Recipe Index

Ingredients

• 4oz unsalted butter, softened
• 6oz dark muscovado sugar
• 4 tbsp golden syrup
• 1 large free-range egg, beaten
• 12oz plain flour, plus extra for dusting
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 2 tsp ground ginger
• 1½ tsp mixed spice
• ½ tsp ground cloves
• 7oz icing sugar
• black, green and red fondant icing
• orange crisp-coated chocolates, such as Smarties
• edible sliver balls

Method

1. Heat the oven to 350°F and line two large baking sheets with baking paper.
2. Beat the softened butter and dark muscovado sugar together in a large bowl with an electric hand whisk until the mixture is pale and fluffy, then whisk in the golden syrup and the beaten egg.
3. Add the plain flour, bicarbonate of soda, ground ginger, mixed spice and ground cloves and mix until a smooth dough comes together.
4. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead it until it feels smooth.
5. Roll the dough out to the thickness of a pound coin and stamp out snowmen with a snowman cutter, aiming for about 20 biscuits in total.
6. Set the snowmen carefully on the prepared sheets and chill them in the fridge for 20 minutes.
7. Bake the gingerbread snowmen for 15 to 20 minutes, until the centres feel firm and the biscuits are dark golden, then leave them to cool and firm up on the sheets.
8. Mix the icing sugar with enough water to make a thick, spreadable icing, spoon it into a piping bag and snip a small hole in the end.
9. Pipe a border around each snowman, let it set a little and then flood the centres so the whole biscuit is covered in white icing.
10. Make tiny eyes from the black fondant, press an orange crisp-coated chocolate in place for the nose and add edible silver balls as buttons, finishing each snowman with a hat and scarf shaped from the coloured fondant and tiny balls for a coal-like mouth.

Prep: 2 h · Cook: 30 min

Nutrition (per serving, where published)

Estimated from USDA FoodData Central ingredient data