The Christmas baking has begun!  I made these gingerbread biscuits for the children of a very good friend of mine. I hadn’t made them before, but was pleased with how they turned out. Obviously, I had to test a few for quality control before I gave them away! The recipe comes from Mima Sinclair’s book ‘Gingerbread Wonderland’ which is being featured in quite a few of my food magazines at the moment. This particular recipe was in Woman & Home, Feel Good Food, Christmas, 2015. The only thing I changed was the shape of the biscuits; I would just use whatever shaped cookie cutters you have. Happy festive baking!

Ingredients

160g runny clear honey

110g unsalted butter

50g ground almonds

250g plain flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1 tablespoon ground ginger

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

2 teaspoons cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

To decorate

150g icing sugar

1 medium egg white

2-3 tablespoons cold water

100g dark chocolate, melted

Directions

• Melt the honey and butter in a small saucepan over a low heat. Stir continuously until combined. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool for 15 minutes
• Heat the oven to 160°C/140°C fan/ gas Mark 3. Line 2 large baking tins with greaseproof paper.
• Place the ground almonds in a large bowl and sieve over the remaining ingredients.
• Pour over the butter and honey mixture and stir until it becomes a dough.
• Roll out the dough to 2cm thick and using a heart cutter, cut into biscuits. Soften the edges of the hearts with your fingers. Place on the lined baking tray. Bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes, until just golden brown at the edges. Leave to cool for 5 minutes on the trays then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
• Meanwhile, mix the icing sugar, egg white and water together to make a thin runny icing. Brush the lebkuchen with the icing. Leave for 15 minutes to dry, then repeat the process. Leave to set.
• Dip the lebkuchen into the melted chocolate to coat the base and a few millimetres up the sides. Drizzle the remaining chocolate in a zig zag pattern over the top.