Gingerbread Men and Reindeers

1.       Place the butter, light brown sugar and dark brown sugar in a bowl and creamy together, once smooth add the egg and golden syrup. Mix together to form a smooth paste. 

1.       In a separate bowl mix together the flour, Bicarbonate of Soda, cinnamon and ginger. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix together until a dough is formed – this is easiest to do in a free standing mixer but you can also mix the dough together by hand.

1.       Once the dough has formed, knead on a surface lightly dusted with flour. Roll out the dough to a thickness about ½ cm and cut out gingerbread men with a cutter about 12cm in height, re-rolling the dough as required. 

1.       Place the gingerbread men on a tray lined with greaseproof paper, spaced slightly apart. Chill your gingerbread men in the fridge for about 30 minutes.

1.       10 minutes before baking pre-heat the oven to 200°C (180°C Fan/ Gas Mark 5). Once chilled place your gingerbread men in the oven for 12-15 minutes, until slightly darker in colour, the biscuits will firm up on cooling. Allow your biscuits to cool on the baking tray for 10 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. 

1.       Once cooled it’s time to begin decorating; use your designer icing to pipe the details onto the gingerbread men and reindeers. – if the designer icing is too firm place in a jug of warm water for a minute to loosen the icing.

Use the Writing Icing, Chocolate Chips and Sprinkles to add more intricate details and get creative!