Name: Gingerbread man
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 1 h
Yield: Makes 12 big gingerbread men
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 140g unsalted butter; 100g dark muscovado sugar; 3 tbsp golden syrup; 350g plain flour; 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda; 2 tsp ground ginger; 1 tsp ground cinnamon; pinch of cayenne pepper (optional); 2 balls stem ginger from a jar, chopped; 50g icing sugar; a few glacé cherries (we used undyed); 2 balls stem ginger

140g unsalted butter
100g dark muscovado sugar
3 tbsp golden syrup
350g plain flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
pinch of cayenne pepper
(optional)
2 balls stem ginger
from a jar, chopped

To decorate

50g icing sugar
a few glacé cherries
(we used undyed)
2 balls stem ginger

Method

step 1
Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Line 2 baking sheets with baking parchment. Melt butter, sugar and syrup in a pan. Mix flour, soda, spices and a pinch of salt in a bowl. Stir in the butter mix and chopped ginger to make a stiff-ish dough.
step 2
Wait until cool enough to handle, then roll out dough to about 5mm thick. Stamp out gingerbread men, re-rolling and pressing the trimmings back together and rolling again. Lift onto baking sheets. Bake for 12 mins until golden. Cool 10 mins on the sheets, then lift onto cooling racks.
step 3
To decorate, mix icing sugar with a few drops of water until thick and smooth. Halve then slice cherries thinly to make smiles, and cut ginger into small squares. Spoon icing into a food bag, snip off the tiniest bit from one corner, then squeeze eyes and buttons, and a tiny smile onto 1 man at a time. Stick on a cherry smile and ginger buttons. Repeat; leave to set. Will keep up to 1 week in an airtight tin.