egg

what to do…

1. heat oven to 180
2. add flour, cinnamon, ginger, caster sugar and butter
3. rub the mixture with your finger tips to resemble fine breadcrumbs
4. beat the egg and add to the mixture
5. knead together to make a dough
6. sprinkle some flour on the table and roll out dough
7. using the biscuit cutters create your shapes
8. place in oven for 12 minutes
9. remove from oven, allow to cool
10. decorate with icing, and decorations

into a little dream adventure…

• with your Christmas Animal Biscuits, ask your child to make a little story using the characters they have baked, write it down as you follow them into the world of their imagination, or even better ask them to draw or write the story themselves…moving the characters as they go
• what animals have the made? can they recognise the characters, where does that animal live? talk about the different characteristics of the animal, how many legs, are they nocturnal, do they fly, where do they like to make their home?
• with the biscuits, maybe use them as an early language and literacy exercise. Using magnetic letters, or even letters from a scrabble set, or if you are lucky enough to have the Montessori sand paper letters or large move able alphabet  use these. Ask you child to recognise the initial sounds in the name of the animal, can they find the correct letter, matching the sound. Maybe they can match all the letter sounds heard, to the animal shape such as f-o-x. Or maybe if they are a little older ask them to find all the letters to spell out the name of the animal, or write it down