Gingerbread Men / Women / Inanimate Objects

Ingredients :

125g unsalted butter
100g dark muscovado sugar
4 tbsp golden syrup
325g plain flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 tsp ground ginger

Method :

• Preheat the oven to 170°C, gas mark 3. Line baking trays with baking parchment. Melt the butter, sugar and syrup in a medium saucepan, stirring occasionally, then remove from the heat.

• Sieve the flour, bicarbonate of soda and ginger into a bowl and stir the melted ingredients into the dry ingredients to make a stiff dough.

• Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and roll to a thickness of about 5mm. Dip biscuit cutters into flour before cutting the dough, or cut around templates, which you can find at waitrose.com/christmas. Place the shapes onto the lined baking trays and bake, in batches, for 8-9 minutes until light golden brown.

Or Alternatively:

• 350g (12 oz) plain flour
• 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 115g (4 oz) butter, cubed
• 175g (6 oz) soft light brown sugar
• 4 tablespoons golden syrup
• 1 egg, beaten

1. Preheat the oven to 190 C / Gas mark 5. Lightly grease or line two baking trays.
2. Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda and ginger into a bowl. Rub in the butter with your fingertips until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs; stir in sugar. Beat syrup into egg then stir into flour mixture.
3. Knead the dough until smooth. Roll out to 1/2 cm thick on a lightly floured surface; stamp or cut out desired gingerbread men shapes.
4. Bake in the preheated oven until golden and puffed, about 10-12 minutes. Let them sit on the tray for a few minutes before moving to a wire rack.