What is more Festive than an Edible Baby Jesus?!
Oh my our Christmas Countdown is going quick, only a few days left until the big day! I hope you have been enjoying my festive blogs, and getting some good tips and recipes on how to have a super naturally healthy Christmas.
On Sunday I shared my sister’s fail safe spelt gingerbread recipe which is a doddle to make and great for engaging young minds (ie kids!)
Today I am sharing with you a grain and gluten free recipe for those of you who like me are sensitive to wheat or gluten or who are following specific healing diets (like GAPS or SCD). This is also a Paleo friendly recipe for all you cavemen/women out there!
Now , just incase making a grain/gluten free recipe isn’t enough, I decided to make a nativity scene from it! This is our first Christmas in our new flat and our first one as a married couple in the UK (we were in Hawaii last year – hard times…) so I have been busy making salt dough decorations and stabbing oranges with cloves to adorn our home. But it dawned on me that there was not nativity with a mini baby jesus, so instead of buying an expensive one I have just attempted to make an edible, naturally healthy one. I love to create natural, nutritious and healing versions of all of our favourite recipes, and perhaps even more so at Christmas. Just because your want to eat naturally or heal your body you don’t have to miss out on festive treats!
A Note on Icing
Icing is pretty important for gingerbread houses as it is what keeps them up! Normally you would use royal icing as it dries like a rock and is a great glue. Feel free to use royal icing (recipe here) it is jammed packed with refined sugars but you don’t have to eat the iced bits, just use it to hold it together.
BUT in true style I decided to go all natural and trial out a completely healthy icing to hold this nativity together, which is in the recipe below. Now it did work (Praise the Lord!) but it is not as stable as standard royal icing so you need to be very delicate with it even when dry. But it works and looks just like standard icing does it not?
This recipe is also great for standard gingerbread biscuits and makes a small nativity with character. For a massive gingerbread house you would need to double recipe.
Yum – I cant wait to demolish this festive beast!
Grain Free Gingerbread Men/House
Ingredients
- 400 g Ground Almonds
- 50 g linseeds ground
- 100 g Organic Butter
- 1 tbsp Ground Ginger
- 1/4 tsp Ground Cloves
- 1/8 tsp a good pinch Nutmeg
- 1 tsp Cinnamon
- 4 Tbsp Honey
- 1 tsp Molasses
- Coconut Butter Icing
- 5 tbsp Coconut Oil
- 25 g Organic Butter
- 30 g Coconut Cream
- 1 tbsp Raw Honey
- 1 tsp Vanilla Essence
Instructions
- Melt the butter, honey and molasses on a low heat.
- Mix into all the other ingredients thoroughly.
- Wrap in baking parchment or cling film and place in fridge until the dough is firm. Preheat oven to 160c.
- Remove from fridge and place between 2 sheets of baking parchment/greaseproof paper and roll out with a rolling pin.
- Then cut into the shapes you want for a house or use cookie cutters for just biscuits.
- Cook at 150c until golden and stiffer, about 45mins.
- Allow to cool.
- Icing
- Melt the butter, coconut cream and oil in a pan on low heat. Add the honey and vanilla and mix well.
- Place in the fridge and every few minutes stir the mixture.
- Then once it have gone slightly white in colour remove it and whisk and you will find it becomes buttery and thick. Then you can put it in a piping bag or do it by hand to decorate your gingerbread!
Notes
Store in the fridge.
Decorate with whatever you want!
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