Gingerbread Place Settings

Preheat the oven to 180°C (fan 160°C, gas mark 4). Line a couple of baking trays with greaseproof paper.

Sieve the flour, ginger and bicarbonate of soda into a large bowl. Using your fingertips rub in the butter until you get a fine breadcrumb texture, then add the sugar and stir in.

Whisk the beaten egg and the golden syrup and add to the bowl. Mix to form a dough.

Lightly flour your work surface then roll out the dough to a thickness of 3-4mm. Cut out the shapes using a gingerbread cutter and lay each one out onto the baking trays.

Bake in the oven for about 10 minutes until golden brown.

Once baked, leave to cool on a wire rack.

To make writing icing, mix the icing sugar with a few drops of water until it forms a smooth and loose paste (runny enough to pipe but not too runny it won't set). Fill your piping bag with the icing and decorate as you wish. 

Fancy doing something different with your gingerbread? Why not try these?