Tis’ the season for baking. Bring out your rolling pin and have the kids bake a traditional Christmas biscuit – gingerbread people! They can also make ginger-stars and even ginger-stockings.How cute are these guys that we decorated, in Foost style, with little cuts of vegetables (great positive veggie exposure). Carrots and celery are great to decorate your biscuits with as they have lots of colour and sultanas make for a great button shape

? Makes: 12-30, depending on size

Prep: 20 mins (plus 20 mins cooling time) Cook time: 10 mins

Ingredients

For the biscuit

• 125g unsalted butter, at room temperature
• ½ cup brown sugar
• ⅔ cup golden syrup or honey
• 2½ cups plain wholemeal flour
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon (or mixed spice)
• 1 teaspoon bicarb soda

For the icing, optional

• 125g cream cheese
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon honey (or more to taste)
• carrots/celery cut into small semi circles for noses and smile
• sultanas for eye or buttons
• shreaded coconut for hair

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 160°C
2. Place the butter and sugar in an electric mixer and beat for about 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl, until they form a creamy texture
3. Add the golden syrup (or honey), flour, ginger, cinnamon and bicarbonate soda and stir until the mixture just comes together to form a smooth dough
4. Roll dough into a ball and place in freezer for 20 mins
5. Lightly flour your surface and rolling pin
6. Roll the dough out to about 0.5cm thick
7. Using your cookie cutters, cut out shapes, re-rolling the dough as necessary (flour surface of dough if needed)
8. Place the cut shapes on 2 large baking trays lined with non-stick baking paper
9. Bake for about 10 minutes until they have a nice light brown colour (time will depend on size and thickeness of cookies)
10. Take out of the oven and allow to cool completely
11. Once cooled, mix cream cheese, honey, vanilla and milk together using a fork
12. Use a plastic zip bag with the corner cut off to pip the cream cheese for decoration, and to use as the glue for sticking the cut up vegetables. For example, you could pipe three dots and place sultanas on these for the gingerbread men’s buttons or, pip two eye dots and pip a third for the mouth, where you can lightly press a slice of celery for a smile

Notes

Best kept un-iced cookies in an airtight container in the cupboard. If kept in the fridge (once iced), be careful as they might be a little firm when you bite into one.