Gingerbread Christmas Tree Decorations

Do not preheat the oven just yet, your dough needs to chill for at least 2 hours.

Mix the golden syrup, orange juice, sugar, cinnamon and vanilla paste in a pan and heat. Stir this regularly on a low to medium heat until all the sugar has dissolved and everything has melted and combined.

Add the butter and stir gently until it is fully incorporated. Then add the bicarbonate of soda and whisk into the hot mix until it is fluffy and paler in colour.

Tip the mix into your stand mixer bowl and when it has cooled slightly add all the flour and beat on 'slow', or mix with a wooden spoon, until the mixture comes together and resembles dough.

Turn the mixture out onto 2 large pieces of cling film laid out in a cross formation and wrap up to seal the block of dough. Chill for at least 2 hours before rolling, or leave overnight in a fridge and roll out the next day.

 

Tip: This can be frozen for up to a month. To defrost, leave the wrapped dough in the fridge overnight. In the morning,  leave it out at room temperature for an hour. After, knead the dough to make it pliable.

When you are ready to bake, preheat the oven to 180'c fan.

Using a little plain flour, knead and roll out to an even thickness. Cut out using Christmas cookie shapes and then place on a lined baking sheet leaving a couple of centimetres in between each one (they may spread as they bake). Make a little hole in your cookie dough to thread with ribbon by using a straw as a hole cutter.

Bake for approximately 10-15 minutes or until the biscuits appear golden. When pressed with a fingertip, they should spring back. Leave to cool on the tray or a wire rack. Get decorating by piping coloured royal icing, edible glitter or edible silver balls.

Tip: Make your ribbon hole even stronger by piping stiff royal icing around both sides of the hole.