‘Feeling Festive’ Gingerbread

Method

1. In a small pan, heat the sugar, syrup and butter together until melted, stirring occasionally, then set aside and allow to cool a little.
2. In a large bowl, mix the bicarbonate of soda, ginger, cinnamon and flour, then add the sugar, syrup and butter mixture and incorporate into a dough, along with the egg. Stir it all together and then gently knead.
3. On a sheet of greaseproof paper, shape the dough into a rectangle and place another parchment sheet on top, then roll the dough out, until it is around 1/2cm thick. Pop onto a baking tray and allow the dough to chill for 1 hour in the fridge.
4. Preheat the oven to 190C/170C fan and line another baking tray with parchment. Remove the chilled dough from the fridge and use a cookie cutter of your choice to cut Christmas shapes out of your dough – we like snowflakes!
5. Spread the gingerbread shapes out on the parchment and bake for 10-12 minutes, then allow them to cool on the tray, once removed from the oven.
6. Whilst the gingerbread is cooling, begin making the icing, by mixing the icing sugar with 1 or 2 tablespoons of water. Take care not to add too much water, as you will need the icing to be pipeable and not too runny. Once the biscuits have cooled, use a piping bag and nozzle to decorate them. Try adding your coloured sprinkles or Christmas sweets for an extra special touch!