Nom nom nom: Gingerbread men

One of my favourite Christmas memories is my grandfather baking gingerbread men. He loved to cook and our grandparents spoiled us rotten. When we went to stay my grandmother would bring us a tray of breakfast in bed with some grapes, some juice and some biscuits. So why not make some gingerbread men and serve them to someone special as a breakfast in bed treat? Decadent? Yes. Biscuits for breakfast mean a good start to the day.

Get these things:
75g softened butter
50g caster sugar
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
50g golden syrup
2 egg yolks
250g plain flour
½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground ginger

Do these things:
Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Beat together the softened butter with the caster sugar until creamy. Stir in bicarbonate of soda, golden syrup and the egg yolks. Sift in the plain flour and ground cinnamon and ground ginger then bring together with a wooden spoon. Shape into two balls, knead until the dough comes together, then chill for 30 mins. Roll out one ball at a time, to about 2 x £1 coin thickness. Stamp out the men (or women, if you like your Christmas treats to be politically correct), then re-roll the trimmings. Lift dough onto greased baking sheets and bake for 10-12 mins until slightly risen and golden brown. Let them cool on a wire rack while you sniff the air and hum Christmas songs (this step is essential). If you want to store them, they'll last about a week in a tupperware but we all know that's not going to be a problem...