Gingerbread men

Method

• step 1

  Melt the butter, syrup, treacle and muscovado sugar in a large pan over a low heat, stirring with a wooden spoon until the sugar crystals have dissolved. Remove from the heat and leave to cool for 10 minutes.

• step 2

  Sift the flour over the butter mixture, then add the bicarb, spices and a pinch of fine sea salt. Mix well with a wooden spoon or spatula until the mixture comes together into a soft dough. Transfer the dough to a sheet of baking paper, wrap and chill for 30 minutes to firm up.

• step 3

  Roll the dough out to the thickness of a £1 coin between two sheets of baking paper (you may need to do this in batches). Stamp out as many gingerbread people as you can using a cutter and transfer these to a baking tray lined with baking paper, spaced well apart. Re-roll the offcuts and repeat until you have 20-25 biscuits (you may need to use a second baking tray). Chill for 10 minutes.

• step 4

  Heat the oven to 170C/fan 150C/gas 3. Bake the gingerbread for 10-12 minutes or until lightly golden. Cool on the tray for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

• step 5

  Mix icing sugar with ½ tbsp of water to make a thick, pipeable icing. Spoon into a piping bag and snip off the tip. Pipe faces and buttons on the cooled gingerbread people, or use the icing to stick on sweets. You can also use melted chocolate, if you prefer.