Recipe of the week - 14th December 2011

Gingerbread Tree Biscuits

Ingredients

75g softened butter
50g caster sugar
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
50g golden syrup
2 egg yolks
250g plain flour
½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground ginger

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees C.
2. Beat together the softened butter and caster sugar until pale and creamy.
3. Add the bicarbonate of soda, golden syrup and egg yolks, stir to thoroughly combine.
4. Sift in the flour, ginger and cinnamon. Stir again.
5. Place your hands into the bowl, and kneed all of the ingredients until you form a ball of dough.
6. Wrap the dough in cling film and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
7. Dust a surface and rolling pin with flour.
8. Place the dough on the surface and pat to flatten. Then, use a rolling pin to roll the dough out until it is the thickness of a one pound coin.
9. Use a tree cutter to cut the biscuits.
10. Then place onto a greased baking tray and pop into the oven for 10-12 minutes or until slightly golden.
11. Place the biscuits on a wire cooling rack to cool.
12. Decorate your tree biscuits with white icing (made by sieving icing sugar and mixing with a dash of water) and silver edible balls.

Feel free to hang the biscuits on the tree for a home-made touch or simply scoff the lot!