Gingerbread Biscuits

• 340g plain flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 1½ tsp grated nutmeg
• 1½ tsp ground cloves
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 3 tsp ground ginger
• 225g unsalted butter, softened
• 340g soft brown sugar
• 1 egg, beaten
• 75g crystallised ginger, finely chopped

Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and spices together into a mixing bowl.

Beat together the butter and sugar, and then add the egg, beating it in gradually, so the mixture doesn’t curdle. Stir into the flour to make a dough, and then mix in the crystallised ginger.

Put the dough between two sheets of clingfilm, and roll out to the thickness of a £1 coin. Refrigerate for half an hour. Pre-heat the oven to 180C.

Cut out the biscuits, and put on a greased baking tray. Cook for about 10 minutes, and, when straight out of the oven, poke a hole in each and allow to cool on a rack before threading a ribbon through.

Decorate with writing icing, or sift the icing sugar, and then mix to a stiff consistency with boiling water. Brush over the cooled biscuits, and decorate with hundreds and thousands while still wet.