"You can't catch me I'm the gingerbread man"

There is something so fascinating about gingerbread men. You bake them and they come out looking merely like oddly shaped cookies. Once you start icing them however they start to build character and have very human elements to them. That is why it's so fascinating that people are sometimes rather sadistic in the way they consume these little gingerbread men.

Have you ever noticed how people relish biting off the head off these fun little treats? It's very similar to the jelly babies fate unfortunately. Whichever way you eat them either kindly or cruelly, they are such fun to make. You can also use them as bases to create an array of characters, a cow perhaps or a jolly santa claus for the upcoming festive season? The options are endless. I shall give you the first building block with my ever so simple gingerbread man recipe, here it is:

Ingredients:

125g butter, at room temperature

90g brown sugar

2/3 cup of syrup

1 large egg

380g cake flour

10ml ground ginger

5ml mixed spice

5ml bicarbonate of soda

1. First step is to cream the butter and sugar together. Do this for about 5 minutes so it's light and fluffy.
2. Add a pinch of the flour, the egg and syrup beat until it mixed.
3. Add all your dry ingredients and beat until it forms a nice dough.
4. Clingwrap your dough and let it chill for 30 minutes.
5. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees celsius.
6. Roll out dough and cut out your little men or women on a lightly floured surface.
7. Bake for 12-15 minutes until they are beautifully golden and your kitchen smells glorious.

Wait for the little dears to cool and decorate to your hearts content. I have a great royal icing recipe that I found trawling the internet one day for a royal icing recipe that is good, easy and you can pipe beautifully with it. I have found the trifecta of royal icing courtesy of the domestic goddess herself, the divine Nigella Lawson.

Here is the recipe:

2 egg whites

3 cups of icing sugar, sifted

1 teaspoon of lemon juice

1. Place all ingredients in a mixer and whisk for 5 minutes or until gloriously glossy and thick. Colour to your whimsy and decorate away.