Chocolate Gingerbread Men

Makes about 30 | Prep 30 mins (plus 30 mins chilling) | Bake 15 mins

These cocoa-rich gingerbread biscuits make a lovely homemade gift, and they’re a great one to bake with kids, who’ll love rolling the dough and piping on cheeky faces.

For the biscuits

• 125g butter, softened
• ½ cup dark brown sugar
• ½ cup golden syrup
• 1 egg
• 2¾ cups plain flour
• ¼ cup cocoa powder
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 3 tsp ground ginger

For the icing

• 1½ cups pure icing sugar, sifted
• 1 egg white
• 1 tsp lemon juice

Method

1. Heat the oven to 160°C (fan-forced) and line your baking trays with baking paper.
2. Using an electric mixer, cream the butter, brown sugar and golden syrup together until smooth and light. Beat in the egg until fully mixed through.
3. Add the flour, cocoa, bicarb soda and ginger, and stir until everything comes together into a dough. Shape it into a flat disc, wrap it in cling film and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
4. Lightly flour your bench and roll the dough out until it’s about 5mm thick. Cut out your gingerbread men (or any shapes you like) and arrange them on the trays.
5. Bake for 12–15 minutes, until firm and cooked all the way through. Leave them on the trays for 5 minutes to set, then move to a wire rack to cool completely.
6. To make the icing, whisk the icing sugar, egg white and lemon juice together, then let it stand for a few minutes so it thickens a little. Spoon into a piping bag fitted with a fine tip and decorate your biscuits.