Swedish Gingerbread Cookies

INGREDIENTS

• 75ml golden syrup
• 125g sugar
• 100g butter
• 75ml cream
• ½ teaspoon ground ginger
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 350g plain flour

For the icing

• 150g icing sugar
• 2–3 teaspoons water

METHOD

1. Line a baking tray with a silicone baking mat or just lightly dust flour on the surface.
2. Place a large pot over a medium heat and add in the golden syrup, sugar and butter. Melt the mixture down until the butter has melted and the sugar is completely dissolved.
3. Take the pot off the heat and stir through the cream and spices. Add the bicarbonate of soda and flour a little bit at a time, mixing with a wooden spoon until you have mixed it all through.
4. Work the dough together until you have a loose mixture. Cover and leave in a cool place overnight and the next day you should be left with a thick dough.
5. Preheat the oven to 200˚C / 400˚F / Gas Mark 6
6. Flour a work surface and roll out the dough to the thickness of about 2mm. So basically as thin as you can because you want the biscuits to rise only slightly so they will be nice and crisp when they cool.
7. Using cutters of your choice (though you can't go wrong with a gingerbread man) cut out the biscuits and place on the lined baking trays.
8. Place in the oven for 10 minutes or until the biscuits are a rich brown colour. Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool
9. Work through the rest of the dough making biscuits and make sure to use up the pastry scraps by pressing them together so you can roll the dough out again and cut more biscuits.
10. To make the icing, sift the icing sugar into a small bowl. Add two teaspoons of water and mix until smooth. Add a few drops more water if needed, until you have a thick icing that is suitable for piping or drizzling.
11. Once the biscuits are completely cool, transfer the icing to a piping bag or a small food bag with the corner snipped off. Decorate the biscuits as desired and leave the icing to set before serving.